PocketCoinage

As I type this up, I’m looking at my messy desk and wondering when I will straighten things up.  Even thought I have been off for over a week now, I couldn’t stand to be sitting up in the office going through papers.  We had some wonderful weather the past couple of days and I wanted to take advantage of it.  I even had the opportunity to do something new: horseback riding!  This was something that I have never done before.  After this wonderful experience, I will be doing more of it.  I guess I will need to allocate more money towards experiences!

Getting back to my desk, just because it’s messy doesn’t mean that I am not organized.  I like to look at it as an “organized mess”.  I have my upcoming payment pile and my paid bills filed.  The rest of the mess is junk mail to be shredded, receipts, notes, and the box to my new cell phone.  One of the hardest things about personal finance is staying organized and keeping up with it.  There are many ways to get organized, stay organized, and even become proactive.

Making Time
I feel one of the biggest obstacles to getting organized is not making time to get organized.  We come home from work, very tired, and just start making little piles of junk that we plan on looking at a later date.  Well, we do, but then it feels like it takes hours to go through it all!  Well, that’s because it does.  I have months of buildup and it can take me quite a few hours to get through the mess.  I keep making excuses to not do things, “Well, the shredder will make too much noise and wake someone up.”

Try to take 10 – 15 minutes a day to tend your personal finance life.  Remember the old saying, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  It takes many, many, small steps to reach a goal.  Staring with the end in mind can help you build that solid foundation to take you where you want to go.

Organizing Yourself
After working some time in your schedule, decide how you’d like to organize yourself.  This will probably be the most difficult part.  Here are a few that I have tried:

• Stackable Paper Bins
• Three-Ring Binders
• Digitizing Paperwork
• Electronic Billing
• Electronic Payment
• Electronic Debit
• Filing Cabinets/Bins
• Google Calendar with Reminders

The single most useful tool that keeps me on my toes is Google Calendar.  I have it configured to alert me 10 days before a payment is due plus it syncs with my Android phone automatically!  This has been a lifesaver on many occasions, especially when the work days seem to blur together.

When bills come in, they get filed in the unpaid pile.  Once I pay them, they then get transferred to a three-ring binder.  This binder takes up little space on my bookshelf and works better than filing it in a cabinet.  I have about 2-3 years worth of statements stored here.  I phase out older statements by scanning them to my computer and saving them as PDF files.  This allows me to search the document for certain keywords in the event that I need to refer back to it.  This allowed me to move from three file bins to just one.  Just make sure you store backups of your paperwork in a save place.

Going Electronic
I’ve been paying my bills online.  From the mortgage to my local alarm company, ING Direct allows you to pay others from their website; even if the company doesn’t accept an electronic payment.  ING Direct will send out a real check to the company on your behalf and they do not charge you for postage (except if it’s mailed overnight).  You can even send your friends money directly to their bank account using the Person-2-Person payment feature.

Let’s not forget e-statements!  They are usually in PDF files that you can save to your computer.  This can save you time and energy by not having to scan in statements or file them away.

How do you stay organized with your busy lifestyle?

This is the second in a series of weekly posts titled “How I Did It”.  Throughout this series I will be describing my methods of personal finance, frugality, and what it took to get where I am today.

Education can and will open up new doors in this adventure of life.  I found it helped me grow to where I am today.

While in high school (vocational school), I specialized in Commercial Art – Advertising and Design.  I really enjoyed photography, product and web design.  However, I also found another passion while there: technology.  This came almost as naturally as graphic design, but was less competitive.

Because of my high grade point average (GPA) during high school, I could have gone to a two year community college followed by a four year state college at no cost.  However, I opted to attend a one year technical school instead.  This was not the most frugal choice, however, there were many reasons for it:

• It was the most direct route to a career in technology.
• To enjoy learning what I wanted to learn.
• To meet others with similar passions.
• The ability to hold job(s) while attending class full-time

Education Tip: Technical schools usually get right to the meat allowing you to learn and experience the career head-on and reap rewards sooner.  You can always pursue your degree afterward.

Attending a technical school to specialize was, in my opinion, the quickest way to kick start a high-paying career (and it showed).  Even though class was full time, I was still able to work a part-time job at a local electronics store while being a technology consultant.  During slow periods at work, I would bring a book to study and create flashcards.

Even though I was in a technical school, college credits still accumulated for me.  At the time, they offered 6 months of online (core) classes after graduating to complete my Associates Degree.  The technical school approach allowed me to obtain a full-time career in technology while working towards my degree.

Job Tip: While in school full-time, see if you can find a job that’s flexible to accommodate school and studying.  If you ask your current employer to adjust your schedule, they may work with you.

I obtained my first full-time technology job at a VoIP start-up after technical school.  The best part about this job was that they had me on 2nd shift.  This allowed me to focus on my school before going to work.  However, a few months later, I obtained a technology job at a local hospital working four, 10 hour shifts over the weekend.  This allowed me to have three days off during the week to focus on my studies.  The job could be slow at times, so I was able to squeeze in some extra studying.  While I was there, I obtained various technology certifications and continued my education online for a Bachelor’s Degree in Technology Management.

While working full-time in my career, I was able to pay for most of my schooling without the burden of high-interest private student loans.  Why pay money in interest unless you have to?  Sure, I still took out the government loans at $5,500 per year as these low-interest loans helped ease the large monthly payments.  At one point in time I was making payments of $1,000 per month to the school.  I’m not going to lie, it was a lot of money!  It bummed me out to see more than 60% of my check go over to school.  However, it was for the better as it helped me focus on things that were important to me.  I paid pure principle and accrued no interest.  For me, this was the beginning of budgeting.

All-in-all, I walked away with numerous technical certifications, two degrees, and roughly $18,000 in student loan debt — not too bad!  As of today, that debt is down to $16,400 and accrued roughly $1,900 in interest this year alone.  This debt needs to go; That could have been $1,900 more in my pocket!  The worst part is, I am unable to claim this interest on my taxes.  Since my auto is paid off, I’m looking to redirect some of the funds to go towards paying down school.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change much.  The only thing I would have done is increase the amount I was paying on my student loans.

Job Tip: See if your current job pays for education.  My current employer pays $4,000 a year to further educate myself.

Tax Tip: Consult your tax advisor to see if you are eligible for education credits.

Because I was humble, hungry, and had the drive to go forward with my education, I applied for a position within the hospital and moved up!  If it was not for my education and drive, I truly believe I would not be where I am today.

How did you obtain your education?  Have any tips?

I’m not sure why a lot of people cringe at the thought of budgeting.  It is a good way to get your finances under control.  In order to budget properly, you should have an understanding where your money is going.  An hour or two of your time can change the way you look at your finances.

I budget based on my bi-weekly paycheck.  I take my monthly expenses, divide them into two, and put them into appropriate savings accounts.  The advantage of this is I am not tempted to spend the money.  I find that if it’s in my checking account, I am more likely to spend it.  The other advantage of my bi-weekly savings is that I will build another monthly payment over the course of a year. This is particularly useful for building that extra mortgage payment every year.  Some mortgage companies charge you to change your payments from monthly to bi-weekly.

Budgeting for Variable Bills
I’m still working on this area in my personal finance.  One example of a variable bill that I have is the gas and electric.  I’m thinking about taking the average price of the bill over the past year and putting that amount away into another savings account. So when my bill is $50 in the spring or $250 in the winter, I will have enough money to cover it all. Sure, I can assume the worst case and always put away $250, but that will limit my cash flow.  Have any suggestions?

How do you budget?