#NotBuyingIt: Anti-Black Friday

During this season of Black Friday, and holiday sales, I’d like to offer some thoughts on an alternative-Not Buying It. Ways to change your behavior so that you can take a step back from consumer culture. This topic has interested me for years and authors and bloggers keep coming up with new ways to…buy nothing. Most recently in 2015, outdoor retailer REI decided to close on Black Friday, pay their employees for the day, and encourage all of us to #OptOutside .

Remember Amy Dacyczyn and The Tightwad Gazette from the 1990’s? In 2009, she was interviewed by New Hampshire Public Television. (5 minute video)

2001 After 9-11, President Bush is rumored to have said just go shopping-he really didn’t say it that way; his statement was more highfalutin’-he suggested ‘continued participation and confidence in our economy.’ It was Mayor Giuliani who actually said go to restaurants and go shopping-on Sept 12^th. Then the American public was practicing patriotism at the mall, and the ball games….and then the bubble happened…

2006 was when a funny piece in the Atlantic  by the writer and actress Sandra Tsing Loh, was published.  It was called Cheap Thrills: American Women in Financial Jeopardy. It was about women and money, Individual Retirement Accounts  (IRA’s) and shopping. Tsing Loh wrote about her friend Carolyn, who wanted to lose weight and proceeded to lose 12.5 pounds in three months. She also lost a lot from her wallet. Fees and food from Jenny Craig, some nice running shoes-only $100, a new haircut, a gym membership at $40/month etc. And last but not least, the new $300 distressed jeans in two sizes down-only $300.

It cost her $196.50 per pound.

I can distress anyone’s jeans for less than $300, just sayin’.  By the way, by her own admission, Tsing Loh comes from a very cheap immigrant family-her sister once gave her a library book for Christmas with a time limit on it for return.

2006 Judith Levine in her book,  Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping, links her shopping memories to Sept 11^th as well-“Buy that big screen TV or the terrorists will have won!”

Not Buying It Judith Levine (Photo credit: Gauravonomics)

2008: Remember September 15^th 2008 when Senator McCain was feeling Presidential and said “the fundamentals of our economy are basically fine, despite tremendous turmoil…just before Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy. Recession and many people have struggled with their finances-fair, fowl or fun money. Still are-According to Al Lewis’s Emporium WSJ column, the people wrote in to say two words: We’re broke.

“We want to maintain our financial strength, not transfer it to the mass market retailers.”

— “I already own 50 neckties, three cars, four TVs, etc. Why should I blow money on Chinese junk at Target and Wal-Mart when I can save money for retirement?”

2008-2010 For many of us, the Great Recession changed our buying habits, albeit involuntarily.  However, there have been many enlightening stories written in the last 15 years about people’s voluntary changes in their relationship with consumer culture, stuff and even patriotism. Before that it was Voluntary Simplicity, a movement pioneered by authors Cecile Andrews , Janet Luhrs, and Duane Elgin, among others.

In summary, whether you  reduce your things down to 100 for a year, (2012 link to TedX video from author Dave Bruno) or some other number, go cold turkey like Judith Levine and her husband did for one year, stop spending $200/pound to lose weight or some other self-improvement scheme, try something new this holiday season. Maybe you have gotten very good at substitutions (library for bookstore) (brand declines-Nordstrom to Macy’s to Marshall’s to thrifting)  You can observe Buy Nothing Day on Black Friday – and on Thanksgiving.

You and your family could even introduce these ideas around the Thanksgiving table for some lively conversations. I’d love to hear how that works!

What to talk about, besides football and turkey?

Related articles

• 11/16/2013 Shopping Log, Or the First Anti-Shopping Log (extremecheapness.wordpress.com)
• Thanksgiving shopping ruffles Facebook readers (pressrepublican.com)
• http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/ 
• http://www.zipcar.com/ziptopia/around-the-bend/10-things-to-do-on-black-friday-besides-shop 

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5 Reasons Your Credit Report Matters

5 Reasons Your Credit Report Matters More Than You Think

Think of your credit report as giant file cabinet and the score as a point in time.

Your credit history here!

The report summarizes a lifetime of using credit and your score is a snapshot of your current situation plus your accumulated use of credit experience.

