The Amateur Financier

Well, it’s here again.  Valentine’s Day, a day that you either love (if you are in a relationship and expecting to get a nice present or two), hate (if you are single), or dread (if you aren’t good at finding decent presents, or are dating someone who’s not good at finding decent presents).  It’s a holiday that tends to draw strong reactions, mostly good, although there are plenty of people who maintain (not without reason) that it’s a manufactured holiday, designed to steal money from people by getting them to pay inflated prices for things like candy and giant stuffed bears.  Still, if the worst a vast conspiracy to manipulate public opinion can come up with to do with that power is convince us to buy some stuff we (or I, at least) would likely buy anyway, I think we’re doing alright.

So, with all the V-Day well-wishing behind us, let’s get to the true heart of this week’s post: the articles!  Yup, as always, I’m pleased to share some of the great articles that have appeared in the personal finance blogoverse in the past week.  So, without further ado, here we go:

Good Yakezie Posts

What Makes You Happy – An interesting post, from Financial Samurai at Yakezie.com, sharing some of his simple pleasures in life.  If I had to pick out one thing about all the others that made me happy, I’d probably have to say the look on Sondra’s face every time I come home to see her; it’s always filled with love and appreciation.

How to Quit Your Job With Grace – As fun as the fantasy of quitting your job can be (that is, of telling off your boss, storming out of the office, flipping over chairs, knocking over filing cabinets, and passionately kissing your cute co-worker as you head out to a better life), it’s usually good to quit with grace and dignity.  Kevin of Invest It Wisely shows you how (sorry, no storming out allowed).

Would You Pay More For An American-Made Good? – An interesting question, posed by Even of My Journey to Millions.  I like to think that I would, at least in most cases, although I’ll be honest, when I pay attention to the manufacturer’s location at all, I usually don’t let it influence my purchasing decisions.  Perhaps I should, though.

12 Valentine’s Day Dishes – If you want to celebrate the holiday by cooking something special for the woman or man in your life, here’s a list of plenty of good ideas, all courtesy of Briana at 20 and Engaged.  Enjoy the tastiness of Velvet Brownie Bites and After Sex Waffles.

Coffee Talk: Your Tax Return Diary – An interesting hypothetical question posed by Sandy L over at First Gen American, wondering what you tax return says about you and your money priorities.  As I start to fill out my 2011 tax return, I should probably break out my 2010 return and try to see where my priorities stand.

Can Debt Hurt a Relationship? – Yes, yes it can.  I know that this question posed by The College Investor probably should be answered in more detail, but for now, take my word, it can put a strain even on a great relationship.

Where the Amateur Financier was Featured

My book review of Laughing at Wall Street was included in the 54th Totally Money Blog Carnival at Family Money Values, among numerous great sounding articles.

This week’s Yakezie Carnival hosted by 101 Centavos featured a zombie apocalypse theme, which is always entertaining.  Oh, it also featured my article on Getting Ready for College.

That’s all for this week’s round-up.  Have a great week, with a wonderful Valentine’s Day (and recovery days)!

Well, the holidays are over (or are well underway, at least; I realize that it’s only the fourth day of Christmas, for those of you who celebrate all twelve days, to say nothing of the other holidays that occur during this time of year). Hopefully, you’ve had a good holiday, with plenty of friends, family, and fun times. Now would seem to be the time to kick back, relax, and wait for the New Year to come.

But alas, that’s not always possible. There’s plenty that should be done before the year ends, or near the start of the year next year, at the latest. I’ve covered quite a few items on Monday (because I couldn’t let you go any longer before thinking about what you needed to do), but there’s an elephant in the room we still need to discuss: paying for those holiday presents.

Yup, Christmas Presents just like this

If you are like a great number of people in our modern society, there’s a decent chance that you went into debt (or added more debt to what you already had) buying presents for everyone (I know that I did). It happens, and I’m no position to scold you for it; now, though, is the time to plan how to deal with this added debt. We should start by:

1. Accessing the Damage: You need to know where you stand before you can figure out how to deal with it. Luckily, it’s easier than ever to find out where your finances stand nowadays: every credit card company allows you to check your balance online, as well as making payments. You probably kept track of how much you spent, of course, but it’s a good idea to go back over your statement to ensure that you are only being charged for spending you actually did, as well as making sure you know the total of what you owe.

2. Making a Plan: When you know what you owe, it’s time to figure how to eliminate it. There are a few different issues you will need to consider, from where to get the extra money to pay down the added debt (do you cut down your spending, or perhaps try to earn some money through a side job?) to which debt to tackle first. (There’s quite a bit of disagreement on the best order to handle debts; I tend to support trying to deal with the highest interest debt first, but paying down debt is good, regardless of the exact order you follow.)

3. Stick to that Plan: Once you know how you’re going to pay down your Christmas Present debt (or any debt, for that matter), it’s simply a matter of sticking to your plan. Alright, it’s not really that ‘simple’; if it were, there’d be a lot less trouble with debt in the world today. If you are going to stick with a plan, you need to make sure to reward yourself when you meet landmarks along your road to the ultimate goal of finishing off your debt. Try to find things that will bring you joy, but won’t cost much money; a picnic in the park or a (frugal) night out as you clear out your holiday debt will make it that much easier to remain motivated as you keep paying things down.

