Disqus - Latest Comments for speedy

Re: Shared Money: Combining Finances With Your Partner

speedy — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:10:48 -0000

Jeremy is on the right track, but you cannot assume that even a marriage certificate will protect you.

I have a friend who was married, but her husband was able to clean out not only their joint accounts, but also her individual accounts as well, plus their daughter's college fund before he disappeared. In theory, this should not have been permitted, but he ended up with everything and left my friend and their daughter penniless.

You might wish to consult an attorney and find out ways to better protect yourself before marriage.

Prevention is always better than cure. If you don't trust this man about finances, then perhaps you should think twice before combining your assets with his. But even if you keep them separate, that may not completely protect you from errors or deception on his part.

Re: Sunday poll - problem solved

speedy — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 14:31:01 -0000

The visual environment! Every day my eyes are assaulted by the result of ineffective urban planning: the strip malls, the store buildings and tract homes that pop up everywhere, the lack of green spaces in areas that need them, the acres and acres of paved parking lots, over land that could be used to grow things, all for the convenience of people who shop out of boredom or because they believe that buying more cheap stuff will make them happier.

Our environment suffers, and flooding is worse because wetlands are filled and paved (and the water has to go somewhere!). And in this country, and others around the world, people are going hungry while fertile soil is buried under more asphalt, strip malls, and huge new homes with chemically-treated lawns.

And we all suffer psychologically, from being deprived of the natural world and from having to look at the incessant ugliness around us (at least those of us who live in the USA). If I could snap my fingers, it all would be gone in an instant, replaced with eco-friendly housing built in clusters with shops dotted about, with farms and forests around them.

Re: Money diet

speedy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 23:06:19 -0000

I am most like the Mediterranean diet, but I have found ways to cut back in area that I like as well. For example, I do like reading quite a bit, but these days I buy a book only if it is one that is a book I will use for reference. All others I borrow from the library and return them when I am done, and I am very happy that they are not taking up space in my apartment! I just focus on the goals -- building savings, paying off debt -- and that pretty much helps me to stay on track.

I found your analogy of the diet very interesting. I have not had a hunger response since I was three years of age, and I am absolutely amazed at how much people eat and how they cannot seem to lose weight. I just keep an eye on the clock and eat small amounts of food here and there -- enough to keep me going, with enough variety to cover my nutritional needs. I really feel sorry for people who are trying to lose weight, there seems to be so much more than just food involved -- emotions, influence of friends and family, etc. -- that would seem to make it difficult to lose weight. There are so many different diets out there, and none of them seem to work, other than a vegan diet, to sustain weight loss over the long term. I suppose the same could be said of financial planning, but a lot of people have mentioned how they could not succeed at eliminating debt until they heard a radio show or read a book by Dave Ramsey

Re: Sunday poll

speedy — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 19:17:57 -0000

Not having enough money in college to buy a bunch of Apple stock for $20 per share. Every time I see Apple breaking another threshold, I kick myself for not having the money to act on a good hunch. Everyone says college is a good investment, but I do not think it was a good investment of time and money in my case. At least not as good an investment as Apple would have been.

Re: i’ve been accepted to imaginary college!

speedy — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:19:17 -0000

You said "I’ve read a lot about the environment. One book in particular shook me terribly..."

Which book did you read that shook you up and why?

I noticed a couple of books on the environment in the brip brap store. Was it one of those?

Re: how to breathe

speedy — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 22:01:17 -0000

Attention to breathing helps me a great deal, although I do not focus on it as much as I should. I get busy during the day and I forget!

Another good tip I saw a couple of days ago was a simple yoga pose -- all you need is a pillow and a wall -- that will help restore energy after only a few minutes.

You can read about it at:
http://thehealthylivinglounge.com/2007/12/06/co...

Re: guest post: how paying attention to your wallet can improve your financial outlook

speedy — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 19:56:31 -0000

@Dollarfrugal : That is a really good point! My minimalist Jimi would certainly not be a good choice for you, as it does not have space for business cards.

I used to carry a small business card folder with clear plastic sheets to fit three or four cards on each side of the page. I have also seen ones that are wallet sized, that hold up to about 40 or 50 cards. These styles, plus a good selection of others, can be found at:

http://www.giftsforprofessionals.com/small-leat...

It may take a while to find a wallet (and possibly another type of organizer) that is a good fit for you and that allows you to carry what the things you use every day. In my case, the search was well worth the effort.

Re: spend less than you earn - the wrong way to think

speedy — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 20:35:53 -0000

I think that "spend less than you earn" can be a bit misleading. In a way, it almost suggests that you don't have to examine your spending, so long as it is lower than your income.

I did that for a long time and thought I was doing all right. But then I woke up and I realized that I didn't have enough in the way of savings to retire comfortably or to pursue options that might become available in the future (business opportunity? rural property? graduate school?).

It is not enough just to spend less than you earn, at least not for me. In my case, all spending is not equal. I have to sit down and really ask myself what is important and then eliminate spending that does not align with my values. I also have to think about what kind of things I need (insurance, for instance) and might want to have in the future, and then look for alternate income streams that can help me afford those things.

Most of us will not have the time or the particular talents to do all of the suggestions on Steve's list. But some I am doing already, and a few others are ones that I had not thought of but could easily do on occasion and would not require a lot of time.

I think that reading the things on the list will help me get into the proper mindset -- the mindset of looking for a way to turn an interest or an item into an alternate income stream -- that will help me come up with more ideas on my own.

Re: guest post: how paying attention to your wallet can improve your financial outlook

speedy — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 11:12:38 -0000

@ Lazy Man: The Jimi works great for me, because I do not need to carry much, but it won't work for everyone.

But even larger wallets are great -- so long as they are organized and you end up carrying only what you really need. It's the excess that bogs you down and creates clutter.

A woman ahead of me in line at the grocery line the other day was having trouble finding her discount card, and her wallet was not huge -- it was just very disorganized and had lots of slips of paper in it (not money or cards). She appeared to be very stressed because she could not find the card and she knew she was holding up the line. When it was my turn to check out, I was able to locate my discount card quite easily, and I was out the door in a flash.

But it isn't just the ease of use that I have noticed. Thinking back on my old wallet, I was a bit depressed looking at it because of the clutter and junk in it. When I look at my new wallet, I smile. What a difference!

Re: guest post: how paying attention to your wallet can improve your financial outlook

speedy — Tue, 01 Jan 2008 11:47:24 -0000

Carol, that is a really good point!

Jane Bryant Quinn recommends a "master file" folder for a summary of accounts and location of assets as part of a filing system in her book "Smart and Simple Financial Strategies for Busy People." A photocopy of wallet contents would be a good addition to this file, that way you would be able to know exactly what else you have lost, aside from the wallet and cash.