Archives for December 2009

My Wife Quit Her Job: End of Year Update

December 30, 2009 By Shane Leave a Comment

Last update, I told you that the COBRA health insurance plan premium went through the roof and we were deciding whether to continue paying for it, or to switch over to the plan that I get at work. In the end, we decided to remain on the COBRA plan. The difference was about $350 a month, but we figured that if we had only one or two medical mishaps, it would easily pay for itself with the 100% coverage. And, as luck would have it, it turned out to be a good idea. Both my wife and I ended up having issues that required several weeks of physical therapy. Hers stems from an accident she had a few years back that seems to have thrown a few things off. Nothing some pt and a pair of orthotics won’t fix. Mine is from my football days. Arguably, not completely necessary, but was something that would need to be fixed one way or the other, so decided to get it taken care of. Then, to make our decision look even smarter, my wife fell in the ice and snow yesterday and severely sprained her ankle and knee and prompted a visit to the ER. We got a nice new pair of crutches and what will likely be a very expensive pair of athletic wraps. Of course, all paid for by our insurance. The extra money has easily paid for itself. But, that all ends on the 1st, so we’re switching back to the coverage that I get at work.

The business that my wife and her friends started continues to do well. They received a very important certification from the state that will allow them to pick up another line of business and expand even further. My wife continues to be the only one getting a regular paycheck from the company, but with this new certification, that will likely change very soon. Luckily, the people that she’s working with are both very qualified for the business that they are in and have plenty of experience (my wife does to) so they don’t have much in the way of learning curves for the actual service that they provide. Their biggest learning curve has been the actual running of the business. They were smart and got a lawyer and an accountant right away though, so they’ve had excellent guidance along the way.

Also, I did receive a small raise this year which should help. However, between the insurance and some increases in medical flex and childcare flex, my checks will likely be smaller than they were in 2009. Most of that should come back through the flex accounts. Tax free money for the win. Especially on things like childcare that you’re going to spend money on anyways!

What If Time Wasn’t An Issue?

December 18, 2009 By Shane Leave a Comment

You likely remember questions like this one from your high school classes. Or your college philosophy classes. Well, here’s another one.

What if time wasn’t an issue. What if we knew that we would live to be 200 years old? Would we still act the way that we do? Would we still work the same way at the same company doing the same job? Would we run, run, run until we couldn’t anymore?

Or would we, instead, realize that we had that much longer to achieve our goals and slow down a bit. Would we pursue more of our passions and less of our profits?

I’m not so sure that anything would change. I think there would still be people who work 80 hour weeks trying to make as much money as they possibly can so they can have that big McMansion and the Lexus. And there would still be people who embrace their passions and don’t worry about where the next buck is coming from, only that they are doing the things that they love.

What do you think would change? How would you handle it differently?

I’ll refrain from assigning an 2000 word essay, but I would like to know what you think. Leave your thoughts in the comments or write an article of your own in response.

Financial Gluttony

December 16, 2009 By Shane 2 Comments

Gluttony is all around us. I’m as guilty of it as you likely are. The most classical example of gluttony is the act of eating much more than you need. It leads to obesity, which is a rampant problem in this country. Gluttony is described as the excessive indulgence in food and drink.

But, since this is a personal finance blog, let’s expand that description a bit and talk about financial gluttony. In fact, lets get down right philosophical about it.

The excessive indulgence of money. It may not be an official one of the 7 deadly sins, but it certainly is one of the deadly sins of personal finance. It’s the rampant consumerism that often runs wild in our society. Especially around this time of year. We spend and spend and only stop when our credit runs out. We give little thought to what the resulting consequences will be of our spending. Over spending, over extending, gluttonous use of money.

The excessive indulgences of finance. I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess that many of you have probably not thought of this side of the argument. What I’m talking about is the gluttonous use of financial maxims to save and perform frugal acts. Moderation is good for all things, even the stuff that is good for us. You’ll garner no argument from me that saving money and being frugal are good things. But, it is possible to take it too far. Making soup by boiling your old belts, not because you can’t afford food, but because it’ll save a buck or two is finance gluttony. Ok, that’s a pretty extreme example, but you get the point.

What I really want to get at here is that there are extremes for everything. If we eat too much we get fat. If we spend too much we get broke. If we save too much, we fail to appreciate what our money can do for us. So, the next time you’re doing your budget or even just balancing your checkbook, take the time to think about that. Are you being financially gluttonous?