Hey everyone! It has been around one month since my last Question and Answer and I now have a whole new batch of questions to ask all of you.
I really like Question and Answer type posts where I can just talk and talk and talk, and then learn more about all of you as well.
Comment with your answers below! And if you would like me to answer a question of your own, you can always ask in the comments as well.
Do you like your job? If not, why are you still there?
I LOVE my job and I love what I do. In case any of you are new here (I’ve had a few emails in the past week asking about what I do) just a little summary of what I do: I have a business where I do a lot of online freelancing – you can read more about all of it here.
I blog, staff write, manage websites, manage social media, and more.
Is your Christmas tree still up?
The other day I was on Facebook and noticed that not just one but TWO people still had their trees up. What the heck? Mine was put away one or two days after New Year’s Day.
Also, do you still have lights on your house? If you do, WHY? I know it’s freezing outside but I feel like this cold weather is never going to end if your holiday lights never come off your house 🙂
Do you eat before you work out or after?
I eat before I work out. I don’t know how some of you work out right when you wake up without eating. I have tried it and I usually have to stop working out because I get so light-headed from not eating!
I usually eat and then wait around 30 minutes to work out.
Do you have any pets? How much do you spend on them?
I have two pets. We got our first dog around seven years ago when we first moved out. Her name is Sailor and she is a Boxer/Pitt Bull/Brittany mix who is a little over seven years old.
Our other dog is Mr. French (a runt French Bulldog) and we got him right when we moved into our house when we bought it in October of 2009. He is around 5 years old.
They are my fir-kids and I take way too many pictures of them.
I’m not exactly sure how much we spend on them each month. Food is probably around $50 a month. Treats and toys are probably $10 a month.
Do any of you send your dog to doggy day care? One of my friends brings her dog there a few times a week at $24 each day.
How much do you spend on food each month?
Right now, we are spending around $400 a month on food (this does not include entertainment – such as going out for drinks), which is a huge change from how much we used to spend. We used to eat out for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Just the thought of that makes me sick because we were so unhealthy and wasted so much money. Now, I prefer to eat at home because it tastes so much better.
Are you going to FinCon?
I am! I went to New Orleans last Summer (the picture above is of a Hand Grenade that I bought while I was there). You can read my recap on New Orleans if you haven’t been there before.
I found an interesting post about FinCon yesterday that I think you should read – Should Debt Bloggers Go To FinCon? What do you think?
Do you have a side income?
I don’t anymore. I used to have a ton of extra income, but now it’s all a part of my wonderful business that I operate full-time. I would like to start some offline side income jobs, but I’m not sure since I don’t have a ton of free time for that right now.
Your turn!
NZ Muse says
I really do, the only bad thing is it’s a tough industry to be in (online media) and we’re always underresourced! Otherwise yes, I dig it and there are days I genuinely look forward to going to work.
Michelle S. says
What is it exactly that you do? Do you write?
Glen @ Monster Piggy Bank says
I don’t really like the work that I do, but I like the company that I work for.
I am still there because it pays very highly and I get to go to the gym in my lunch hour and be at home by 4pm. This allows me to spend more time with my family and work on my internet businesses once my son goes to sleep.
Michelle S. says
Even though you don’t like your job, it sounds like it allows you to do other things that you want to do, which is good!
Mark Ross says
Nice post Michelle. Well, I do like to blog and I’ve been learning a lot from it lately. I just wish I had more time to spend blogging, networking and writing articles, I feel like 24 hours isn’t enough if you like what you’re doing.
Michelle S. says
Thanks Mark! Nope, 24 hours is not enough 🙂
DC @ Young Adult Money says
I don’t mind the work that I do and I get to learn new software and work with data, so that’s a good thing. I have a 20-something year-old cat who has been a bit pricey lately with her prescription food and vet bills. I plan on buying my ticket to FinCon this month! Christmas tree has been gone for weeks now, thankfully.
Michelle S. says
Yes, you better buy your FinCon ticket! From what I’ve heard, they are flying off the online shelf 🙂
Matt Becker says
I’m definitely planning on FinCon this year! I love New Orleans. It’s actually where I met my wife AND where I had my bachelor party. I’m looking forward to getting back there.
Michelle S. says
Haha that is awesome Matt! Is your wife going to come also? I’m forcing Wes to come with me.
Matt Becker says
That’s an interesting idea! We’d have to leave the kids with the grandparents, but it could be fun. But when I really think about, I have to say I really doubt she’d come. She’s supportive and all, but a weekend with financial/blogging nerds might be asking a little much, haha. She gets enough of that already at home.