4. Plan for Next Year: Let’s be honest, there are some expenses, like car repairs or medical expenses, that we can’t see coming. Holiday expenses are NOT in that category, though; while you might not know exactly how much you will spend next year, you can probably come up with a ball-park figure about what you will need to keep everyone on your gift list happy (as well as providing food, decorations, and all the other holiday accouterments). Rather than charging all those expenses, why not put money aside throughout the year so you can pay for the holidays with your own cash (and enjoy the interest you accrue along the way, rather than pay interest to the credit card company)? By breaking the expected expense up and putting aside a smaller portion monthly or weekly (similar to an emergency fund), you can ensure that there will be plenty of holiday cheer, or at least, fewer holiday credit card bills.

Alright, that should be enough to get started on dealing with your holiday related credit card debt. Hopefully, next year you can have an even better holiday with less holiday debt as a result. Good luck, and enjoy the holiday time!

Merry Christmas to All, in this wonderful year of 2011!

I’ll make this short and sweet, as I’m sure I’m far from the only one who has assorted Christmas fun and duties to attend to today.  To everyone who is celebrating the holiday today, I hope you have a wonderful day, that you get to spend it with friends, family, and others whom you care about deeply.  It is a very special day, after all, which even if you are not the most religious person around (and I’ll admit, I’m turning into a bit of a ‘Christmas and Easter’ member of my church), has a unique place in most of our lives.  Remember those feelings as you go through the day, and let them carry you through all next year, as well.

For the non-Christmas celebrating crowd, as always, I hope you have a good day, and forgive us Christians for shutting down just about everything today as we celebrate.  Tomorrow, most things (with the exceptions of the Postal Service and most banks) should be back in full running order, and you can get back to your normal lives (although, you might want to avoid the malls; there’s likely to be a rush of gift returns and people taking advantage of after-Christmas sales for the next few days).  For today, have a nice Sunday, spend some time with your family, and take advantage of the fact that most everywhere you go that happens to be open (in the United States, at least) should be nearly empty.

Once again, Merry Christmas to All, and to All, a Good Sunday!

Once upon a time (about two years ago), I shared some tips for the last minute shopper to get their holiday gift giving covered.  They were, I’m pleased to say, a huge hit, helping dozens, if not hundreds or even thousands, of last-minute shoppers to keep their gift exchange partners happy and help to fill up the space beneath the Christmas tree.  (Or barring that possibility, helping them to have a serious head injury so as to allow them to dodge the whole Christmas season altogether.)

But it’s been so long since I put that up, there’s sure to have been some updates to how the smart consumer covers their last-minute gift-giving (besides, of course, buying presents early enough to avoid having to do last minute gift-giving in the first place; that’s just crazy talk).  Let’s take a look at some other possibilities for the gift-giver who has waited until the last possible minute:

1. Money: Always a classic; there’s a fair chance you have some in your wallet at this very moment.  (Unless, of course, you’re just getting back from some other Christmas shopping).  It’s inexpensive, highly flexible, and generally appreciated by nearly everyone.  Now, it does tend to send a bit of a strong message (namely, “I did not have any idea of what to get you for a gift, so here’s some cash”), but that’s nothing that can’t be fixed with a decent card.  If you want something more personal, you can try…

Yes, I like to use this Money Gift picture; it's very fitting for this time of year.

2. Gift Cards: The standard for anyone who wants to give something a bit more personalized than cash, but still is at a loss about what to give to their chosen recipient (not always the gift-giver’s fault, of course; if I had a dollar for everyone in my family who has been tight-lipped about possible gift ideas, I’d be able to buy quite a few more gifts for everyone).  Of course, being more personalized can be troublesome; it’s possible to buy a gift card to somewhere your recipient doesn’t ever shop or want to shop.  It’s also possible to end up with a gift card that’s pretty well worthless, as anyone still holding Circuit City or Borders gift cards can tell you.

3. A Time Machine: Alright, it’s a little early to pick up one of these.  (Some spoil-sports will argue that it is impossible; if time machines exist, they say, we would have seen people who were from the future coming back to our time.   I say they’re just trying to spoil our fun; haven’t they heard of cloaking devices or police boxes?)  But still, it would make a wicked present, or you could use it to get something for your recipient from their past.  Or use it to become the king of a past time period; either method is fine, really.

4. Coal: Have someone naughty on your list?  Pull a Santa and give them some coal the next time they start acting up.  Besides helping to reinforce some sense of appropriate punishment, you’ll also be able to help out the coal industry.  Why should the fat man in red have all the fun, after all?  Just be aware that not everyone will be amused, and that coal can be a bit on the expensive side.

5. A Thoughtful, Insightful Gift That Shows a Deep Understanding of the Recipient and Adequate Realization of What They Both Want and Need, An Even Deeper Grasp of Their Psyche Than They, Themselves, Possess, a Gift That Is Sure to Leave a Deep Impression on Them Years, Even Decades, Later: You don’t have time for that kind of thing; let’s get back to that ‘money’ idea.

Alright, that’s plenty of gift ideas for now.  Here’s hoping everyone has a good Christmas, and has already finished their shopping (I know I have no desire to go to stores now, with all the gift shoppers in a near frenzy).  Here’s also hoping you came up with lots of thoughtful gift ideas, in spite of my best efforts to play with your minds!