Reposting a great link from Personal Finance Advice. It reminds me that I’ve lived in my home for 1.5 years and I still have to take copies of my mortgage/home papers to my parents to keep for me in their safe deposit box. I am a keyholder for them and a few years ago I had to go into it to get something for my mother. I spent a good hour browsing my parents’ history in that box. I learned the original purchase price, the refinancing they did, papers for some investment property they had, etc. It was kind of neat.

Anyhow, PFA’s post is very good. Lest you forget, make sure you also have copies of both sides of your credit cards, your passport and driver’s license if you travel. I keep it it my hotel lest I be mugged in some sketchy neighborhood in the 17th Arrondissement.(Can you tell I like the word ‘lest’? I’ve used it now three times in this post!)

The last thing is to also make a will. I go camping every year in the desert where your safety is not guaranteed. For this reason, God forbid, I make a little will before I leave town. I suppose I could be in a fiery car accident on the Beltway too, so it’s nice that I have left a statement for my family so they know what I would have wanted in the way of disposing my assets. Now that I have a cute nephew, there are things I will want him to have when I get this year’s will ready. (I almost called it a ’statement’ since I don’t have this thing recorded or anything like that.)

I think a will is especially important if you have children or a spouse to whom things will go. Since I do not, mine just directs stuff to my family with instructions for some charitable donations. It’s a personal thing, do what you want with yours, but just do it.

The Festival of Frugality #12 is available now!

Yours truly is rounding out the end with the post on darning socks.

The tomato post looks good to me. I use them all the time for the slow cooker.

No, I’m not cursing footwear. I’m ordering you to repair your socks with the old-fashioned technique of darning. I warn you, this is a very technical link, but I a happy to decode it for you. It’s not a technique I personally use because I try to darn the sock before there’s a hole. You can usually feel it give way. Examine your footwear as you take it off or fold it. You know folding? That thing you do when stuff comes out of the wash? I’m a lazy folder, but take the time every once in a while to inspect thy clothes!

Instead of buying a pretty wooden darning egg, use a lightbulb. Don’t know what I’m talking about? If you are like me and darn before there is a hole, it helps to put something into the sock to give it form and shape while you work. They make these nice smooth wooden eggs, but an old empty Tylenol bottle will do too.

TIP: When removing the socks off your feet, do not yank them off by the toe. You’re stressing the fibers. Roll/push down the cuff, slide it past your heel and then push it off the rest of your foot.

I encourage everyone to take the time to mend your clothes. I feel lucky that I learned to do these domestic things from my mom and grandmother when she lived with us. These little things remind me how hard my parents have worked to become a success here in the US. If you don’t have someone to teach you, ask around, I’ve hemmed pants for free for friends. I’ve mended childhood blankies crocheted by grandma for officemates. I like giving the gift of my time and skills to my friends. I’m sure your friends do too. If I don’t want to do it, or don’t have the time, I answer honestly and say no if I can’t make the time.

Jose has started a blog for finding a new job. I’m all for finding a new job. I gave myself a 40% raise last year by finding a new job. I got an email today, my friend called me earlier this month asking me if she should take an internal transfer with our old company. I gave her advice on it, but the main thing was that they gave her a 10+% raise. I am very glad for her. I think she’ll be able to quit some of her extra jobs because of it.

I have some girlfriends who want to make more money, but I think they get held back by their minds. If you haven’t guessed yet, this is one of those mind-money connection posts that I so adore. Now let me say that I have debt. As of today, I have about $4,700.00 in credit card debt. But I also save about 10% of my income in my 401k plan, which I was not able to do with my previous job.

I think a lot of folks feel trapped by their debt. They feel so trapped that they can’t see that finding a new, better paying job will help them get out of debt. They get stuck in a mindset that their job is secure and that they’ll just stick with their job and if they just spend less all will be ok.

How to find a new job:

1) SET A GOAL: I’ve watched one too many folks fall off the budgeting wagon, myself included. So the only other option is to go out and earn more. I know that about 16 months ago I made a vow to myself to make $60K a year three years down the road. I felt like I could live better and worry less about money if I made $60K. I asked myself what kind of jobs are out there which command that kind of money and what skills does it take to do that job? I knew that I didn’t really have the skills to make that kind of money and it would take 3 years to get those skills. I settled on the DBA and programming route since I was supporting database work at the time. It was the path of least resistance.

2) DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS: I started taking some DBA and SQL programming classes at a local community college. I mentioned it to my manager and she got my old company to pay for some of the tuition. I told her what my personal goal was and she was behind me 100%. Through those classes, I was recognized as having developed those skills and using them effectively at my current job. Still no big raise, but a very positive review and recognition that I am on the right path.