1. The contents could be inaccurate (did you really live in Minnesota?)

2. Not all creditors report to all three credit bureaus

What if you have something that is affecting your score, but you don’t know what it is. Pull reports from all three bureaus once a year to see how they are the same and what shows up on only one report.

3. Is it really your credit report?

Two situations I’ve seen recently:

• a dad and son with the same first and last names ended up with [unintentionally] shared debt on credit reports
• a mom and daughter are co-signers – what if one person’s credit goes south?

4. Inaccuracies/errors and outright falsehoods need to be fixed

Your report has contact information for creditors and the place to make a consumer statement about certain aspects of the report.

5. Only looking at your scores, (available through Credit Karma, Discover, USAA to name a few) doesn’t help you improve them as fast. Without pulling the reports, you may not know the reasons your score is depressed, or the reasons your score is excellent. 65% of your score is derived from paying on time, every time and your credit utilization ratio (how much of your available credit are you using).

For example, one client I knew had an item from another state on her credit report, so she ignored it, as she had never visited that state. Turned out it was the billing headquarters for an old medical bill incurred in her home state. She needed to contact that creditor to resolve that item.  Another example, you and your spouse agreed to split debt payoffs in your divorce, but one of you has not lived up to that bargain. Make a consumer statement to that effect on your credit report.

Pulling your report is free if you use the legislatively created www.annualcreditreport.com.  For the last month I’ve been able to pull credit reports for service members and their families via http://www.saveandinvest.org. These reports include free scores from all three credit bureaus. FINRA  established this site which also includes calculators and how to check out a financial advisor.

Bonus: New version of FICO  [9] will be treating old medical debt differently http://bit.ly/YH9cMJ

Related Link: Getting and Changing Your Credit Report from Debt Slapped Grad: http://bit.ly/1JfbLtb

How Do I Love Thee (Post Valentines Day Edition)

How Do I Love Thee? On Paper, Online and On Time

In life and in death, let me count the ways that I love thee.  Let’s review the beneficiaries, the online accounts, and the papers.

Rosemary is for Remembrance. Wikimedia

To paraphrase Meghan Trainor, modern philosopher:

It’s all about that signature

It’s all about survivorship

It’s all about that heir, no trouble.

When you love someone, you are told you should have “your affairs in order”.

This is much harder to do than say. What affairs, what is order?

When you have a family, you want to look ahead into a future where you may not be in the picture.

“Yikes, this means I have to pretend I am dead; that makes me uncomfortable and I’ll just hope nothing happens.”

It’s going to happen, trust me. Photo credit: http://www.pdpics.com 4211

This is a common reaction, due to your present, your past or reluctance to look too far into that uncertain future. I have met many people who think that they don’t need to consider these things, because “they don’t have any assets”, “they don’t have any children”, or all they have are the photos on their Facebook and Instagram pages. But you do, you do! You have your organs, your online life and photos, and your entire financial life to care for and secure.

You may have missed the opportunity to send roses or a sentimental card this past weekend, but here are several steps to take in this next week, to say “I love you” to those special people in your life. I’d like to help you move into action!

On paper: Check your retirement plan beneficiaries at work and for your personal retirement accounts. Do the beneficiaries match up with your current sweetie and family? Just sayin’. By the way, for those of you with older pension plans (could be frozen, or discontinued), check those too and keep a copy of the beneficiary page.) You can keep a paper copy, scan or photograph, then store in your cloud somewhere.

Real life story: This just happened to a friend-her husband hadn’t updated his old pension plan documents when he got married. When he passed away suddenly in 2014, his cousins were still his beneficiaries, not his wife. These cousins were sympathetic, but not all relatives would be as thoughtful.

It is important to create, review, or update important documents (will, power of attorney, health care directives) before any major life transitions. This probably also applies to people who take part in extreme sports, marathons, and those races in the mud. If you are in the military, they will place you in a workshop with your significant other to cover many things like this before deployment.

