Loan payments getting real September 30, 2008

I came home on Monday to see a few important-looking pieces of mail on my kitchen table.  And they both had to do with my new car.  One was the official paperwork from my car insurance.  I’ll admit, I’m not quite sure I understand everything relating to my car insurance.  It’s possible that I didn’t get a good deal, or that I got the wrong sort of coverage.  I’ve decided that reading through the information can wait until this weekend, when I can actually work through it to make sure I understand what’s covered and if I got all the correct discounts and everything.

The other piece of mail came from the credit union that I got my car loan from (through AAA).  I think this piece of mail really made the payments hit home.  I received my “Loan Payment Book”.  It’s basically a booklet with tear out pages with the amount due that I’ll send in every month.  I’m pretty sure that I can do this online (not 100% certain), but hopefully that’s the case, as I’m not really keen on paying for postage every month, and risk not paying on time.  I realized that there are two different ways to look at this booklet.  I can either look at it and feel overwhelmed:  look at all these payments that I’ve got due each month.  I’m going to be paying for this car (with interest) until almost the end of 2013.  Or I can look at it as an easy thing to accomplish:  I’ve only got to pay this amount 60 times, and then I own the car free and clear.  Granted, either way I look at it, I’m hoping I can pay this off sooner, which will lower the total amount I’ll end up paying.  But it’s definitely a visual plan that will help me to see progress towards owning my car.

So, we’ll see.  I’ve mentioned in the past that I hope to pay down all my debts a lot faster than the banks would like me to.  But this does make me realize that I should actually have a plan for paying off my debts.  I know plenty of people talk about debt snowballing, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen a link from another blog to this before, but there’s a pretty simple site to help you figure out just how long it will take to pay everything off.  Now, instead of telling myself (and you all) that I’m going to pay “extra” every month, I can actually look and see what amount I should pay.  Sounds like this could actually provide results.

One can only hope!

Giving Mint a try September 29, 2008

So all those people in the personal finance blogosphere have been talking about Mint for a while.  I figured I already was using enough different ways to track my money:  I use walletproof to track my expenses pretty closely, and watch My Portfolio from Bank of America, and follow my networth on NetworthIQ.  I’ve tracked my 401(k) and other retirement accounts on Google Finance.  So, you could say I enjoy tracking my money.  I think I like it in part to see what sort of progress I’m making towards paying off debts and growing my net worth.  I also find that tracking my expenses keeps me on top of my spending.  And I think I’ve found that I use different sites since none of them quite fit all my needs.  I like walletproof because it’s simple and helps me to monitor my spending; manual data entry makes me aware of what I’m spending, but I might still forget to enter some of my expenses.  My Portfolio tracks rather nicely most of my assets and liabilities, but sometimes it’s hard to categorize every transaction.  NetworthIQ requires manual data entry, but I do that once a month.  This means I’ve got a static number that can be compared each month, as opposed to the dynamic values found in the automatically updated amounts in My Portfolio.

I had actually created an account with Mint in November of 2007, but I got nervous about security, so I didn’t enter any of my account information into the site.  Then, a few weeks ago, I figured I should go ahead and give it a try.  Actually, just today, I came across a post helping to debunk some Mint myths.

The one weird part I’ve noticed is that it only imported some of my recent account transactions, but also imported a few that are a lot older.  I’m also looking forward to when they have a more in-depth analysis of investments and retirement portfolios.  And I’ve also found some of the categories to be odd or missing, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to add extra categories.  For example, I want to label my T-pass purchases as Transportation, but the closest I can label it is Travel.  It’s not a really big deal, but I’d like to have more accurate descriptions of my transactions.  I do like the analysis features, as well as the automatic data retrieval.  I do find it odd that, when you are able to compare your expenses to big cities, Boston isn’t listed.  But that’s a minor issue.  At any rate, I think I’ll add it to my list of financial tools.

One thing that I think comes up a lot with these sites, besides security concerns, is the inability to import some of your accounts.  Of my friends that use Mint or My Portfolio, a few (including a blogger or two) aren’t able to add accounts/debts from smaller organizations.  I’m sure that both companies are working on including more, but in the meantime, you’ll have to enter the numbers manually every month for My Portfolio (and I’m not sure if there’s an option like that for Mint).

On a related note, has anyone else had issues with My Portfolio, specifically with updating imported ING accounts?  I’ve found that it wants me to re-enter my login information, but when I do, it still doesn’t work.

How do you keep track of your money (or lack thereof)?  I know Penny was asking the same thing a while back (and heard from quite a few people!)  But I’m curious as well!  And I’d love to hear if anyone has that My Portfolio/ING thing figured out.

I finally have my car! September 16, 2008

It all started when I got a new job.  Remember that?  Those were good times.  I knew I was going to have to buy a car for the job offer I accepted, but I figured I could work my way through that slowly and surely.

