Remember Christmas Clubs - Old School Savings

For an unemployed person, I am the worst at keeping my spending down but I am continually working on it. With Christmas coming up, I am sure I will do what millions of other Americans will do, use plastic. Keep your judgements and comments to yourself (because I know you are right.)

That said, while I was at the bank today, depositing my change. Yes, that's how I save money now. Saving my change by putting into a little coffee can, waiting until it's full and then putting it into a savings account. Ridicoulous, I know. But today, I put in close to $200 dollars in my savings account.

Trust me there is absolutely no logic to my madness. Shouldn't I be paying off debt rather than saving.

So as I was standing there, I saw the sign for 2010 Holiday Club. Holiday Clubs seems like such an outdated notion. But it reminded me of my Nana.

When I think about my Nana, I am confounded. Yes, she grew up in the depression, but she made every dollar count on a salary what would now be considered today below below poverty level.

But somehow, she, a domestic (a nice way of saying maid) and my grandfather (a rubber factory worker) owned their own house (in what was then a nice neighborhood when Akron, Ohio was a bustling city and now is pretty much a ghetto), never had a credit card and raised 4 kids, of which 3 out of 4 went to college and 2 out 3 went to grad school and law school (my dad).

And she had Christmas account. She deposited money into that account every payday so she could afford toys for her grandchildren, all seven of them. Can you imagine?

As the bank teller explained to me how it worked, I thought this notion is nuts. Who would open up a Christmas Club account rather than just use money out of your savings/checking account? It made no sense but as I was walking home I realized, that money is somehow a very compartmentalized way of thinking, right? We have a 401k for our retirement and a 529 account for college funds, money that you can't use except for one purpose and a specific time.

So tomorrow, I am going to open up an old-fashioned Christmas account and next year, the bank will cut me a check in November so I can use for Christmas gifts. It may be nuts, but every year I say I am not going to use plastic and every year I do.

Bringing Up Baby will cost you $221,000

I always knew it was expensive to raise a child but according to the USDA's Center for Nutrition Policy, it will cost you $221,000 for a child born in 2008 until age 17.

From a personal perspective, I actually think this number is low. First, it only calculates the expenses until age 17. What about college? What about extracurricular activities?

The flip side to this story is the benefits to having children and what they bring to your life. I love my daughter and when she tells me she loves me, who cares about the expensive.

Click here read the entire story.

Cool New iPhone App - Where to stand on the subway platform

New Yorkers are famously in a hurry. We are sooo important, center of the world, blah, blah, blah. Two cool people, Jonathan Wegener, 24 (does anyone over 30 create new apps???) and his sister Ashley spent 75 days mapping where you should stand on the platform in order to get to the exits, tranfer points and stairways the fastest. Nifty.

I lived her since 1996, and for the life of me, I am always standing on the wrong end of the platform.

The app is called Exit Strategy NYC and I will be purchasing this next week when I get my iPhone. Less than one week to go.

Single Mom Recessionary Cost Saving Tips

Since I was laid off, I have had to pare down my expenses. Here is my list of achievements so far and yes, I have more to do.

Any cost saving tips are most welcome. 

1. Created a budget and signed onto Mint.com- Mint.com is a site that you enter in all your banking/credit cards/assets/create a budget. It tracks all of it so at the minimum you can see how your doing versus your budget. Do I stick to the budget? No,  but hey it's a start, right. Work with me, people. 

2. Got rid of my storage facility - savings $900/ year. I wish I had done this sooner. Just think if I had done this 3 years ago,  I would have saved $2,700. Of course, I would have invested in the stock market and still lost money. 

3. Reduced credit card debt (but still leave a balance) - In recent months, credit card companies are cutting customers credit lines regardless if you are a good customer or not. So instead of paying off my debt, I am pretty much pay more than the minimum payments  so I don't lose the credit line as I might need to really use it. Let's face it, my priority is paying my mortgage and keeping a roof over my head.

4. Shopping at Trader Joe's - There is some debate here with friends who shop at Whole Foods but I still think Trader Joe's has the best prices especially for staples like milk, cereal, produce, snack foods and my fave, appetizers. 

5. Coupons - I do use them but unlike supermarket in the suburbs, I am pretty sure you can't save a ton of money the way suburbanites do. In New York City, I have yet to see double coupons.  