Online: However, online access may still be a problem. In real life, (IRL) your loved ones do not have the access to your emails, online accounts and photos that spammers or identity thieves do. In the Terms and Conditions of our online accounts, there is usually a line or two which explains this privacy policy. Google has tried to fix this with their Inactive Account Manager, and just last week Facebook offered the opportunity to set up a Legacy Contact after your death is proven. Yahoo Japan launched a service to manage your digital profile after you die. https://ending.yahoo.co.jp/ See if you want to set up one of these contacts.

Real life story: http://cnet.co/1Mn3RPO Yahoo denies family access to dead Marine’s email.

 On Time: This has to do with matching your documents and decisions to your actions. Wedding coming up? Do you need to alter your current will and property distribution? Would the laws of your state (and your family) allow your loved one to make medical decisions for you and visit you in the hospital?

Real life story: a relative with a terminal illness lived into the last month of his car loan, so his wife didn’t have to  worry about that last payment. This relative also hadn’t changed two pieces of property to be jointly owned with his [second] wife, so altering those property deeds occupied some stressful hours of his last days.

Love in a box, or a document, or in your will…

PS For those readers who may have several kinds of pensions (military, Social Security, employer plans), it is important to check the pension payouts with your spouse. For example, will you choose a single life or joint and survivor payout? A single life payout goes for one person’s (the retired employee) life. A joint and survivor payout is calculated over the joint life expectancies of the couple. It is usually less than the single life payout, but it provides a lifetime income for the survivor. See definition of joint life payout from Investopedia here.

If this post inspires you to take action, from creating new documents to reviewing existing ones, you will feel better afterwards. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but the relief generated upon accomplishment will feel wonderful. Plus, your family members will thank you for remembering them.  Get from To-Do to To-Done! (Shout out to https://transmutable.com for my first To-Done experience.)

Related links

http://organdonor.gov/index.html 

http://www.usa.gov/topics/money/personal-finance/wills.shtml

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/advancedirectives.html

http://www.investopedia.com/terms/p/powerofattorney.asp

Do Your Taxes (FAFSA Edition)

This tax post is for FAFSA filers old and new; includes parents of this year’s college seniors and parents of students in college now.

It’s a good day to…”Do Your Taxes”. Or at least generate a decent estimate.

Tax Forms 1040

Who should do an estimate by January 1st?

1. Parents of high school seniors off to college next year
2. Parents of current college students
3. Self employed people
4. Taxpayers with a change in income, plus or minus 20%+ over last year.

This post focuses on FAFSA filers…
Experienced FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) filers know the joy of spending a part of the upcoming holiday weekend on personal finance and disclosing your finances to another government agency. I invite you to include your high school senior/college student for part of this exercise so that they understand that they aren’t the only ones who have to fill out forms so that they can go to a post-secondary educational opportunity. Some reasons to do so:

Funding college can feel like this!

1. If the family won’t be eligible for college aid due to the family income or assets, they need to see why.
2. If the only way they can go to college is due to a lack of resources, they need to understand the forms and their importance.
3. This is a good time to remind them to seek scholarship applications-many open up January 1st of each year.
4. Review your in-house rules for having “skin-in-the-game”. For instance, We expect you to earn/contribute $5000/yr towards this cost. Or you need to apply for X number of scholarships.

Note 1: The FAFSA asks for many pieces of financial information and despite the requests for early completion, most people have not even thought about their tax filings on New Year’s Day of any year. For divorced parents, it is good to communicate in advance about the required information.

Note 2: It is always recommended to complete the FAFSA, even if you think your family will not be eligible for any aid. In the coming year, there might be some program that requires the FAFSA, despite no financial aid award now.

Deadlines

Complete the FAFSA as soon as possible-your place in line matters for aid awards. This applies to federal and private sources of funding. A list of deadlines are here.

You can order a PIN to sign the FAFSA now at https://pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp .

Print some tax forms. (for notes and listmaking) Choose an online tax calculator such as http://www.ownersmanualdownload.net/moneychimp-tax-calculator-2014 or http://www.bankrate.com/calculators/tax-planning/1040-form-tax-calculator.aspx. Please note, these are for illustrative purposes only. The idea is to choose one that is easy for you to work with. Please use your favorite search engine to select one for yourself.

 

Get ‘er done!