3) KNOW WHAT YOU ARE WORTH ON THE CURRENT MARKET: I also took a hard look at the job market. I knew that I was underpaid for the job I had, but not by very much. I could try and ask for a raise, I made the noises to the right people about wanting one but nothing came through. My company didn’t really listen and so I committed myself even more to developing skills so that I could seek employment with a company that would value me fairly. I am lucky that I live in a growth market for tech jobs, but somehow I was still making a crappy salary. Wanting to make $60K was totally in reach for me, I just had to work for it a little bit.

4) WORK YOUR NETWORK: As soon as I quit my job, I started calling people I knew who might have openings for me, former clients and co-workers. For friends of mine looking for work, I often help them network and meet other people that can help them find work. Talk to people and tell them you are looking for a new job. Referrals are really the best way to get a new job.

5) REVAMP YOUR RESUME: A strong resume can make you stand out from the crowd. Through the process of revising your resume, you’ll be able to identify your weak spots and rectify them (See #2 above). I love re-writing resumes. I’m really good at it. That sounds boastful, but I redid a resume for a friend and his recruiter told him that the mapgirl-edited version was lightyears better than the first one he sent to them. My fee is reasonable. I only ask that you take me to dinner when you get your first paycheck. (ooh. I know someone who owes me a dinner!) I like asking my friends about their jobs and how they got to where they are. I love learning their work histories and watching their faces/listening to their voices when they talk about work. It really helps me see what it is they love about their job.

So what happened to me? In the end, it was through a professional contact that I got a new job. He basically hit me in the head with a reality brickbat. I was undervaluing myself at $60K and could be worth more like $70K. In the end my current salary is somewhere in the middle there, but I couldn’t have gotten it without setting a goal, without developing my skills, without knowing what I could make somewhere else, without the networking.

It wasn’t easy. It was a transition. It really took a full year. I had to motivate a lot to do it. I cried at my desk at my old job when I felt horribly trapped by the work I was doing. I felt undervalued a lot at my old firm. I scarfed down a lot of meals in the car on my way to class twice a week. I missed a lot of fun happy hours with friends, but I’m so much happier at my new job. It has its ups and downs, all jobs do, but I know that I am making closer to what I am worth and feeling like my financial future is much brighter as a result of my raise.

I give this meal 3 stars. ***

NOTE: Harris Teeter is a grocery store in DC and I think NC. I don’t know if it appears anywhere else. Please comment your location if you know of other places. Thanks!

This meal was really cheap. $2.00 each on sale. But now I know why. It was a wee freezer burnt (and I have one more left to eat!). For a change, I actually made it in a conventional oven, just to try it out. I must admit, that’s the only reason I noticed the freezer burn at all. Usually in the microwave, the noodles get a little tough so you don’t notice the texture change. I highly recommend making your frozen dinners conventionally every once in a while. Microwaves are interesting, but they are texture killers.

Taste wise, it was creamy and noodley and I could definitely see myself getting this meal again. There were at least 5 meatballs, maybe even 6. Your reviewer was distracted by her old Wall Street Journals and forgot to count them for this review. But I think they were bigger than the meatballs in Stouffer’s version of the meal, although I think I prefer the Stouffer’s one on flavor and IIRC, they have mushrooms in their meals too. All things are relative and I would say that there are better Harris Teeter flavors out there than this one, hence only 3 stars.

Woo hoo! I got the lead off! Thanks MBN!

Welcome new readers! Please leave me a comment if you have any questions or would like me to link you to my blog. Please let me know if there is anything more you’d like to read about here.

Thank you!

The Carnival of Personal Finance #37

Highlights I personally liked:
Group Life Insurance through work isn’t always cheapest

Understanding Arbitrage at Prosper.com

Retirement options for low incomes (the Carnival link seems broken, use mine instead)

Work-Life Balance

Another Mind-Money Relationship Post, it’s a really good one too.

On Target Investment Funds, my link is actually to Part I of the series. This week is actually Part V.

SOX and its uselessness, I could have told you this. It’s the bane of my geek existence.

Value of your time, I would charge more than $15 an hour. In fact, I charge $35/hr for drop spindle and knitting lessons. Computer consulting is generally $50/hr with a 3 hour minimum, but that’s a different beast altogether. Use my link here too.

This grew out of a comment I was leaving at PFA on a bird flu post. His point is to be prepared if there is an outbreak of illness. Bird flu will have a financial toll on the economy too so it’s worth PF blogging about it. The main thing you can do to stop from getting sick and spreading germs is to wash your hands. You’ll be out of work less and keep your co-workers from getting sick too. Too bad we can’t get chickens to wash themselves like we do, but that’s another story.