6. Collect loose change - I heard this idea a few  months ago and thought what a ridiculous idea but it works. Sure I may be unemployed  but it doesn't hurt to save up all that change. On average, I save about $30 a month. I pretty much bank it in an account for my daughter. It may not be much but it's something. I need to feel as though I am saving for the future. 

7. Cut back on magazines subscriptions - My friends know this about me, I am just a constant reader of magazines. This is a holdover from when I worked in advertising and I was comped on a gazillion magazines. I am pretty sure I was the only planner who read every magazine every month. Not renewing People magazine was a huge savings of $100/year. That was tough habit to break. Now if I just go to Barnes and Noble and read magazines for free. Full disclosure here, I still subscribe to Vanity Fair (why, that magazine has really gone down hill and my all time favorite and never giving up Entertainment Weekly.)

8. Combined Phone/Cable/Internet - I saved about $100 a month by combining everything. Lots of financial advisors will tell you to get rid of your land line and go with just a cell phone. I just refuse to go down that path and why you ask?  For the most important reason, I have lived through 9/11 and a blackout both of which the landlines were up and running first and cell phones were blocked. 

9.  Canceled Wall Street Journal - Saved $120/year.  

10. Cut back on take out and eating out - Big savings here. I went from take out 2-3 week to maybe 1-2x month which is for me pretty good. 

Reminder: Regal Cinemas Free Family Festival

Just a reminder that Regal has Free Family Festival starting this week. 

Click here for details in an earlier post. 

Tweet Up with Suze Orman and Avon

Last Friday, I was invited to the first ever

Tweet Up with Suze Orman, hosted by Avon.

Before providing details about the event, it has to be said that I felt like a Luddite or one of those grandparents who still doesn't have email. This was a tweet up event, right? So there I was, the only one without a computer or blackberry/IPhone to send in our twitter posts. All I had was a pad and pencil and my Motorola RAZR (remember when the RAZR was the coolest phone on the earth and cost $1,200.) Happily, this situation will be alleviated when my phone contract runs out and I can get my IPhone - hallelujah. (Suze would be proud that I did not pay extra just to go with the trendiest new toy.)

Onto to the event. The Tweet Up was held at Avon headquarters in one of their conference rooms. I was surprised as I thought it would be some big media event with hundreds of people but it was only about 10 female bloggers. Most of them knew each other from other events. No matter how you old are, there is always that moment where you still feel like the new kid in the lunch room and all the cool kids are hanging out together.

But before I provide the wrong impression, everyone there was super nice, helpful and so happy to network.

Ms. Orman arrived around 9:20. Let's get to the superficial part, shall we? She looks so incredible and very pretty in person. I don't know who does her makeup but it was flawless and natural. Remember this meeting was held in a conference room which are not exactly known for their lighting. You would also expect that she arrive with an entourage, so not true. She was just there with her manager, KT.

Ms. Orman came in and just filled the room with her presence. As she mentioned, the television does not "contain" her energy and she is right. I found her to be engaging, interactive, empowering (such an overused word but in this case, an apt description), motivating, honest, and best of all had great sense of humor. When I say honest, she makes no apologies for her success nor should she. (PSA - Suze, continue to please spend your money, we need it to help the economy.)

Can you tell that I was impressed? It is very rare that I am impressed. As someone who has seen plenty of CEO's give speeches, she was so incredibly self assured, dynamic and really knows how to command a room, not afraid to give her opinion (not a surprise) and a true leader.

The topic of the "tweet up" was all about empowerment of women and being as successful as you want to be. Suze said at the outset "hope you are here for yourself and to make money."

In my opinion, the fit between Suze and Avon is such natural partnership. It's two powerful brands, both with the mission to empower women (and men) to be the best and succeed in life, both financially and personally.

Certainly, Avon has been at the forefront in helping women support themselves and their families since 1886.

Suze answered a wide range of questions during our session. She was extremely supportive, gave great advice and even congratulated women who had recently been laid off (myself included). Wow, this surprised me but also empowered me, that yes, I needed to change my life and validated what I am doing now.

Just wanted to give you a few great quotes from the event (luckily, I had pencil/paper because, I can't type that fast) and I am pretty sure the tech, saavy women were tweeting them as well.

" Changing Lives One Tweet at a time" (the situation in Iran is proof of that)

"Build your brand with honesty, integrity and truth" (take note Wall Street)

"All people need to be validated in their life"

" I don't like leverage" - this was a response to a question about leveraging assets to invest in the market.

