The Hot Rockin', Flame-Throwin' Carnival of Personal Finance

When I was a kid, I would sometimes listen to the Z Morning Zoo before school. Scott Shannon and Ross Brittain hosted, with what seemed like a cast of thousands. I always remember one of their bumpers being the "Broadcasting live from the top of the Empire State Building, the Hot Rockin', Flame-Thrown' Z-100!" Side note of Travelin' Man trivia - I was listening when they began broadcasting, though, to this day I have no idea what I was doing awake at 6 am on an August morning. But, I do remember that the first song they played was my favorite song at the time, Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger." Seems like a hundred years ago.

Celebrating firsts (sort of) with a radio theme is JD over at Get Rich Slowly. He is hosting this week's 2nd Anniversary Carnival of Personal Finance. These articles are the best of the best from the personal finance world over the last two years. It is kind of like the pro football, basketball, hockey and baseball All-Star games all rolled into one. I was grateful to have my article, Why Hoarding Airline Miles is a Fool's Game, listed. JD's top picks are marked with a star, and I also picked out a few of my favorite articles for you to check out:

Picking money over time - are we working too much? is at Money and Values. I have mentioned in the past that I have an inability to take time off from work. It is stupid. I need to - I just don't. Maybe if I keep mentioning it, I will get the hint.

I just had my performance review at work, and one of the few things for which I was dinged was disorganization. My office desk is a mess. I am one who operates on the theory that if I had time to clean my desk, I wouldn't be getting any work done. Still, I am always striving for improvement. Here are 16 ways that being disorganized costs you money.

I had a conversation with a friend recently who was worried about money. When I hear people talk about money, I immediately shift into "how can you make more money" mode. Here are 25 Ways to Make Money Quickly and Easily (and Legally)!

Dave Ramsey popularized the debt snowball, but what do you do when you have already paid down all of your debt and started your emergency fund? How about a SAVINGS snowball?

Another conversation with a friend involved the idea of being frugal. I think she interpreted the term to mean "cheap." Fortunately, Money Walks came along and posted Frugal versus Cheap. If I had this article on hand, I could have won my argument a lot quicker!

Those are my Top 5, but there are plenty more listed that may be just what YOU were looking for. Check it out!

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New Years Resolutions Revisited - How YOU Doin'?

We are about ten weeks into the new year, or about one-fifth of the way through, depending on how you look at it. Remember the New Year's resolutions you made back on January 1 - hopefully in a reasonably sober state? I do. I posted them here (note to self: dumb thing to do). I guess ten weeks is as good a marking point as any to do the first check-up.

#1 - I resolve to take more days off from work in 2007. Hmmm...this is not going as well as I'd hoped, but it is not a complete failure, either. So far, I have used zero vacation or sick days this year - and along the way, I have accumulated more. But, I used my one personal day and the comp day that I earned for working a weekend when we hosted a tour for guidance counselors. Those days were used on my previously mentioned Houston/Austin, TX trip. I also took some partial days off to go and watch our school's basketball teams play some road games. Unfortunately, it is the second week of spring training, the ACC Tournament is going on right now nearby, and our women's basketball team is playing in a regional tournament this week, too. Me, I will be at work. :-( This needs work. Perhaps after I do my taxes, I will start planning summer vacation.

#2 - I resolve to blog more often in 2007. This one is, for now, a win. I am ahead of my pace from last year, and I have been submitting articles to blog carnivals to drive more traffic. I even started my own - the Carnival of Dining Out, which has had two successful issues, so far. I have also begun the work on a new online project that I hope to launch soon. When this happens, I will have to consider this one in the win column.

#3 - I resolve to further reduce my outstanding debt in 2007. The only additional payments that I have made so far have been an additional $50/month on my condo mortgage. I have been earmarking some additional money to pay down my student loans, but I haven't made the payment yet. Also, I have been using part of my travel reimbursement checks to pay down student loans. To date, I have not had any work travel, but expect some coming up in the next few months. I don't know if I am willing to consider $100 of extra principal paid on my mortgage as a true win here, but it is no worse than a push.

#4 - I resolve to make more money in 2007. Kind of like the mortgage payments, the only additional money that I have made when comparing this year to last is the simple change in my salary from one year to the next. Money earned from blogging (actually in my pocket) is zero, but there has been an increase in my AdSense account, and I will hopefully cash a check from them in the near future. If my new online venture hits, there will also likely be a small revenue stream there, too. I have yet to sell anything on eBay, or anywhere else. My latest obsession is covered call options in the stock market. If anything pans out in that direction, I will post some details. I have also been floating a few bucks into Prosper - mostly for giggles - but, I am earning a return of 13.6%, so far, on a small investment. I was willing to call the previous resolution as "no worse than a push," but this one will have to be labeled as "a push, at best." Still, I think things are heading in the right direction.

