SiteRW Makeover #2: Finances
As part of my RW Makeover, I’m working with financial guru Cate Williams, VP of Financial Literacy at Money Management International, to help me figure out how to buy a house. Even though this phone call was scheduled way in advance, the timing couldn’t have come at a weaker time for me. In the last week, I’ve lost two clients (one stopped using freelancers, and the other shut down entirely), meaning that I have to figure out to make up $9,000 in work this year. That’s a pretty big hole, and a scary one. It made me pause for a moment and consider taking an interview for a full time job that someone called me about today, but it’s not that bad. Just a bad moment.
To prepare for this phone meeting, I made a list of my expenses, and looked at how much debt I have, and it turns out that I’m doing okay. I paid off a credit card on Friday (WAHOO!), and the financial whiz says my remaining debt is not bad at all. I’m about to head over to Annualcreditreport.com to make sure I’m squared away on that front, too.
However, I’m going to need to cut costs to save for a house, and I was a bit disappointed to hear that it’s probably going to take me two instead of one year to make up that downpayment without relying on a 100% finance loan.
I run a pretty lean ship — I don’t fly to Fiji at a whim, for example. I don’t have cable, and I stopped my afternoon Duncan Donuts run and now make my afternoon coffee at home. But I know there are places I can cut. The first place is clothes, the second music. I’m fortunate in that publicists send me books (I’m a reviewer), so I have more than enough reading material, and I get movies from the library for $0. I don’t go out to dinner too much, and I prepare 95% of my meals at home. I’m also going to follow my own advice and keep selling stuff that I don’t use anymore in Craigslist.org (Don’t we learn great stuff at work? I wrote about this already for a woman’s magazine).
So help me out, fellow renegades. Where do you think most people, especially writers, can save $$ per month?
And just as a reminder, I’m a single 26-year-old gal with no kids but one adorable dog. [Jen Miller]
8 Responses to “RW Makeover #2: Finances”
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DianaBurrell
Said this on February 5th, 2007 at 5:52pm:Jen, my opinion, but it sounds like you’re way ahead of the game in a lot of ways. The year I was 26 (single with a cat) was when I figured out I only had something like $56 in my checking account standing between me and unemployment, plus a ton of credit card debt. By the time I was 30, I’d gotten rid of the debt, saved up quite a bit of money, which I was investing, and was participating 100 percent in my retirement plan at work. So with commitment, these financial goals can be achieved — and I think you’re off to a great start!
I’ll try to think of some specific areas to save, but one thing that has helped me is whenever I reach for my wallet, asking myself, “Is there any way I could get this cheaper?” I’ve saved a fortune on books this way (Massachusetts has a fabulous library system). I went from spending $1500 a year at Starbucks to making my own coffee from beans I bought at Costco (saving $1260) to eventually giving up coffee (gasp!) and keeping my caffeine addiction at a more reasonable price of $120 per year by switching to tea. Making your meals at home is great. I’m back to vegetarianism but my husband and son aren’t. I try to buy as little meat/fish as possible and stretch meals out with beans, pasta, veggies, and whole grains, which are much cheaper, not to mention healthier.
As for losing the two clients this week — I’m really sorry to hear that. My sympathies. The upside of freelancing, though, is you can take action/have power to make up the shortfall. When I worked in advertising and we lost business, there was nothing I could do except sit around and hope the ax didn’t fall on my neck. So chin up, go forth, and conquer.
Holly
Said this on February 5th, 2007 at 6:03pm:Maybe you could get rid of your home phone service and just stick with a reasonable cell phone plan? My family did this about two years ago. I was nervous at first that I wouldn’t keep my phone charged or wouldn’t be able to get a signal, but I’ve never had any problems. This saves us about $60 a month.
JenMiller
Said this on February 5th, 2007 at 6:24pm:Diana -
Thanks for the kind words. I know work wise that things will get better, but that was two blows in one punch, so I’m still stinging. Holly, my landline is my work line — I use it for interviews. I can record on it, it’s much clearer than my cell phone (for which I have a teeny tiny plan), and it’s a tax write off. But if I wasn’t freelance, that’d be the first thing to go, so great suggestion!