I used to do field installs for nursing homes. Anything I flew in on the airplane could be deadly to an elderly patient. Signs on how to wash were in all the bathrooms in the facilities I visited. The basics are below with my commentary. More details here at the CDC.

1. Use as hot of a temperature as you can stand. No need to burn yourself, just get it as hot as you can bear. Your skin shouldn’t turn red. That’s the sign of a first degree burn!

2. Use soap. Sing the alphabet once. That is long enough to get the soap to do its thing. Scrub your nails underneath and at the cuticle. No need to use anti-bacterial stuff. It just costs more for the same thing that regular soap will do sufficiently. Most of use aren’t performing surgery so the extra expense is wasteful and creates superbugs that are harder to kill.

3. Turn of the faucet with your elbow.

4. Use a fresh paper towel to dry.

5. Save it and use it to open the door to the bathroom.

6. Toss the paper towel.

I realize that not every bathroom has the wide-paddle style faucet handle, but a lot of public bathrooms do. Obviously, I’m not advocating that you use paper towels at home because they’re expensive, but please do use a fresh hand towel and make sure they get washed regularly. I like cheapie washcloths from IKEA. Small enough to get a whole stack, but big enough to dry the hands 2 or 3 times before I toss it into the hamper.

I wipe down my telephone handset a lot, at work and at home. Both the hand, mouth, and earpiece parts. I tend to get pimples on my chin if I don’t, so I started doing this because of my acne. I try not to touch the poles on the subway with my bare hands. I pull my sleeve down, and wash later when I’m off the Metro. I like winter because no one thinks you’re weird if you are wearing gloves when you are holding on.

Please, wash your hands. If you find yourself washing a lot, get hand lotion. I find that I dry out my hands during the long east coast winters. I dab on lotion to keep my skin from cracking. I recommend Aquaphor Healing Ointment. It’s petroleum jelly with some extra stuff. They use it for burn patients. My friends with eczema swear by it. It’s not animal tested and it’s been tested safe for children and it appears to be vegan (if you care about such things). I suppose you could use plain Vaseline, but I found Aquaphor really does minimize burn scars. (I dismounted the back of a Ducati and touched my bare calf to the pipe that goes into the carbon fiber exhaust pipe, yes, I know, I shouldn’t have touched that part, but he didn’t lean the bike far enough, ok?). Oh, and you should buy it generic if you can find it, but I’m not sure there is a generic version.

One last thing, carry Purell or some other alcohol based gel if you can’t wash your hands. I saw nursing home administrators use it all the time after they touched a resident. 70% alcohol content gel is usually what medical facilities have.

So remember to wash your hands before you eat and after you potty. Get your sleep too.

I got a Xmas gift in a red gingham printed Chinese food box. If I make a little cut into the top of it, I can turn it into a piggy bank. I am loathe to tape it completely shut because I don’t want to destroy it, but my lack of willpower demands it.

I am so excited I am going to put some money in it today. And Lent doesn’t start till Wednesday!

This article reminds me that I need to get my car detailed. After 5+ faithful years, the interior could use some TLC. I used to eat in my car a lot on the way to class at night. It might have knocked down my resale value, but I got a 40% raise from all those mad cool DBA/SQL skillz y0!

While I am not so fond of the Microsoft sometimes, (Ruined my Friday night once and the PM for the product that ruined the evening later grabbed my ass at a party.) I love Excel. Seattle Simplicity has posted up free template tools for personal finance. They look pretty neat. I should probably get the 401(k) one. The only problem is that I have MS Works at home, not Office. I didn’t feel like splurging for Office. The extra expense wasn’t worth it to me.

I prefer to do the math myself, but I’ve always had problems with exponents, which are the foundation of calculating the present value of money. Oh one day, I guess I’ll post about that too. Simple calculators available online from places like Kiplinger’s work pretty well, but I like being able to open a spreadsheet and calculate different scenarios side by side. That used to be one of my favorite features in Quicken until they stripped it out of the 1996 basic version and stuck it in the Deluxe package instead.

Why does a cost calculator matter? They matter because when you go to spend your hard earned dollars, you want to spend them wisely and get as much value as you can.

Knowing when to rent and when to buy a house is as important as figuring out if you should lease a car or buy it. Often these calculators ask you questions you may not have considered. I actually know someone who did not consider the cost of car insurance when he purchased a vehicle!

Fly! Be free! And use a cost calculator when planning a major purchase! Choose your investment allocation by knowing your rate of return!