#5 - I resolve to live a healthier lifestyle in 2007. I knew this would be the toughest one. Let's see - I have eaten more at home - or homemade foods at work for lunch. This has had the side benefit of being frugal, too. Unfortunately, when I cook for myself, one of the things that goes out the window is portion size. Last month, I made a conscious decision to cut out fast food of any kind - I called it "no food that is delivered to you in your car, through a window." I was pretty successful - only two window trips, and one was almost unavoidable. I had no Chick-fil-a, which I do enjoy - and no morning stops for Dunkin' Donuts (medium coffee and two donuts - more than $3!) - so that helped eliminate some of my own "latte factor." Now I need to cut out Publix chicken tenders, and I will really be on the right track. I still lacked in the exercise department. I played tennis once - which is once more than I had played in the previous ten weeks. Net result - no weight gain, but no weight loss. Again, this looks like a "push-minus."

I think that was a pretty objective view of the situation. All in all, I would give myself a grade of C. There is significant room for improvement, but I do think that I am on the right track. So, how did you all do??? Come clean. No one's keeping score.

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Time for a Career Switch? Try Grocery Stock Clerk!

Working in college admissions provides me with a lot of job satisfaction (on most days!), but, as I have mentioned before, it does not provide me with a pocketful of $100 bills on a bi-weekly basis. I have grown to accept that (to some extent). I accept that I will be underpaid relative to society - police officers, teachers, doctors, fast food employees, etc.

OK, the fast food thing was a joke....I think.

This week, Money magazine released it's annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For 2007. Surprisingly, my employer was not listed among these fine 100 companies (I was shocked!). My favorite supermarket, however, was ranked #57. Publix is a fine company, and I spent one summer working there in between my freshman and sophomore years of college. I worked in the deli, and it was a decent job until I decided that I could make more money working my own business over the Thanksgiving weekend than I could working in the deli. Apparently, Thanksgiving is a busy time in the grocery business. Who knew?

Florida Today had an article about Publix' ranking today. In the hard copy of the paper, there was a chart that highlighted some of the figures mentioned in the article. The one that stood out for me was the average salary for the most common hourly wage job - grocery stock clerk. On average, these folks make $27,453 per year! More than $27k for stocking groceries! Why did this number, in paricular, leap out at me? The starting salary in my office for an entry level admission counselor is $27,500. An extra $57 per year over the average stock clerk, and yet our office generates nearly 80% of the university's operating budget of about $119 million.

Yes, I know that I am comparing starting salary with average salary. It doesn't matter - the comparison is staggering, and surely doesn't make me feel better about my job. I also don't think that my university is unique in underpaying their admission staff. Admission counselors are charged with recruiting new students, a process that includes many days and nights of business travel - time away from family and friends. Most typical business travelers earn more than the average stock clerk at the supermarket. In addition to recruiting, we are also charged with evaluating prospective students' applications - and holding their hands through the entire process - have you sent your SAT scores? did you send all of your recommendation letters? do you have questions about financial aid? etc. Yes...the people who decide whether or not your children get into college make marginally more than the guy who puts cans of soup on the shelves at the supermarket.

The long-standing perception is that the people who work in the admission office are the people who couldn't get "real jobs" after graduation, so they took this entry-level position until something better comes along. There are some people, though, who find that they truly enjoy representing their university to prospective students - they enjoy seeing families moving students into their residence halls on the first day of Orientation - they take pride in seeing "their" student recruits successfully traverse the stage on the morning of commencement, because they just "KNEW" they were going to make it.

Next time you are at the grocery store picking up a dozen eggs and a jar of pickles, think of the guy moving pallets around the docks and the people back at the university reading your daughter's college application.

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Smart Move 2006: Healthcare Reimbursement Account

This is the time of year when I spend an inordinate amount of time reviewing obsessing over what went right and what went wrong in the previous year. This is my own way of planning what actions to take to ensure more right things and fewer wrong things in the current year.

I think one of the smartest things that I did happened almost by accident. My employer, like many others, offers a number of medical insurance options. To boil them down to their simplest parts, each plan offers to cover a percentage of medical expenses, descending in value commensurate with the required payment assumed by the employee - 90% (the most expensive plan); 80%; 70%; and "risk-reward," which also covers 80%, but has higher deductibles, annual maximums, and co-pays. The previous year, I had the 70% coverage, which cost me $35.78 every two weeks. The cost for the same coverage for 2006 increased to $37.57, which I thought was pretty reasonable. It seems that I have heard nightmare stories from co-workers, who need to insure their whole families, about double-digit percentage increases in health care coverage.

After I signed up, when I read through the plan coverage, I found that I was eligible for a new benefit - the Healthcare Reimbursement Account (HRA). This new account was funded exclusively by my employer, to the tune of $60/month, and the money could be used by me in a manner similar to that of a medical Flexible Spending Account. In effect, I would be paying about $80/month out of my pocket in medical insurance, and getting $60 of that back to be used to any incurred medical expenses. Some common examples of what the money could be hospital services; physician, dental, vision and chiropractic services; eyeglasses, contact lenses and saline solution; co-pays and deductibles; prescription drugs (including co-pays); home health care; durable medical equipment; and drug and alcohol rehabilitation - almost everything except elective cosmetic surgery. Note: If I had additional dependents on my health plan, my monthly HRA reimbursement would be $120/month; the "risk/reward" plan comes with a $90 monthly HRA payment for singles, and $180/month for families. In addition, the money that remains unused each month earns interest while it sits in my account. The money rolls over from year to year (unlike a medical FSA) and becomes fully vested and portable after three years of participation in this plan, otherwise you would need to spend all of the money prior to terminating employment.

