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How dare you spend your money on fun things!

9 March 2010, 1:26 am

Money can be used in four ways. It can be saved, invested, gifted, and spent. Generally I focus more on the investing and saving aspects of money, but today I want to chat with you about spending. I’m not so interested in how much your grocery bill is or how much you spend on gas each month. Instead of focusing on the boring everyday expenses, I think it would be way more fun to talk about the frivolous side of spending. It’s important to remember a portion of our income should go towards having fun. There is nothing wrong with enjoying your money. And that bring up today’s topic… How do you enjoy your money?

You do enjoy your money occasionally…right?! While I do believe money can’t buy happiness, you better believe it can sure as heck help. I thought I would share with you two areas I find joy in spending money…

Dining out.

Girl Ninja and I don’t live together. This means we don’t have all of the conveniences of cohabitation, like sitting down and eating together. Sometimes she will come over and I will cook for her (or she’ll cook for me), but we have really found great value in going on dinner dates. At least once a week I like to  take her out for dinner. The date isn’t just about the food we shove in our face (GN always tells me I have to take smaller bites :) ), but it’s about the quality time we get together. It’s about getting away from friends and roommates, and just enjoying each other. I like to think of these meals not so much as an “expense”, but rather an investment in our relationship.

Photography.

Yup, I got bit by the photography bug…frick! I got a DSLR this Xmas break, and it was love at first sight lust at first picture. The quality is a bajillion times better than my point and shoot camera. I’m totally stoked on this new hobby, but I got to tell ya… it’s freakin’ expensive. Each lens ranges from $300 to $1,200 dollars. I have my eyes on a few different lenses/accessories I would like to add to my photography arsenal, but I’m doing my best to be a good ninja and temper my impulsive nature. I have three camera related things in my Amazon wishlist currently, but I told myself I couldn’t buy anything for at least six months. I want to make sure photography is going to be a long lasting hobby, and not some short term obsession. (I’m kind of infamous for getting in to something, putting a lot of time/effort/money in to it, and then getting bored of it after a few months). Here are a few pictures I have snapped…

scared pug

While frivolous expenses, like the examples mentioned above, can lead some to financial ruins (especially when said expenses are charged to a credit card), I do believe they can also be used as a tool to provide joy. Do you wrestle with the idea of “blowing” money on a hobby? What are some expenses you incur on a semi-frequent basis that you could cut out of your budget, but don’t? Are you a big time rock climber? Do you like to travel? Maybe a cooking hobby? Or if you are on the wild side, perhaps you like to put on a chewbacca mask, buy a bunch of taco shells, empty them from their taco shell box, tape said box to your nipples, get in your underwear, and take pictures of yourself to post on the internet like this guy….

(Don’t worry this guy is probably really nice)

Drop me a line and let me know what some of your hobbies are. Heck I might even want to try a few of them out!

p.s I know there are a ton of free hobbies (i.e. going to the park, local museums, etc). I’m not as interested in them, as I am the areas where you set aside money for the soul purpose of HAVING FUN!

Filed under Uncategorized, lifestyle. Tagged ,
16 Comments

This aint no competition

8 March 2010, 12:29 am

debt pwned

Achieving financial freedom should not, I repeat SHOULD NOT, be a competition. Unfortunately, I often find myself making it one. Sure, financial stability/freedom/security is important, but shame on me if I lose sight of my journey and become distracted by jealousy, envy, or excuses.

Have you ever thought something like “If only I had a larger income I’d be financially happy” or “Bob is putting 5% in to his 401K, so I should too”? There is nothing wrong with earning a larger income or contributing to retirement, but if you are only doing it for bragging rights or to “keep up with the Joneses” then you are…how shall I put this nicely… an IDIOT!

You shouldn’t be comparing your financial situation to mine, or anyone elses for that matter. Yes, I post all of my financial stats (income, expenses, net worth) on this blog, but let me be clear. I do not do this so you can compare yourself to me. I do it for one reason and one reason only: To share my journey. That’s it. Nothing more, nothing less. Usually I talk finance, sometimes I talk wedding, and occasionally I just talk life.

PDITF is not a pulpit from which I preach great wisdom. I’m probably stupider (err more stupid?) than you anyway. Please don’t let my blog (or any other PF blog) become a crutch for you. Maybe my monthly expenses are lower or income higher than yours, but don’t you dare begin saying “If only I had Ninja’s income, life would be so much easier.” You have to make due with what you got and play the cards you were dealt.

It took me about two years to go from the red to the black. FB at FabulouslyBroke fought her way out of $50k of debt in one year. Maybe you won’t be able to get out of debt for another 5 or even 10 years. Guess what? That’s okay! It’s not a race. There is no prize if you pay off your debt before me (at least I don’t think there is).