Then I started narrowing down my choices.  I knew I wanted a Toyota Corolla or a Honda Civic.  So I went to a few different dealerships to see what kind of deals I could get.

This is where it gets tricky.  When I originally put down my deposit (on August 23rd) they told me that I’d have to wait a bit for the car to get here.  They didn’t have any meeting my specifications (not too fancy, not too basic), as Corollas are in high demand due to the recent rise in gas prices (though they’re going down…but that’s another story).  They told me that the car should be in NYC by around the 28th, at which point they’d have the VIN for me (so I could finalize my insurance and everything).  They also said that after it hit New York City, my car would take about a week to get to Boston.  And I was okay with that.

The 28th rolls around.  No VIN, I don’t think it had even reached NYC.  A week passes.  By then, the car should be in Boston.  No such luck.  Basically, I kept calling.  Friends suggested I call and threaten to go elsewhere (or not just threaten, but actually go elsewhere), or demand extra perks for having to wait so long.  On September 9th I called a few more times.  By then, the car was supposedly in New York City, but they still didn’t have the VIN.  I was pretty angry, because I was then told that they had originally told me that the car would be here by mid-month…which is NOT what they had originally said.  I called and spoke to the manager.  I started out trying to be really demanding, but he somehow had a way of calming me down (that’s why he’s the manager).  But I believe talking to him helped, because they knew I was serious about my car…maybe. And that maybe they’d give me a bit of money off of the car, or give me a few free oil changes or something.  He suggested that he could get me a rental car for the interim.  His main excuse was that the transit from wherever the cars came from was delayed by all the hurricanes.  I wasn’t so sure about this.  By the 11th, I was assured that my car would be in Boston by the 12th-15th…which calmed me down a bit.  I finally knew the end of the debacle was in sight.  By then, I figured it was worth it to just wait instead of see if I could get a car through another dealer more quickly (and I didn’t want to go through the whole hassle again).

The afternoon of Friday the 12th, I get a phone call.  My car was here!  FINALLY!  Of course by that time, it was too late to finish up the financing before the weekend…but I figured that I could go in on Monday to get the loan finished up at AAA.  I plan with the dealership to come in on Saturday to do all the paperwork.  I get a call Saturday morning…the dealer informs me that they don’t have the seal yet.  I really have no clue what that is.  I agree to wait until Monday, when they should have the seal, because at this point, I’m figuring I can’t do anything until I have the check for the dealer.  That, and I felt pretty lazy.

Monday, I head out to the dealership after work.  I’ve called the insurance company (since I finally got the VIN) and had my insurance selected and the information sent to AAA for finishing up the paperwork.  I sign all sorts of forms, and have the necessary forms faxed to AAA.  They try to sell me all sorts of different “packages”, including Lojack and assorted teflon coatings and things for the car.  He even said that I could extend the warranty to 8 years for almost $2000 extra.  I am almost certain I don’t want that, but call home quickly to confirm.  It was funny, because the guy said “I wouldn’t let my brother buy a car without this package” in response to the warranty and lojack.  He rattled off a statistic that a Carolla is the 3rd most likely car to get stolen.  I head home after all the paperwork and wait.

Today, I went to work as usual, but took a few hours off to get this car thing all settled out.  I’ll admit, it’s pretty convenient that I am allowed to modify my time at work, which allows me to use some time for appointments and the like, and just make up the time within a few weeks.  Anyway, I get out to AAA, and sign all sorts of papers, and then drive over to the dealership with a hefty check.  When I show up, my dealer seems a bit worried that they wont get everything done by the end of today (since it took me a bit longer than expected to get to the dealership).  I cringed, but hoped for the best.  I drive back to my place (I borrowed my boyfriend’s car) and try to get some work done.  Within the hour, I get a call from my dealer saying that everything should be done by 5pm.  I get out, take the T to the dealership, and sign a few more papers, and drive off.

As I’m driving away, I’m freaking out a little bit.  It’s like a new toy…it’s exciting!  And I’m having trouble coming to grips with buying a new car.  But the funny part is, it’s the biggest purchase I’ve ever made, and I am not regretting it.  Which is really weird for me…I’m always second guessing my decisions, and looking back and wondering if I did the right thing.  But in this case, perhaps I know that, at this point, it’s pretty much too late, I’m in it for the long haul.  And I’ve wanted/needed a car, and this fits my needs.  So I’m happy.  It’s a big step, a “grownup” step, and a pretty large addition to my debts.  But I think I’m going to be okay.  It’s a weird feeling.

Whew.  So, yes, I probably should have stopped waiting sooner, and demanded more.  But I think they’re willing to give me a free oil change or two.  And I’ll be happy to finally have a car of my own.  I’m excited to see how many miles per gallon I can eke out.