Fun facts, I bet you did not know about Suze mentioned at the meeting:

• She was waitressing at 30, when her loyal customers lent her $50,000 to open a restaurant and then her broker lost it all.
  
• She went to Merrill Lynch, thinking she couldn't do any worse than her broker and went on to be one of their top earners.
  
• She survived on Taco Bell during the lean years because it was cheap and good AND still eats it today. As a result of telling her Taco Bell dining story for all these years, she just signed a deal with Yum Yum brands, the parent company of Taco Bell and Pizza Hut.
• Suze's mom sold Avon back in the day to help the family out. Suze only recently found out after she told her mom about the Avon partnership.
• She didn't publish her first book until she was 45 - this gives me hope that it's not too late.
• She answers her own tweets. @suzeormanshow. Yes, she does. Sometimes she has to send 10 tweets to answer a financial question but she will definitely answer your tweets.
• She does not prep before her shows and is hearing the viewer's questions for the first time when you the audience, hears the question. Her comment was that "you need to master and own the information/advice you are giving to others."
• She only pays for big items (e.g an apartment in the Plaza, yes, that Plaza) with new money only, meaning, she does not touch the money she has set aside for her retirement, a retirement that keeps in her current lifestyle. She said it took her over a year to save up for the apartment.
• She owns 8 apartments and she paid for them in cash. True to her word, she does leverage current assets to buy new assets.

Overall, this has to be one of the most enriching, transformative and motivational moments in my life. I want to thank Avon and Suze Orman for taking the time to set this up. To Suze, thanks for the inspirational words and support and most all of your candor.

Finally, to Suze's point, if I had not lost my job and started this site, I would never have had the opportunity to meet her and the other dynamic and supportive women in the room.

Go me!!!

-

Kohls vs Topshop

This is a completely ridiculous comparison of two stores with completely different demographics but I had the chance to hit Topshop and Kohls this week and thought I would give you my impressions.

Topshop opened it's US flagship store in New York City, April 3, 2009 to great fanfare with it's own star studded premiere. I chose not to endure that mass hysteria that involved 3 hour long lines. I was in the neighborhood on Wednesday and stopped into to see what the fuss was all about.

Yes, I know I am not the demographic but I was just not that impressed by the clothes. I was expecting so much more interesting clothing but it all seemed so derivative and not very creative or original. Of course if you under 25, you don't remember that spandex and dayglo was in 20 years ago.

I was truly surprised at the cost, it is definitely higher than H&M which maybe I am wrong to compare but seem the closest. I am sure Europeans and the Brits would dispute my comparison.

I did find some tops that I liked but seriously the $50-$60 pricepoint was too much for what it was, a simple shirt. So not worth it, even if I had a job.

The Kate Moss collection was cute but derivative of so many other collections.

Alas, like H&M was when it entered New York City, it's a shiny new toy and will soon lose it's newness. Let's face, the store is in the heart of what has become a mall shopping zoo, formerly known as Soho. After awhile, I don't see that one will want to trek down their and deal with the tourists just to get a new outfit.

On to the other side of life Kohls. I made my yearly trek to Jersey City to head out to Target and the Newport Square Mall to get some new sheets and see what clothes were in the stores.

Don't get me wrong, I like Kohls. The layout of the store is clean and bright. Each category of merchandise is thoughfully (i.e. focused group to death) laid out so you can find items easily.

Now the bad part, the women's clothes are dreadful. I was so disappointed that I could not find one thing to buy or even try on. All their designer lines were just ugly. Vera Wang (did she really design this collection?), Daisy Fuentes (eh), Dana Buchman (who knew?), Elle (truly dreadful) and a few others..

Fashion is suppose to make you feel good and full of hope even if know you can't fit into it.

I walked around feeling like I was in some fashion hinterland. The colors, the fabrics, the way the clothes draped off the hangers. Just awful. I just felt sad.

And as I was walking around Kohls, the oddest notion popped into my head. If I had a choice between Kohls and Topshop, I would rather wear Topshop.

Even if I am not Topshop's demographic, at least I felt alive in the store and if push come to shove, I could have found something to buy. I felt dead in Kohls without a hope of finding even a shirt to buy.

I am not sure if this article makes me feel better or worse

In yesterday's New York Times magazine, Edmund L. Andrews, the paper's economics reporter chronicles his own economic crisis.

