Personal finance gurus on my mind
Posted on October 28, 2008 14 Comments
Does it seem as if the entire world has gone budgeting crazy? Everywhere I turn, every personal finance guru is urging caution: follow a budget, increase your savings, live within your means, pay off your debts, eat out less.
I have a few thoughts on this:
1) The message is getting across…with mixed results. I read retail is tanking right now, and household savings are up. Smart for the millions worried about loosing their jobs or struggling to make mortgage payments, but not good for those who work in retail. It’s crazy how unintended effects can happen even when people have the best of intentions.
2) With so many experts talking budgeting, it’s hard for me personally to feel inspired to write about budgeting. I actually feel budget-fatigued. Not in the sense that I don’t want to follow a budget, but more that I am tired of reading about the same theme: Entertain on a Dime! Dressin’ for Recession! Smart Shopping Strategies! Ugh. Familiar territory, right?
So what’s a budgeting babe to do when feeling frustrated and uninspired about personal finance? I’ve gone back to basics to try and learn a little more about some new topics, I’ve started thinking about the cause of my frustration and I’ve started to spend time on some new creative outlets. After all, the point of having a budget isn’t to stress more about how you’re spending and saving money; it’s to free up your anxiety about being broke so you can live a more fulfilling and enjoyable life.
++++ Back to basics. I’m reading two books about personal finance, but not about the usual stuff. It’s slow-going, but I’m reading a book about the economy called “Common Cents,” which is more of an Econ 101 book, and I’m actually getting past the first few chapters of “Home Buying for Dummies,” because hey, eventually my downpayment fund is going to be spent.
++++ Thinking about causes. You know, I honestly thought I would be further ahead by now. I wanted to buy a place in July 08, but I didn’t. I wanted to buy a place in April 09, but now it’s looking like that’s not smart idea either. I continue to save, but not to see the results. While my accounts are looking good, it’s not reflected in my daily life. I’m still living like an entry level employee, and socking away money every month. Only it’s not enough. After 4 years of savings, the financial crisis has put the breaks on my spending plans.
I’m not going to go out and spend my downpayment or anything drastic like that. But I’ve got to come up with a way to feel like I’m growing in my life without moving to the next step I’ve been working towards just yet.
++++ Creative development. This weekend, I ran the wardrobe and make-up on my brother’s movie set for his art school project, and coordinated a dance scene under his direction. Working on the set, seeing his creative vision come to life and being a part of it, was totally fun and tapped into an area of interest I had forgotten. I was tired when it was done, but I felt creatively refreshed. I realized that life can’t be all seriousness, cubicles, numbers, fluorescent lighting and finances. I personally need to live in color and explore interests outside of the daily grid in order to have a distraction every now and again. And it doesn’t have to be expensive.
Speaking of creative pursuits, I’m off to go work on my weekend wardrobe and bedazzle my Halloween costume; I’ll be sporting a sequined rhythmic gymnast outfit at Friday’s Yelp Party and can’t wait to see how it turns out.
Category: Life
Tags: Priorities
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14 Responses to “Personal finance gurus on my mind”
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October 28th, 2008 @ 4:13 am
I got Home Buying for Dummies for my boyfriend when he was buying his condo and it proved very useful to us even though we thought we knew a lot about the process already.
October 28th, 2008 @ 8:06 am
Ugh, I feel you, Budgeting Babe!
I feel like I’m being redundant any time I talk about frugality, because the entire nation is overflowing with talk of pinching pennies. And it seems like the same lists over and over.
How do you try and create new suggestions, knowing most of the good stuff is being hashed and rehashed?
(My own solution was to do a post about “frugal hacks so obvious, you’re probably not doing them.”)
And mostly it just makes it hard to feel inspired to write about budgeting. It just feels done to death.
Still, from what I’ve read of your posts, you’re getting along pretty well, so I guess we bloggers just all have to keep going and blogging away, hoping that some of what we talk about will help some people.
October 28th, 2008 @ 9:51 am
Please correct me if I am wrong. Isn’t now not the best for buying houses in the US. There are more people selling than buying, so prices are down. Eventually the crisis will go away so people will buy more and your property will go up in price, not bubbling up, but normalize in value. Now the problem may be getting credit, but I am sure the government, which seemingly now owns a lot of the assets, will only be to willing to help you, who doesn’t need the full credit, to get a house. One house and one person less to worry about. Just don’t go over your head, use common sense and don’t paint value pink and you could get what you want. Now is the time to spend, if you can do it, without getting into debt. Jobs can only be kept, if profit is made. So maybe you can focus on how to best spend money to help the economy without getting yourself into trouble. Would be an interesting counterpoint.
October 28th, 2008 @ 1:43 pm
Nicole!! I’ll be at the Friday Yelp party too!!!! How exciting!
October 28th, 2008 @ 2:18 pm
Actually Anon, the problem is the job market. My job isn’t totally stable right now and my industry isn’t terribly strong at the moment, and neither is B’s. So while interest rates and home prices are right, it would not be smart to take on a mortgage right now since it’s about 50-50 that we’ll both make it through the next 12 mos. with jobs intact.
October 28th, 2008 @ 5:13 pm
Since it seems like, like you said, that everyone is talking about budgeting tips and rehashing the same stuff nowadays (and I do agree), maybe doing some inspirational stuff about how budgeting is good spiritual practice? Sometimes it is good to have to slow down, take stock of where we are, wean out the unnecessary, and take a second look at some priorities. I don’t see a lot of that type of thing being written among all the budgeting tips out there. It’s sort of a big picture thing. I love your blog and it’s probably the only constant one I read. Thanks for all the work you do!
October 28th, 2008 @ 9:28 pm
Just keep up with the frugality. Do as much as you can with that, save as much as you can, while continuing with a healthy (not extravagant), enjoyable life. What’s life without any fun?
October 29th, 2008 @ 1:14 am
Hehehe..
Dressin’ for Recession! I haven’t read that one before, now that’s funny.
October 29th, 2008 @ 9:08 pm
Yep, everyone is on the frugal bandwagon but we’ve become a nation so addicted to consumption that maybe a bit of backlash isn’t so bad. As far as the home buying, yes it’s a great time to buy but it’s beyond tough to get a mortgage. Any gov’t intervention isn’t going to have real impact for a while but if you keep growing your donwpayment when credit starts to loosen (maybe april 09) you’l be in a good position. Good luck, Im trying to buy too.
October 31st, 2008 @ 8:57 am
This economic climate has everyone in the doldrums. It’s a tough time all around. It’s good that you are continuing to save as usual. That’s your insurance and safety net should the economy take a turn for the worse. Who knows where things will lead. I hope this new administration will fix things.
Jerry
http://www.leads4insurance.com
November 10th, 2008 @ 2:20 pm
Budgeting is important but I think we should focus on saving some amount of money for regular spending.
November 20th, 2008 @ 7:53 am
This is not to say that a budget in the traditional sense doesn’t work,it can and does work for some people, just not everyone.
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March 3rd, 2010 @ 11:13 am
It’s great to see good information being shared and also to see fresh, creative ideas that have never been done before.
March 8th, 2010 @ 12:15 pm
I think that budget is very important in the personal finance! We should try to make a proper budget in life! This article is very good and I have gained so many things from it!
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