 

12 Days of Christmas: First 4 Days

My first four days of suggestions for your holiday learning and enjoyment are below.
Our brains love experiences more than stuff, (#1) but some of us (1 in 4) also have a gene which may stimulate the wrong impulses (#2). It feels good to give, so help a friend or family member find missing money (#3). Learning about personal finance, our brains on money and planning ahead isn’t boring; and can be done in less than an hour (#4).
Great program to watch with the family, including the middle schoolers with allowances or the college kids home for the break.

#1 For more anticipation and satisfaction Buy Experiences Not Things. http://theatln.tc/1xJSKtw

Phillies Baseball-2013

 

 

 

 

 

#2 Better Living Through Chemicals? Why Buyagra might be impacting your shopping style…http://ti.me/1HCMGqZ

#3 Help someone else with an unexpected gift (or return of their own long lost money)  this season. Seek unclaimed funds in any US state here. I’ve known people who located $75 to $134; and $4,000-$6,000 on one of these sites. Search on behalf of a nomadic relative, old friend, or even yourself. Utility deposits, last paychecks or uncashed dividend checks…http://bit.ly/YDCwkw . Also, this link will take you to a page where you can hunt for uncashed savings bonds (issued after 1974). http://www.treasuryhunt.gov/

All electronic now, but they used to look like this!

 

 

#4 Put this one on the calendar http://youtu.be/Sv0cyyhAc7k This two-minute trailer for the new documentary Thinking Money will air on KCTS (Western Washington) on Sunday, December 28th, at 2pm.

Seattle’s Original Victrola Coffee 2012 by DCT

Related blog post: https://nodollarleftbehind.wordpress.com/2012/12/03/bright-shiny-objects-2-holiday-traditions-or-shoulds/

I have Six Figures of Income…and Debt

The question below on how to handle six figures ($354,000) of debt with an incoming check for $500,000 was answered by me on October 30th at Nerdwallet.com. Since last spring, I’ve been answering questions from real people at Nerdwallet’s Ask An Advisor platform. Those of us on the platform answer real questions from real people without knowing all the relevant information, only what they tell us. Other answers as well as mine can be found here.

Q: I will soon get a check for $500,000. I have $354,000 in student loans. Should I pay those off first?

A: (Dana Twight) Great that you are asking about how to handle this windfall. This is exactly the situation that financial planning is made for – balancing competing priorities and improving your short and longer term financial situation.

5 Points to Consider

1.Other debts: Do you have any other non-mortgage debts? If you do, they may very well have higher interest rates than your student loans. Consider paying those balances down first.

2. Emergency funds: Do you have an emergency fund-are you employed? In addition to the fund portfolio suggested by my colleague, I would consider setting aside a fund with six months income or expenses in it from this check. Or you could set aside the amount of one year’s health insurance premiums and deductibles. This could be the base of that fund-keep it in insured CD’s or accounts.

3. Insurance: This is also a great time to build an umbrella liability insurance policy into your annual budget. This type of policy covers you above other liability limits (say on a residence or a vehicle). Investopedia has a definition which mentions that it also includes libel, slander and invasion of privacy.

4. Tricks: Be careful about how you share this news with others. Resist the opportunity to open new credit accounts. Visit the opt-out website to opt out of new credit card offers https://www.optoutprescreen.com/?rf=t so that you don’t get oceans of new email or regular mail offers. Your financial institution may see your funds deposited and offer to help you invest them-stick to a fee-only planner and get hourly advice instead.

5. Treats: It’s ok to let yourself do something fun with a small part of the money, if you have waited for a vacation or a newer vehicle, or a really cool bike. Also treat yourself to fully funding your 2014 and 2015 retirement plan contributions, if you are still under retirement age.

Last but not least: Do you have your estate documents in order? A will, a durable power of attorney and health care directives as required for your state are a must. Take the time and the nominal percentage of this windfall to make sure that your documents match your intentions, now that you have more assets.

 

Best wishes for your success in your chosen field!

Hire a Professional: 6 Steps to Prepare

One of the most common questions every financial adviser hears is,”What shall I bring to a meeting?