Don’t be confused, I’m not saying you shouldn’t attack your debt and get rid of it quickly. I want you to get out of debt, but I want you to do it at your own pace. Much like I want you to save for retirement, but only when you think you are ready and at whatever rate you want.

While I want to be an example of how a little financial insight can drastically change one’s life, I NEVER want this blog to become something you use as a metric to measure your financial success. I’m not really interested in how fast (or slow) you can turn your financial life around. All I care is that you turn it around. I’m pretty frustrated right now because I have so much I want to say, but for some reason can not communicate my thoughts. Instead of rambling on, let’s get some dialouge going.

Did this post make any sense to you? Have you found yourself focusing on “the competition” only to lose sight of “the journey”? At what point does comparing your situation to your peers go from healthy to crazy? Have you ever felt like someone else was competing with you (i.e. rubbing their xmas bonus in your face, etc)? And most importantly, Did you have a good weekend?

Filed under forward thinking. Tagged , ,
17 Comments

I’m a friend whore

5 March 2010, 12:01 am

That’s right, I just made 10,834 new friends today. All with the first name George, last name Washington. Sure these “friends” may be inanimate objects (one dollar bills to be exact), but that doesn’t make them unimportant. In fact, they will be a GREAT asset for my future.

You know that $12,000 raise I have been talking about lately? Well I finally got it. I know what you are thinking, $10,834 is not $12,000. You are right, kind of…

On 12/31/09 my salary was $50,547. On January 1st, my salary was”adjusted for inflation” to $51,617. And today my salary is $62,451, making for a grand total gain of $11,904 in the last two months. If you don’t understand the government pay system you can see my breakdown of it here.

It’s hard for me to fathom a $24,255 salary increase in the two years I’ve been working. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t turn me on a little… okay A LOT!!!!

I don’t really plan to do anything different with my larger paycheck. I will likely just contribute more to my savings and continue  paying down my student loan ahead of schedule. Even though my salary has increased, my standard of living hasn’t. And that brings me to today’s message: When one’s salary goes up, his/her cost of living does not have to follow suit.

Sure you could use the $4,000 bonus you got to buy 4,000 double cheeseburgers off the dollar menu at McDonals, but is that really necessary? Heck to the no it aint. Real wealth building occurs as salary goes up, but expenses don’t. Suck on that materialism.

Seeing that there was no real room for dialogue in today’s short message, I’m just gonna ask some questions that I hope you will answer…

1) What’s the largest raise/bonus you ever received and what did you do with it?

2) Would you stay in a position you LOVED even if there was slim to no chance of upward movement?

3) Do you have any suggestions for ways to make PDITF better?

4) What are you doing this weekend?

5) Can you “afford” her?…

Happy weekend all!!!

Filed under Happy Happy, employment. Tagged , , ,
13 Comments

Procrastinators unite….tomorrow

3 March 2010, 11:00 pm

One of my favorite things about authoring this blog is getting to read the various emails people send me from time to time. Yesterday, I received a simple, one question email…

I am fairly new to being financially savy and PF blogs. I just wanted to get your opinion. At what age/income should you open a IRA?

My response….

Never. Haven’t you watched the news in the last two years!? Quit your job, sell your assets, and move to Antarctica. America is doomed. Oh wait, what? The market is actually up 47.2% since this time last year? Fudge! I knew I should have invested in a Roth IRA instead of The Foxhole…

In all serious, the time to invest was yesterday. Don’t procrastinate, it’s time to get the retirement ball rolling. That is, assuming: you have income, you don’t have crazy amounts of high interest debt, you’re okay taking on some risk, and you don’t want to work until you are 120.

I really can’t tell you when you should begin investing, you have to make that decision for yourself, but I can share with you some pretty popular investment strategies for people under 40.

Step 1: Adjust your lifestyle so your expenses fall below your income. You have to be spending less than you make each month!

Step 2: Pay down any and all high interest debt (credit card, bank loans, etc) before you begin investing.

Step 3: If your employer matches a percentage of 401k investing, make sure you get that match. It’s free money and you have to be CRAZY to pass up free money. (If you don’t get a match proceed to step 4.)

Step 4: Look in to opening a Roth IRA. You can contribute up to $5,000 in it this year and it is a great investment vehicle for the younger crowd.

Step 5: If you were able to max out your Roth, then you should look in to going back and upping your contributions in your 401k from, say 5% to 10% (or whatever the heck you want).