Jen
Rachel
Said this on February 5th, 2007 at 8:01pm:My library offers CDs, could you perhaps request for them to get some of the CDs you want?
If you buy certain things, such as a cereal or whatnot, a lot, check out online grocery stores. Might save you a bit of cash to buy in bulk.
Elizabeth
Said this on February 6th, 2007 at 9:37am:I don’t have any specific advice to offer (you sound like you’re in fairly impressive financial shape already!).
However, I do enjoy most of the posts over at Get Rich Slowly (http://www.getrichslowly.org/blog/). Also, if you’re looking to save specifically on clothes, The Bargain Queen (http://www.thebargainqueen.org/) might be of interest to you.
Good luck (and so sorry to hear about your two clients :().
Melissa Diskin
Said this on February 6th, 2007 at 12:19pm:- I just finished reading “The Skinny: How to Fit into Your Little Black Dress Forever” by Melissa Clark and Robin Aronson. (Food and health writers, respectively). It’s more of a mindset than anything, but the “savor a few bites” principle is helping me save $$ while curbing what I call the Ugly American Appetite, since it’s easy to eat half and doggy-bag the rest. This is especially helpful if you write about food and eat out a lot but don’t always get to do it on your publication’s dime.
- keeping a work diary helps track expenses such as mileage or phone costs for interviews, etc… I’m still working on a good system for keeping up with receipts, etc.
- I meet potential clients and interviewees for coffee rather than for lunch (breakfast is also cheaper than lunch or dinner)
- I will always spend $$ on Amazon, but now I look for good used books first instead of buying new, and use the library first.
- This may sound silly, but keeping my weight at a single digit size means I can shop for clothes more cheaply and still feel good about myself. But I comparison shop and put more money toward things I know will be with me for a while, like a coat.
- I’m starting to meet friends for walks and gym dates rather than for drinks. Definitely a money-saver!
Cal
Said this on February 6th, 2007 at 1:14pm:Try skype for personal long distance phone calls, it still sounds too funny (at least computer to phone) for business but your mom won’t mind…It’s free computer to computer, costs very little otherwise.
For free music, check out music blogs. Most offer a couple of songs a week usually with the blessing of record companies who don’t mind giving a sample track…There are blogs for every flavor, genre etc. http://www.blogtopsites.com/music/
Or if you’re more into up & comers, try http://www.jamendo.com it’s also all free downloadable (legal) stuff
I consider my gym membership key for freelancer sanity but I’ve signed up to go during work hours (or anytime weekends) it costs half the full-time membership…
HTH
Susan
Said this on February 6th, 2007 at 3:04pm:Thought I had already posted this earlier but it hasn’t shown up… It sounds like you are already pretty savvy, but here are a few more tips just in case:
-Before buying anything online google “coupon code X vendor” or “xxxx.com discount code” to see if there are any deals floating around cyberspace
-Don’t buy magazines from the newstands. I know this sounds counterintuitive for writers, but you can get a bargain subscription through an online vendor, have a magazine swap with friends, browse at libraries, bookstores, hair salons, and doctor’s office, and pick up discards in coffeehouses, airports, etc.
-If you pay for LexisNexis, check if you can get free access from your local library or university(often you can use it from home by entering your card #)
-Generic brand food is often cheaper, but not 100% of the time, so check the unit price on the bar code
-See what clothes you can handwash instead of dry cleaning (often gentling washing cashmere or wool with baby shampoo will do the trick, but check on an inconspicuous spot first)
-Think about bartering your services. Maybe your hairdresser or personal trainer (not that I have one personally) will cut you a deal if you’re willing to write some press releases or copy for their website
-See where you’re paying unnecessary fees. If your checking account has monthly fees, maybe its time to switch banks.
This blog might be of interest, too: http://budgetingbabe.blogspot.com/