Michelle S. says
Haha yeah I bought Wes a pass anyways, but I don’t know how excited he is. I did notice last year that a good amount of spouses came.
Emily @ evolvingPF says
I like my “job” pretty well right now. It can be pretty stressful but it is flexible. I took it easy early in my program and I’m paying for it now.
We have never had a Christmas tree. We do celebrate Christmas, but we travel to our parents’ homes.
OMG I CANNOT eat right before I work out. I have a 90 minute minimum after eating before I can work out and every time I test myself to see if I can deal with less time I start feeling sick to my stomach. I love working out first thing on an empty stomach.
We have no pets. We are not pet people.
Our grocery budget is $400/month but we regularly exceed it by about $50/month.
I haven’t committed yet but I want to go to FinCon14! I think I’m going to buy my ticket in the next few days. That means I need to get my blog income up so I can pay for it!
Michelle S. says
You should definitely buy a FinCon ticket! It’s a lot of fun – the people and sessions are great.
Grayson @ Debt Roundup says
There are a lot of questions here. First, I love my job. Can’t get enough! Christmas tree came down before the end of the year. I eat before if I am working out in the morning. We have two dogs and spend around $50 a month on them. I am going to FinCon. I had tickets last year, but my work needed me to travel at the same time. I was pissed. Yes, I do have side income and I love it!
Michelle S. says
Haha yes, I had a lot of questions built up so I decided just to ask them all at once.
I’m excited to see you at FinCon this year. Hopefully nothing comes up!
Little House says
Great questions: I do like my job, though sometimes the kids (pre-teens) can test my patience! 🙂 I don’t put up a Christmas tree so that’s a moot point for me. However, we keep twinkle lights on our patio all year, so does that count as holiday lights up all year? I don’t know. I have three cats I spend way too much on each month (they’re old and need special foods and such) and I’m not sure about FinCon. Where is it this year anyway?
Michelle S. says
No, that does not count as holiday lights up all year 🙂 We keep twinkle lights on our patio all year as well.
It’s in New Orleans so you should come! 🙂
Stephanie@Mrs.Debtfighter says
Yes, I LOVE what I do!!! I mostly stay home with my youngest son right now and substitute teach occasionally. Christmas tree down, lights still up!! 😉 We spend anywhere between $300-$400 on groceries for a family of four. We just bought half a cow for the year so last month it was $220 not having to buy meat. I eat after I workout. If I wake up hungry, I usually have a piece of fruit. 🙂
Michelle S. says
Wow you do so well with your grocery budget!
Amanda @ Passionately Simple Life says
I tolerate my work and I think that’s the best way to put it. I enjoy it some days and others not at all. But it’s only a temporary position which I hope I can turn into a side gig once I find a position in my field. Lately, our dog hasn’t been that expensive, but the bf bought the last round of toys for her which keeps her off everything else! The tree was down pretty late, around mid January but it was the bf who wanted it up that late.
Michelle S. says
Haha that is funny – Wes always wants the tree down as soon as possible. In fact, it was him who made me take it down the first week of January.
Broke Millennial says
Job – meh
Pets – not yet
Christmas tree – down
Fin Con – HELL YES
Side income – Yes
Food – (including going out) $300 – $350 per month
I’m not pursuing the self-employment gig but I am leaning towards going back to school so I have that to keep me occupied for a while.
Michelle S. says
I love your response to my FinCon question. We need to hang out there!
Kendal @HassleFreeSaver says
Love this post, Michelle!
I love my job. I’m so happy I took a paycut two years ago to pursue it – it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.
My Christmas tree is NOT still up. I took it down BEFORE New Year’s. Our outside lights are down, too, but it took our neighbors until just last weekend to take down all their outside decor, and another person in our neighborhood still has their tree up. Insanity!
I eat after I work out. It takes a lot to motivate me to work out so if I eat first and have to wait, I’ll give myself an excuse to skip it.
I have two dogs and they are my fur babies, too. They’re litter mates we adopted from an animal shelter – Lab/Australian Shepherd mixes and EVERY picture has them in it. I had a watercolor painted of them — I’m that crazy.
We spend a lot on food each month. We don’t go out much because my hubby is an amazing cook, and we like real food and expensive cheese.
I am not going to FinCon because my cousin is getting married that weekend. Maybe next year!