That is the general order I come across in most books/PF blogs, but how you manage your money is really your call. If you want to live it up while you are young, contributing to retirement may not be the best idea. If you don’t want to be on welfare when you are in your 60’s then you may want to buckle down and begin growing your nest egg.

I personally began contributing to my 401K and Roth IRA as soon as I graduated college and got my first job, making $38k/yr. The earlier you start, the richer you will be.

I think her question is interesting and I’m curious, when all of you peeps started contributing to retirement. How old were you? What was your income? If you haven’t started yet, why not (debt, fear, stupidity)? Is there anything you would change in my “guidelines to follow” for retirement.

Filed under Investing, Reader Mail, retirement. Tagged ,
24 Comments

Financial unredo (yeah I made “unredo” up)

3 March 2010, 1:23 am

If you’ve been scoping PF blogs for a while, you’ve probably seen some posts realted to financial do overs. Ya know, a time in your life that you made a terrible financial decision and desperately wish you could rewrite the past. I thought today we could take a fun little twist on that topic and ask what would you financially unredo.

Yes I know, unredo is not a word. But I’m a Ninja, and one of the perks of being a ninja is this: Ninjas can do whatever the heck they want… including make up words, drink soda and eat pop rocks at the same time, and sleep with their eyes open. Let me define unredo for you.

Unredo -transitive verb-  to not want to do over again (although common sense says you should)

Are you catching on yet? What is one particular financial decision you’ve made, that you know you should want to redo, but deep down inside you are kind of glad you made the “mistake”.

Here’s my financial unredo…

I’m really glad I only worked a few hours a week while I was in college. This was a terrible financial decision, because part-time  campus jobs, don’t pay squat. Needless to say, I graduated with $28,000 in student loans. Financial wisdom (whatever that means) would say, go to a cheaper school or at least work full time to cover the bills. But if I could do it over again, I probably wouldn’t change a thing. Afterall, $28,000 isn’t that much to pay for four years of pure crazy awesome fun right!?

To see a second example of a financial unredo, you can check out my post about my favorite dumb but fun expense.

Now that you hopefully understand what I’m asking, I would be tickled with warm fuzzies (that sounded pretty gay) if you all share a financial unredo from your life. Did you buy a new car, realize it was kind of stupid, but like it too much to wish you could change the past? Whatever your unredo is, I want to hear it!

Filed under lifestyle, random. Tagged 
17 Comments

Who pays $4,000 for a honeymoon!?

2 March 2010, 12:28 am

As Girl Ninja and I approach our wedding day, we have began the honeymoon planning phase. I have alluded to the honeymoon cost ($4K) in a few posts and have received my fair share of criticism. Especially after this article got picked up by the Consumerist. After reading some of the “not-so-nice” comments I can’t help but think this is what some people are saying….

Pam: Ninja must be off his rocker. Who does he think he is, spending $4,000 on a honeymoon?

Deb: I know. It’s like he thinks he’s one of those millionaires or something. Seems pretty stupid to me.

Pam: Yeah. I totally agree. I can’t believe he thinks he’s qualified to have a personal finance blog when he clearly lives a life of luxury.

Deb: I know right. He’s totally hypocritical. Plus, he probably smells weird.

Am I planning on spending $4,000 on a honeymoon? Yes. Do I care if some think that is too much money for a vacation? No. Sorry, but I don’t. Girl Ninja and I are looking to head somewhere in the Caribbean, possibly Aruba or Puerto Rico. I have made a spreadsheet with some of our favorite places, and the cost of each trip….

As you can see, the estimates run from $3,500-$4,200 for a seven day vacation. Now that you know how much we are looking at spending and where we are planning on going, it’s time to roll my sleeves up and put the boxing gloves on.

Here’s why I’m okay “blowing” 20% of my savings on a “silly” vacation…

1) Girl Ninja and I both have a relatively limited exposure to the world. Mexico, Canada, and the Marshal Islands are the only places I’ve been. GN’s experiences are pretty similar. We figure our honeymoon is the perfect excuse to gain some insight in to a different culture. Sure we could probably spend $2,500 on a week long vacation in Hawaii, but we aren’t just taking a honeymoon to sit on a beach all day and do nothing. We want to interact with the locals, go on some tours, and take advantage of all that a foreign country has to offer.

2) I have the money to do it. I don’t think anyone who reads my blog regularly, would say I have a problem saving money. In fact I’ve increased my net worth by over $30,000 in the last year. I save diligently, so that I can afford to do fun things when the opportunity arises. Yes, my savings account will take an 18% hit, but at my current savings rate, I will be able to recoup the loss in a couple of months. I bet if I said I had a $10,000 emergency fund and a $10,000 vacation/fun fund, instead of $20K in savings, people wouldn’t give me any grief. Sometimes people, including myself, forget it’s okay to spend money. I think I’m due for a little treat.