In a nutshell, he took a mortgage way beyond his means. Before you assume anything, most of his income go towards alimony/child support leaving little for rent and his new wife makes very little income to have warranted the mortgage he was given.

It goes to show you that no matter your income or social status, no one is immune to the go go mortgage era.

Annual Credit Report

This is actually a good use of taxpayers dollars. The FTC is now running ads touting the truly free site that gives provides an annual credit report for free. 

For the record, the URL is http:www.annualcreditreport.com

Note that is only gives you your report not your FICO score. It is definitely worth looking at your credit report every year to ensure there is nothing weird on it and you are entitled to it every year. 

Yes, managing your credit report is important and drives your FICO score but shouldn't that be free as well. Why should we have to pay for this information?

Ah to be a billionaire

I have no idea why but I love this photo. If I were a billionaire and a photographer asked if his naked girlfriend could get in the shot, wouldn't you say yes. 

This photo is from a shoot that took place on Necker Island,  Sir Richard Branson's, the founder of Virgin,  own private abode. 

In the event you are so inclined, you can rent out the island for a mere $250,000 week. 

Both Google founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin were married on the island. 

Go Richard Branson. 

Creditmattersblog.com - A great financial website worth your time to check

There are a few websites I check everyday. Creditmattersblog.com is one of them. As you can imagine during these wacky economic environment, we all need to understand how the financial industry works. 

What I appreciate about this blog is that it's well written and researched by someone who understands the industry. The author of the blog is  a former  Wall Street Journal reporter who is now attending law school. 

 I just happened to stumble upon a post from November 2008 but is relevant today as it was last year.  It  provides details on having a credit plan (and if you don't there is something wrong).  He basically details how he decided on the credit cards in his wallet and why. 

This is information everyone should understand especially since the cards you have in your wallet impacts your FICO Score.  

Check it out and you will be glad. If you have great credit, check out the site anyway. 

How exactly is the stimulus package going to help homeowners who have lost their jobs

I bring up this topic because I am unemployed and I have a mortgage. I recently tried to refinance my apartment and it's not going to happen.  Why I don't have a job. 

This logic makes no sense to me why, I am not trying buy a home with no job so exactly how is the stimulus money going to help homeowners who have lost their job refinance. 

I am truly irritated and angry about this. I have great credit and money in the back, there should be absolutely no risk to the bank to lower my mortgage especially since my apartment is worth more than I paid for it. 

For once, I am going with the populist sentiment and wonder what the hell is the bank doing the stimulus money. 

I love Ikea

Nine months after it's June 2008 grand opening, I finally made the trek out to the Ikea store in  Red Hook Brooklyn. And I  mean it was a trek. Unless you have a car, you have to take at the minimum of 2 modes of transportation. 

I took the train to the 9th Street/4th Avenue stop and then transferred to the B77 bus. The free water taxi and shuttle bus only runs in the afternoon. 

The bus took another 20 minutes to get to the store and meandered throughout the Red Hook section of Brooklyn which is near the waterfront. The route includes a Lowe's, various factories and Red Hook projects. 

Let's give Ikea credit, they did a phenomenal job of not only putting up the store in a desolate area but the surrounding park is beautiful. I can only say that I hope that the area gets some much needed accessories(big box store) to go with that park and store. 

I arrived before the store opened and had a free cup of coffee. I had already eaten breakfast so I could not partake in the 99cent breakfast.  

I proceeded to spend the next 2 hours wandering the store, looking at various pieces that might fit into the apartment. I am not sure if am going end up buying furniture there. In my opinion, I don't think the furniture is well made even for the low price. And frankly if you add on delivery and furniture assembly (and yes, I would have to have some one put it together) charges, I would rather upgrade to another store. 

Excluding the furniture, there is plenty of other stuff to look at and buy. 

I did actually have a goal in mind. I really want to redecorate with bright colors and florals,  I am all about color this year. It's a new year and I  want to be more bold in choosing colors for my apartment instead of muted peach/pinks. Why not?

Also,  because my sofa is dark burgundy and the rug is brown/peach color, so it needs to be brightened up. I love Ikea because they sell Marimekko fabrics. Try as I may none of the fabric worked with my sofa color. So I ended up with 2 light green/light rust floral sofa pillows and replacement cushions for my dining table chairs.  

The downside of not having a car is that it limits your purchases. This means that I have to make a trip out to buy some picture frames. 