In order to maximize your time with a professional (visit www.letsmakeaplan.org to find a CFP® ), I suggest six steps to take first:

 

1. Pull a truly free copy of your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com  (your scores are based on the report information)

2. Pull a copy of your accrued Social Security Benefits ( Yes, you will be able to receive a benefit in the future)

3. Gather up your employee benefits books or intranet site, last year’s tax return (first two pages is a good beginning) and any company retirement plan/bank/credit card/student loan statements.

4. Write down some family lessons that you learned about money (take 5 minutes and see what you come up with). For example, never borrow money, save 10% of everything, always buy on sale, etc. Walking up and down every grocery aisle was one of mine.

5. List your expenses (all of them), and then your income. See how they match up to the 50/30/20 rule. 50% needs/30% wants/20% savings.  (from the book called All Your Worth by Warren and Tyagi)

6. What are your financial hopes and dreams? Retire at 50, travel around the world for one year, start your own business…do share those with your adviser as well.

Now you are more knowledgeable about your financial past and present, so that you can use a professional to discuss your financial future.

PS: You may decide to interview more than one person. Prepare these items and see who asks questions on any of the topics.

Spending – It’s Handled

How do you handle your spending? Is it an aimless stream of expenses, or do you have a plan for each month and year? Sometimes  a budget is hard to follow, especially if it is inspired by a particular event, such as a move, a raise or a layoff. Or, as happened to me once-it was someone else’s idea that I have a budget. First: words matter. I prefer the term spending plan, as I think when you are planning your spending, it implies more forethought and care for yourself. Be proactive!

The hardest part for people is to record all income and spending. No, I am mistaken – the income part is usually easier than the spending. When recording income, include wage income, as well any other sources along the way (rental income, refunds, rebates, gift cards, checks from any side gigs etc.).

Now, you are ready to record your spending (you can use online tools such as mint.com) or check your bank or credit union-they may have a free online solution already integrated into your accounts. Or use a notebook, a napkin or your bank statement. Low tech is better than no tech.

Stop and check your spending first.

Which expenses are fixed? These may include rent/mortgage, insurance, tuition, commuting costs (tolls, parking, gas), groceries, utilities, loan payments (student loans, car payments, minimum on your credit card bills, if any), tax withholding, child care, pet care or babysitting costs, condo fees.

Which expenses are variable? These may include eating out, any phone/internet/cable costs above the basics, paying extra on any loans or credit card bill, clothing, gifts, personal care, charitable contributions, and entertainment. How do you handle vacation spending?

Next, look at some ratios and categories more closely:

Is a Layoff in Your Future? 5 Steps to Take With Your Family

Gather the family around the campfire and prepare for the conversation of your life. Now is the time to let go of any family taboos around discussing money.  This is especially true if you have children living at home. You can adjust your talking points, depending on the ages of your children, but you need to be united on this.

I’ve been answering questions over at www.nerdwallet.com for the last three weeks. This post is from an article by me published in their Advisor Voices section last Friday.

Before we get to the 5 things, two suggestions for framing:

• Be truthful-mom or dad is going to lose her/his job and we have to prepare for that soon.
• Be reassuring – mom or dad will be getting a new job after that, and we need your help now to get there.

You could also set up the discussion and introduce some crucial concepts like this:

“In our family, we have needs and we have wants. Our needs include food for everyone (we won’t forget our pets!), a roof over our heads (explain the difference between rent and a mortgage to older kids, be more abstract with younger ones), paying for the heat, lights, phone service, child or after school care that allows parents to go to work outside the home, and transportation to get family members where they need to go. We will keep our health insurance so everyone can stay well and get their teeth cleaned.”

Wants will be different from family to family and be ready to give examples at the campfire. High-speed Internet may be a legitimate need for business purposes, but several ESPN channels are going to be in the want column, unless you’re a sportswriter. Adults and kids can make changes in different ways.

New family activity-making the dollar go further together.

As Benjamin Franklin might have said, the following three activities revolve around being healthy, wealthy and wise.  I’m adding two more intangibles: go actively towards the next destination, instead of away from what you’re doing now, and be sure to use your own roadmap.