3) This honeymoon is going to be a big deal for our relationship. Our honeymoon will be a time of many firsts. I’ve shared reasons why GN and I do not live together, but I should also note, we have never even stayed the night in the same room. Thus, we have never vacationed together, not even a weekend get-away. The honeymoon would be the first time Girl Ninja and I sleep in the same bed together, the first time we wake up next to each other, the first time I have to remember to put the toilet seat down after going potty. It will be our first taste of the married life, and we want it to be AMAZING. If you haven’t caught on by now, let me spell it out for you…

Even though we have been together for 3.5 years, we made a choice early in our relationship to NOT participate in any “adult” activities until we got hitched. (wow that felt awkward to type)

I know some of my critics have my best interest at heart, and don’t want to watch me throw away a good chunk of change on a one week trip, but I hope you see that this is much more than “a vacation”. It’s going to be a time of many firsts and I’m totally fine splurging for a nicer vacation to ensure the week is awesome.

Okay, now that I feel totally awkward for sharing point 3, let’s open the floor for discussion.

1) Where do you think I should go on my honeymoon?

2) Where did you go (or want to go) on your honeymoon?

3) Do you think I’m spending too much on “a vacation”?

4) What’s the coolest thing about the honeymoon experience?

Filed under wedding. Tagged , ,
59 Comments

Net Worth: March 2010

28 February 2010, 11:26 pm

I’ve got a crush on the last 30 days, because my NW soared. I want to fly like an eagle, I want to run through the halls of my high school, I want to shake my money maker (those are all song lyrics in case you didn’t catch on). My net worth is on the up and up, and daddy likes what he sees. I have a strong tutoring and blogging month to thank for the increase. Let’s take a look at the grizzaph…

Checking Accounts: $1,983, +$106. Made some transfers from checking to the good old INGdirect savings account. I love ING. They don’t pay me to say that, but I wouldn’t mind if they wanted to…you hear that ING… Give me your monies!!!!

Savings Account: $22,765, +$1,700. I’m WHOREding (haha get it!) cash for the time being, until I get a better grasp on what lies ahead. I’ll be using about $4K of this shortly to pay for my upcoming honeymoon. Check back tomorrow to see why I’m willing to give up 4 grand for a vacay.

Roth IRA: $13,539 +$171. I have fully contributed to my Roth since my senior year of college. Right now my account balance is about $700 less than my total contributions. Hopefully soon, I will have actually made money from investing!!!!

TSP (401K): $12,313, +$554. The standard 5% contribution heads this direction each month. I also get that 5% fully matched. Can’t pass up free money now could I?

Student Loan: -$15,612, +$391. Yeah I know, some of you hate me for hanging on to my student loan debt, when I could pay it off. I’ve paid it down $13K in the last two years, that’s got to count for something though…right?

That put’s me at a net worth of….drumroll please….. $33,525!!! I’m up $3,291 from last month, which makes my heart smile. My next paycheck should have my increased salary in it, so I’m hoping for bigger and better things in the coming months!!!

**If you have wondered why the blue bar (debt) in the graph sometimes increases, it’s because my credit card balance gets taken in to account each month. Even though I pay the balance in full it still appears as a “liability” in Quicken. I just deduct this from my checking account balance to give myself an accurate net worth reading. This is why my actual NW increase, may not always necessarily match with the totals of each category, but I promise the overall total is REAL. I chose not to include possessions (including my car) in my NW calculations, which would probably increase my worth by about $8K.**

Filed under net worth. Tagged , , ,
14 Comments

Do I have to change the name of my blog?

26 February 2010, 12:11 am

What situation would you rather be in…

Situation Uno: You could have $20,000 in savings, but also have $15,000 in mid-interest debt (7%).

Situation Dos: You could have $5,000 in savings, but zero debt.

I’m currently sticking with situation uno. I have $22K in the bank and a little over $15K in debt. I could pay off my student loan tomorrow, be truly debt free, and still have a small emergency fund. I chose not to. Dave Ramsey would be pissed! My blog’s title is Punch Debt In The Face, but by choosing to remain in debt, perhaps I should change the name to Punch Debt In The Face When You Feel Like It. It doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?

I would be all about transitioning to situation dos if not for one small detail. I’m getting married. There are a lot of unknowns at this point in my life. I know I will be paying for a honeymoon (probably around $4K) and will face other wedding related costs over the next few months. Not having to pay for the actual wedding day has been a huge blessing, but I will still have some financial obligations.