Michelle S. says
That is awesome that you love your job. I would take a pay cut as well if it meant I loved it.
Aww that stinks about FinCon. We have friends getting married the week after, so luckily I don’t have to miss it!
Adam Kamerer says
Do you like your job?
At the moment, I’m not working a traditional job. I am doing some freelance web design and some private social media tutoring that’s been a lot of fun. I think the latter is something I might try to expand into a proper business, with a focus on tutoring representatives of non-profits.
Is your Christmas tree still up?
Haha. My wife and I actually never put one up. We did all our Christmas stuff visiting family, so we didn’t put any decorations at home this year.
Do you eat before you work out or after?
I try to eat afterwards. My go-to is a peanut butter, banana, and honey sandwich with a bottle of water.
Do you have any pets? How much do you spend on them?
We have one cat, Charlotte. She’s a bit expensive — she’s allergic to chicken, so we have to buy a somewhat expensive cat food made with lamb. We spend a few bucks every now and then on new toys, but she’s mostly a creature of habit and prefers this one toy that we’ve had for years.
How much do you spend on food each month?
We average about $300 a month, but that can fluctuate a lot, because I tend to buy in bulk when I come across good coupon deals. So some months our grocery bill might be closer to $400-450 if a ton of good deals all fall on the same month, but the months following will be generally be cheaper than average.
Are you going to FinCon?
I’ve been debating this all week. I’d love to go, and since it’s in New Orleans this year, it’s only about six hours away from us. On the other hand, between registrations, lodging, travel, food, and other expenses, that’s a substantial chunk of change I can sink into our debt. I think in the end I’m going to say no to it this year, but make a plan to attend in 2015.
Do you have a side income?
I guess you could say that all of my income is side income right now. My wife is our primary breadwinner at the moment, so anything I bring in is extra stuff that gets sunk into paying off our debt, or to handle unexpected expenses like the new washing machine we just had to buy.
Michelle S. says
Aww we always put a tree up! I think in the 7 years that we have lived together, that there has ALWAYS been a tree because I am crazy like that haha
Michelle S. says
Good luck Blake! What is your new job?
Michelle S. says
Sounds awesome. Congrats!
Rachel Kerstetter says
I love your Q&A posts!
Job: I love what I do (public relations) and I enjoy the company that I work for. That doesn’t mean that I am not keeping an eye out for the opportunity to grow and advance my career, whether it’s where I am or somewhere else.
Tree: Our trees came down the weekend after New Years as did our lights since I only put them inside of our windows. We don’t have ladder tall enough to hang outside lights and my husband is afraid of heights so that may never happen!
Pets: We have two cats (Holmes and Watson) who we adopted when we bought out house in 2012, they’re nearly two years old. We buy their food and litter in bulk so we spend roughly $50 a month on both and spend maybe $20 a year on treats and toys. My siblings both have children and we don’t so my mom treats our cats like grandchildren and buys them toys and treats, which is weird but makes her happy and makes them happy.
Food: For just the two of us, we usually spend about $350 on groceries each month. That includes more than just food but not dining out, which we do only about once a week.
Side income: I have a tiny side income from my blog that isn’t even enough to report monthly, but I’m getting better! I also decided to start keeping track of what I win in drawings and get sent to review this year to tally up how much free stuff I’ve gotten.
Michelle S. says
Thank you Rachel! I love them too.
Haha that is awesome about your mom and your cats. My friend’s parents do something very similar with her dog.
Michelle S. says
I wish I could eat after. I have a fast metabolism and if I don’t eat, I get super dizzy and will faint/blackout. So, I ALWAYS have to eat.
I love your dog’s name!
Good job on the side job!
Michelle S. says
Sounds like you are doing well, except for the working out part 😛
Michelle S. says
Haha good!
Michelle S. says
That sounds like a very hard job! My sister does something similar and there are days when she loves it, and other days not so much.
Andrew@LivingRichCheaply says
Job – It pays the bill and it’s okay, but I have golden handcuffs (great benefits and a pension)
Pets – no, apartment doesn’t allow it and the little baby takes up enough of our time
Christmas tree – Took it down MLK weekend. I don’t rush to take it down right after x-mas since it took so much time/effort (well not really) to put it up, might as well enjoy it for longer
Fin Con – probably not, but would love to one day go and meet fellow bloggers.
Side income – No…really want to work on that.
Food – really need to track how much we spend on that.
Michelle S. says
Yeah, I’d rather enjoy the tree for as long as I can as well. Wes made me take it down though!