 

Health: Know what you’re up against!  Is health insurance part of your severance agreement? Do you have severance? Tip: If your last day of work is early in the month, your group coverage usually extends through that month.  So a last day at work of May 1^st is better than April 30. Post-layoff choices could include COBRA, a group plan through your professional organization or union, a family policy from your state’s exchange (using the Affordable Care Act) or going without coverage. Going without health coverage could derail your family finances in a hurry if an emergency comes up. If a large layoff is rumored or several months out, immediately catch up on any work-related reimbursements for transportation, child care, parking or flexible spending accounts (FSA).

Tip: Make those routine appointments ASAP.

Wealth: Do you have at least nine months of income or expenses set aside? A year or even 15 months of expenses would be better, or a working spouse who can supply the income and benefits to cover you or your family as you move forward. List all loans, debts and upcoming fees and rank by amount and interest rates. Two schools of thought on retirement deferrals: Keep making the smallest contribution to get the company match—the thought being that it might be awhile before you can resume contributions; or cancel your salary deferral to boost your emergency fund or pay off debt. Paying off debt will need some serious family discussion. What makes you feel more secure—a larger rainy day fund or less debt?  Can you stop adding to any debts, and cut credit card use while you prepare? If so, move forward with that.

Tip: Automate all minimum payments so that your credit history is not harmed.

Wisdom: How well prepared are you to meet the intellectual and emotional challenges of being laid off and seeking new employment? Who will be on your kitchen cabinet, helping to advise you as you move forward? What about that LinkedIn profile? What about certifications, or continuing education? Can you use a tuition reimbursement benefit? Who will be part of your new work community? (Check out local co-working spaces for some ideas).

Tip: Create a family gratitude list, so you can keep in mind the non-material riches you already have.

Embracing the Hunt What are your strengths? Create a list of what your preferences are in a career, (often harder than the deal breakers) to leverage those in the next position. Do you have a side job that is begging to sit at the grown-ups table? A friend of mine is tired of teaching, but she is a talented quilt designer.  Perhaps that is her next career.

Tip: A good career counselor can save you lots of time.

Roadmap Draw your own! I cannot stress this enough. A map made for someone else is seductive.  But your brother-in-law’s map may not work for you.

As George Harrison sang, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”

Your next job has to come from what is best for you, so that when you are stuck at the side of the road, whether in Tacoma, Toronto, or Timbuktu, you have created a map to the best destination for you and your family.

Related Links

Boeing Managers say transfer of engineering jobs damaging talent and morale

 

Getting to know a ‘Bank of Inconvenience’

In a recent article, I suggested a “bank of inconvenience” for one’s emergency fund. I thought I might elaborate a little more on what I meant by that phrase. It’s going “old school” with a part of your money.

Bank of Inconvenience

In today’s world, the emphasis is on connection and access, 24/7. I’d like you to take a step back and consider having a pot of money that is not linked to anything. No transfers, no apps and no money going out unless you go there in person.

Here is a way to grow and keep your emergency fund in five steps:

1. Choose a financial institution (this means bank or credit union) that you may not have a current relationship with. You don’t have to break up with your other bank.  This bank might need to be beyond walking distance from your favorite haunts. Hence the term ‘inconvenience’. Note: An online bank would work, if you follow step 3, below.
2. Open a savings or money market account. Deposit the least that it takes to open the account, or one month’s rent/mortgage, whichever is possible now.  Get your account routing numbers for Step 4.
3. Do NOT  link this account to any other accounts. Do NOT order checks or a debit card. You may end up collecting $200 this way! Later on…
4. Consult your HR or Benefits department about setting up another Direct Deposit account destination. Give them the information from Step 2 and an amount. $5/$50/$500 per pay period is fine to begin with. Sign up! Or if self-employed, argue with yourself and eventually agree to choose a deposit scheme at a different bank.  Money only flows one way.
5. Watch your funds add up. Not from interest right now-that is not part of the goal. This money is set aside (or sequestered) so that you can have cash on hand for a true emergency (new brakes, trip to a family funeral, stolen cell phone, trip to the ER). It’s ok to use the money, but keep the deposits going. You can get to your own goal for emergency savings ( I usually recommend a minimum of three months income or expenses-whichever is higher, as a first goal). This will also help reduce any reliance on a credit card for this type of expense.

All done and on your way to collecting hundreds, even thousands of dollars for your emergency fund.

Park it Here!