I have no clue what to expect for monthly expenses as Girl Ninja and I move in together. I’ve never lived with a girl before, but word on the street has it those things can be expensive. It’s also unclear what Girl Ninja’s income will be. She is a substitute teacher in California, and we all know the California government can’t manage money.

Maintaining a rather large savings account keeps me from stressing out about the “unknowns” of marriage. Personally, if I paid off my student loan, and only had a few grand in the bank, I would be super anxious about our stability. So for the time being, I plan to continue operating in situation uno until, at least, the end of the year. After a few moths of the married life, and once I have a better handle on our future, I will strongly consider paying off my loan.

So what would you do? Does the security of having a large amount of cash in the bank keep you from stressing about your debt? Or does debt overwhelm you, and you would get rid of it in an instant. I have a feeling there will be a pretty even split.

Filed under debt, wedding. Tagged , ,
39 Comments

I can’t wait to take on more debt….sike!!!!

24 February 2010, 11:13 pm

So I received a free 9 month credit monitoring package from TransUnion as part of some class action lawsuit I was unknowingly involved in. I have to say, having the ability to access my credit report whenever the heck I want is pretty dang convenient. I still don’t think I’d pay the $12/month the credit monitoring regularly costs, but I could see why some people might.

As I was poking around and exploring all my credit details, I stumbled upon my credit score. Here’s what I saw…

Cool. My credit score isn’t crazy high by any means, but it’s probably not too shabby compared to most other 24 year old males. I got a good chuckle out of the next section titled “Ways to improve your credit score.” Here was their suggestions…

Okay bucko, I’m on to your clever tricks. You want me to get in more debt. Well I got two words for you… Suck it!!!

I love that the first piece of advice suggests that I do not have enough revolving debt. Apparently my $16,000 student loan debt isn’t sufficient.Their solution? Go take out a bank loan, an auto loan, a business loan, and maybe finance some plastic surgery. Surely then, my credit score will increase! Think about it, I can go rack up a good $30K in debt to raise my, already good, credit score a few points higher. Where do I sign up!?

The second recommendation kind of shocked me. I knew multiple credit accounts helped boost your credit score (see point one), but I never really thought I would be told I needed MORE credit cards! Like I said, I’m 24. I already have three CCs (all with zero balances). Do I really need to go sign up for another two or three just to give my credit score an artificial bump? Hell to the No I don’t.

There really isn’t much I can do about the third recommendation. I’ve only been legally allowed to have a credit card for six years, but apparently that isn’t good enough for the credit score gods. Perhaps I should have considered illegally applying for a credit card when I was 8 years old so I had a “longer” credit history. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

I have no plans in the immediate future to accumulate any more debt or open any new credit accounts. I guess this means I will never break the 800’s as far as my credit score is concerned. Sure having a good credit score is important, but there is no way in H-E-double-hockey-sticks I am willing to take on stupid debt just to do it. I’d rather have $50K in the bank and a 760 credit score than$50K in debt with an 820.

Have you ever had experience with a credit monitoring program? Do you know your credit score? Do people actually follow this crappy advice? Has anyone out there ever actually accumulated debt simply for the sake of improving their credit?

Filed under Credit Cards, debt.
20 Comments

Vote for me or I’ll punch a baby

24 February 2010, 12:28 am

So I found out the other day that I had been nominated by my fellow bloggers for a 2009 Plutus Award in the category of “Most Humuours Personal Finance Blog”. That’s right suckers, at least a few of you think I am funny. You probably have a few questions like…

What are the Plutus Awards?

They are basically like the People’s Choice Awards for Personal Finance blogs. If I don’t win, that means you didn’t vote for me. And if you don’t vote for me, that means you are a dumb face.

Why Should I vote for you Ninja? There are way funnier PF blogs out there.

True, there are funnier blogs out there, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed that when you go to vote for Budgets Are Sexy, you accidentally vote fore me :)

Who is responsible for the Plutus Awards?

My man Flexo over at Consumerism Commentary is the the mastermind. He put it all together, so if you think it’s stupid, blame him, not me.

How do I vote?

Head on over here… find the category  “Most Humorous PF Blog”… vote for me… DON’T VOTE FOR THE OTHER GUYS… give yourself a pat on the back for being not-stupid!

I voted for you Ninja, now what should I do?

You should laugh because this picture is funny…

THANKS FOR VOTING FOR ME!!!!!

Oh and I guess I have to provide some type of financial advice real quick….

Don’t have kids…ever…those things are expensive.

Okay bye. See you tomorrow :)

p.s. GO VOTE!

Filed under Help Me, random.
7 Comments
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