Union Square Partnership Networking Breakfast

 It was pretty productive morning. I attended a Small Business Assistance event sponsored by the Union Square partnership. Funny since I don't have small business. YET!

There were three presentations, all helpful and informative. 2 out of 3 I will be leveraging as I move forward. 

7Mainstreet.com which is an online community with 16 million listings that allows to buinesses to connect to current and future customers. All for Free. As part of the service, they will create a customized website. 

• During the presentation, they actually showcased  a couple of area businesses. I was definitely impressed by the look and feel of the website. 
  
• The company also claimed to help get your website higher on the google index chain.         Not sure about that one but it can't hurt to be listed, right. 
  

NYC Business Solutions - The New York City Department of Small Business Services offers services that are customized and most importantly, free. Whether you are starting out or and existing business, they can help with training, writing a business plan, read/help with lease agreements, helping with pulling together financial documents to try to get a loan. 

Amalgamated Bank spoke about their small business loan program. For me this wasn't relevant but was informative in that they pitch was yes they are still lending but the world has changed and the required  financial documentation is more stringent. Surprise.

I did meet one small business owner who sold educational toys which I did find interesting. 

Should not be so happy to be unemployed but I am

I know this is the completely worst time to be out of job BUT

I am so happpy I don't work there any more. 

 It is so demoralizing and paralyzing to work for a company that gets so much bad press all the time, everyday for months on end. 

This is how one ends up in bankruptcy, I spent $40,000 on just 2 American Express credit cards last year

I have spent that last couple of days pulling all my receipts so I can get my taxes done and in the process, saw my 2 Amex card year end summary reports.  I spent close to $40,000 on those 2 cards alone.

Here's the breakdown

$11,000 was for child care 

$ 2100 dinner/take out/entertainment 

$ 600 drugstore stuff

$10,000 retail/mail order (this is a mish mash of clothes, birthday/xmas gifts, Jenny Craig (no more) - what the heck was I buying at the container store??? 

$3800 - supermarket 

$670 - Entertainment (includes Mary Poppins tickets)

$2300 - my face (I am going to have to wait awhile for restalyne) 

$2000 - cable/phone

$900 - NY sports club 

Before anyone starts to hyperventilate, I don't owe $40,000 since $30, 000 was on my platinum card and is paid off every month. My other card only has $400 on it. 

Needless to say my priority next week is pull together a budget (wasn't that one of my new year's resolution) as some of you probably  caught that I only detailed 2 of my cards. 

Progress on my Suze Orman pledge

Just a quick update on trying to follow the Suze Orman pledge. It's been one week. 

So far, I have not used my credit card all week.

Unfortunately, I went out to dinner 1x week this week and there was not one day this week that I did not spend any money. 

I will keep at it. 

 

My attempts to be frugal were twarted today

Instead of buying store bought valentine's day cards so Alex could give them to her kindergarten class, I would download them for free. It seemed like a good idea right. 

Wrong, I realized that ink used for color copies cost way more than spending a few dollars on cards.

Next year, we will be buying store bought cards. 

 

February Budgeting Pledge

In an earlier post, I mentioned an action item from Suze Orman's 2009 Action Plan. 

Since this is a new month, I am going to try to adhere the following action plan:

- Don't use your credit card for one week

- Don't spend money for one day

- Don't eat out at a restaurant for one month (note I am going to exclude pizza from this one)

I let you know how it goes 

Saved $75 Today

Space in New York City is has/will always be at premium.  So like many New Yorkers I have a storage facility to keep all the extra stuff. 

Now that I am unemployed, I need to really dig deep and eliminate all uncessary expences. This made my storage space a "want" but certainly not a "need". 

Not having a car has made moving the stuff out a big pain. I have made 3 previous trips. As I was having lunch with my friend Sandra to discuss business related stuff, I asked her if she did not mind coming in from Connecticut earlier and helping me bring some stuff back to my apartment. She informed that she now was driving an Audi TT. You can see from the pic, it does not have a lot of trunk space. 

When she showed I was ready to go with a couple of bags but she thought we could get all of the stuff into her back seat AND WE DID!!!

No more trips back to the storage facility.  I can not tell you how happy I am. It has been such a pain and just never ending.  

That's $75, I don't have to shell out every month. Now I have to figure out where all that stuff is going to go since now its all sitting my 1 bedroom apartment.