Have any of you had experiences like these?  What “grownup” steps are you taking?

Looks like I’m a brazen careerist September 14, 2008

Every once in a while, I get an email asking if I’d like to be part of a blogging network.  It’s kind of cool, makes me feel special.  I’m definitely nowhere near the top when it comes to personal finance bloggers:  I don’t post very often, and I haven’t been doing this nearly as long.  And I’m sure I don’t get anywhere near the number of visitors as the likes of The Simple Dollar or Free Money Finance.  But anyway…

I got an email from someone at Brazen Careerist Blog Network.  It seems to be the sister site to Penelope Trunk’s Brazen Careerist blog.  Now, when I hear the words “brazen careerist”, it makes me think that you’re gung ho about climbing to the top in your career, often at the expense of other priorities.  I’m pretty sure that’s not quite what she means (I’ll admit I haven’t read her book.)  From what I’ve gathered, the term still relates to doing what will help you climb the corporate ladder, but it’s not all about ignoring other values and priorities.  So I think I’m cool with that.  It’s more about being smart about what the current work environment is like.

So, anyway, this invite basically means that I am now a member of a blog network!  The network is geared towards members of Generation Y and covers topics such as careers, finance, and other general topics for our generation.  Frankly, I didn’t actually know what “generation” I was part of, but I was born in within the year range listed at the wikipedia page (1982-1994).  I was asked about another blog network before, but I didn’t think I could commit to the number of posts they were talking about “requiring”.  Mostly, the site I’m part of now merely posts my feed under my profile.  So I can handle that.  It sounds like sometimes you might write an article specifically for the site, but for now, I’m just going to go with this.

It’s got me wondering…Am I a brazen careerist?  I enjoy meeting new people, which comes into play nicely when it comes to networking.  I’m thinking it might be a good idea to read this book…so I know what I’m actually talking about.  I did read The Big Sister’s Guide to the World of Work, which has a lot of those types of business tips.  Guess I should put the book on my request list at the library.

I think I should start thinking more about my goals, not only for my career, but also for finances and personal life.  Looks like I’ve got a topic for my next post!

My interest rate epiphany September 2, 2008

Okay, it’s really not that impressive of a revelation.  And many people have probably already realized this.  But it required the help of my boyfriend telling me to take a step back and look at my finances before I could realize this for myself.

I was struggling with the idea of going into even more debt to have a car.  And I kept saying I just wanted to pay off the car as soon as possible.  But as I mentioned before, my interest rate is actually lowest for the car out of all my debts.  And that’s when Aaron pointed something out:

Once you have the debt, it doesn’t matter if it’s “good debt” or “bad debt”.  You just develop a plan and pay it down.

It’s really that easy.  Sure, you should try not to incur more debts.  And of course, if there are tax or other benefits involved in paying off certain loans, you should bring that into the equation (which might make some debts slightly “better”).   But the typical good debts, like student loans and mortgages, are more often allowed in the personal finance world, compared to consumer debts.  But you can’t keep kicking yourself for making that decision; regretting a choice wont make the consequences go away.  But that’s how I was looking at the car debt; it was bad debt that I needed to get rid of ASAP.  Which really isn’t the financially smart thing to do.

Some people prefer following a debt snowball, starting by paying off the smallest debt first.  It may not be the best choice, mathematically speaking, but if you will actually do it, it’s a heck of a lot better than saying you’ll pay the highest interest rate debt first, but not doing it.

If you’re able to look at the debt in a purely logical way, and not in an emotional way, you can create a plan, and stick to it.  So that’s the plan for me.  I’m going to pay the amounts due each month (of course) and figure out how much extra money I have in my budget when considering monthly expenses, including putting money into savings and retirement investments.  And whatever that “excess” is, I’m going to pay that towards the student loans with the highest interest rate.

I think this is where the “personal” comes in with personal finance.  Sometimes you need to bring your feelings into the money equation, because they will inevitably affect you.  But I believe that I can look at the finance just numbers that need to go in a certain direction.  This may not work.  I think I’ll need someone to hold me accountable on this.  Make sure I actually sit down and write out my budget, rather than spend and then track the spending afterward.

I think I tend to make a lot of to do lists.  And sometimes I don’t do everything on the lists.  But I think that paying off my debts really needs to be something that takes top priority.  Which means I need to do the budget, and actually make the phone call to the bank where my student loans are from to find out if I can consolidate my loans at the low rate that they currently are (thanks to the low fed rate).  It really doesn’t take much time at all to do something like that.  But I just need to do it.

And like I said before, it’s better to do the thing that works, rather than the “best” thing if it doesn’t work.  So we’ll see if this plan works.