Jason B says
Job – Not working traditional right now
Work Out – Eat before
Christmas tree – Didn’t put one up this year 🙁
Fin Con – 50/50 right now leaning towards yes
Side income – Yes
Food – $150-200
Michelle S. says
Lean towards Yes!
SavvyFinancialLatina says
Do I like my job? Meh. Sounds terrible right? I sort of like what I’m going, especially with my stakeholders, but I just can’t stand the politics and pettiness at work. It’s pretty bad. And only getting worse as I get more exposure.
Michelle S. says
I’m sorry! What are you doing to change your situation?
Savvy Financial Latina says
Trying to stay positive! Only way to survive. Looking at new opportunities. But don’t want to join a similar environment, so have to be selective. It may take longer to change jobs, maybe a year, as I develop meaningful relationships, but I think it’s the best. No point in joining another similar organization.
Michelle S. says
I agree, no point in switching to a place similar, or even worse.
Fig @ Figuring Money Out says
Fun!!
Do you like your job? If not, why are you still there? I do like what I’m doing now.
Is your Christmas tree still up? Nope! No more Christmas stuff at all.
Also, do you still have lights on your house? If you do, WHY? Nope!
Do you eat before you work out or after? It depends. Usually I’m not hungry after.
Do You Like Your Job? I am doing side jobs randomly and also blogging, freelance writing, and other online activities. That part I LOVE!
Do you have any pets? How much do you spend on them? I have one dog. I spend roughly $50 a month on her.
Do any of you send your dog to doggy day care? I don’t. I have friends that do but my dog stays home all day.
How much do you spend on food each month? $300 a month. I eat out too much, true story.
Are you going to FinCon? – I really want to! I need to make some friends so I can share a room to cut costs though.
Should Debt Bloggers Go To FinCon? What do you think? – Idk. I personally didn’t but now that I’m out of debt I plan to go this year!
Do you have a side income? – It’s my main income now for the most part.
Michelle S. says
You should definitely go to FinCon!
Wendy (@BlushandBarbell) says
I work out on an empty stomach (well, a caffeinated stomach) and I think drinking a casein protein shake before bed helps. I don’t know though.
Michelle S. says
I’ve never had a protein shake. Thinking about maybe starting that though.
Stefanie @ The Broke and Beautiful Life says
The eating and workout thing is always tough for me, it has to be the perfect storm of when I last ate and motivation to get me out the door. I usually snack as soon as I get back, take a shower, and prep a meal. I need to eat often, otherwise I get grumpy.
Michelle S. says
Yes, it does have to be good timing for me as well 🙂
Tonya@Budget and the Beach says
I think I understand people who leave their christmas decorations up this long about as much as I understand people who “OMG love everything Disney!!!!” I guess I just don’t have that perky/happy gene or something. LOL! I love half my job which entails blogging. I hate the other half which is video editing. I wrote a post about it that will be on John’s site next week.
Michelle S. says
Looking forward to that post! I love blogging as well of course 🙂
Meghan says
I hope I will! I start a new job on Monday. 😀
Michelle S. says
Congrats Meghan! 🙂
Meghan says
Thanks! It’s a job within my agency so luckily the new job stress should be minimal too!
Michelle S. says
Awesome. I hope you do great!
Liz says
I don’t hate my job but it def is not my passion. I am very thankful for it nonetheless! I remember when my hubby graduated from school in December of 2009. It was basically impossible to find jobs. I think going through that whole unemployment experience with him definitely gave me a new sense of appreciation for my job even if it isn’t the dream job per se.
Michelle S. says
I think that’s sort of why I settled with the job I took after I college from college in May of 2010. The job market wasn’t the greatest, and all of my friends were having a hard time finding a job. So I took one of the first job offers I had because I was afraid to hold out for something good.
her every cent counts says
Yes and no. I like that I finally have autonomy to some extent and am making what I feel is a good income. That said, I often wonder what it would be like to have a job I’m truly passionate about where I could be creative. I kind of put up with my job right now. It’s a good job and there are parts of it I’m good at — but I don’t love it and I don’t think I ever could.
Michelle S. says
That’s how I felt about my last job. It was a good job, but I knew I couldn’t do it forever because I did not like it.
Charles@gettingarichlife says
I have a new position in my company and I love this new job. The only problem is the elevated stress and travel but I enjoy what I do.
Michelle S. says
That’s good that you enjoy it 🙂