I am fortunate in that I don't spend too much time (translation: don't spend much money!) with doctors. One of the reasons why the 70% plan is a viable option for me is because I can assume some additional risk and hope that I can continue to live a relatively healthy life. I was choosing the 70% option anyway - so, this new benefit didn't really encourage me to assume this additional risk. It was literally, an added bonus, for me.

It is incredibly easy to use. I was sent a debit card last year and I use it just like I would use any other debit or credit card at my doctor's office or pharmacy, etc. I used it at the doctor's office flawlessly - my $20 co-pay was immediately credited, and deducted from my account. I also picked up a prescription and some over-the-counter medication at the drug store. For that transaction, I had to send in a copy of the receipt (so they could be sure that I didn't purchase Twinkies, I guess). I sent in a fax and received a letter in the mail a couple of days later approving the charge. Easy as pie.

Since I didn't bother to crunch any numbers before making my selection last year (I was just really re-upping with what I had), I need to sit down and do that this year to compare the relative value in downsizing my plan to the "risk/reward." It would save me about $8 per paycheck (nothing substantial), but also give me an additional $30/month in HRA money.

I don't think that my employer did a particularly good job of educating people about the availability of this additional benefit - and that it would be paid by them, into an account, for the empoyee. Clearly, this is designed to encourage the insured to assume more risk, as that would be less expensive for the insurance companies. You would think that employers would WANT their employees to sign-up for something that would save them money in health care costs in the long-term. I suspect that when it comes time for choosing plans this year, their will be a better effort to educate people on this plan.

Assuming I can keep up my relative health, my biggest question will be on what to spend the money? I am considering saving for LASIK surgery, but treating this like "found money" in the meantime.

**Welcome Carnival of Personal Finance readers! If this is your first visit, you may want to stop by the Introduction page. That will give you a brief overview of what to expect to see elsewhere on this site. This is not a single-focus blog, so you will find posts here on more topics than just recipes and food. I do travel a lot for business, so I have quite a few posts (and pictures) of where I have been and the food I have discovered on the road. My finances are equally as important to me, and my work in college admissions allows for some unique perspective on the college search and financial aid.

I am glad you stopped by, and hope that you might poke back again sometime soon. The newest posts can be found by clicking on the "Home" tab at the top of the page.

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2007 New Year's Resolutions

I am not usually a resolution guy, but what else should one blog about on New Year's Day? They may be a little vague, but I like success stories.

I resolve to take more days off from work in 2007. I am ending the year with nearly 200 hours of vacation time banked (and another 350+ hours of sick time, too!). Fortunately, they will all roll over to the new year (of course, I have another 160 vacation hours to earn in 2007). I will make every effort to NOT grow the number too much higher than 200.

I resolve to blog more often in 2007. Who knows if anyone cares what I have to say, but dammit, I am going to say it. I took too many extended periods of darkness in 2006, and will make every effort to not let that happen again. I will also submit articles to blog "carnivals" in an effort to increase exposure and readership. This is really about making the next resolution a little bit easier....

I resolve to make more money in 2007. I make a pathetically small salary, even with an almost 10% salary bump this year. Another 10% is a pipe dream, so I need to figure out how to make money via other means. I did some consulting-type work for a friend the last couple of years to boost my income, but that will not be available for 2007. Passive income streams, like investments, selling things on ebay, and the small amount of revenue generated from my own web site would help. This is really about making my NEXT resolution a little bit easier....

I resolve to further reduce my outstanding debt in 2007. I am down to two outstanding credit lines - my mortgage (relatively small - I owe about 1/3 of the value of my home) and my student loan (for my outstanding balance, the payment that cleared a few days ago reduced the number to the left of the comma by one!). Obviously, the benefit to reducing debt is to free up the money being paid to creditors to do the things that I like - travel, good food, baseball, and gambling (both the Vegas variety and the much more common investing in the stock market!). 2006 saw the elimination of all credit card debt and medical bills. Hopefully, I will be able to keep that going in the new year.

Lastly, the tough one...I resolve to live a healthier lifestyle in 2007. I need to exercise more and eat less crap. Throw in a few vegetables, and I can be on the right path. For me, this will easily be the toughest of the tough. I have very little willpower when it comes to exercise AND eating healthy. Still, I am going to take a shot at this one. Look, I know that I love fried chicken and a good corned beef sandwich. I am confident that I can continue to eat those things - in moderation - but interspersing some miscellaneous green things and a walk on the beach every now and again can only do good. BTW - this is the first time this sort of resolution has been even thought of by me.

Hopefully, I will be able to revisit this list in a few months and say that progress is being made on all accounts. If not, I am not going to jump off the causeway...this time! :-)

I wish you all luck in whatever resolutions you choose to make for 2007.

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