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Have you Trimmed your Budget?

August 12, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

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Due to the economy, many people have had to trim their budgets. Have you done any trimming? I bet most of you have. Here's an article about trimming some items in your budget.

Here's another good article about budgeting and money dilemmas.

Here are some of the things that I have lowered recently:

For some reason, when I bought a new car, full coverage cost WAY less than just liability for my super old car. I just increased my comprehensive deductible to $1,000, and this trimmed another $40 off every 6 months. Now my bill is only around $350 for 6 months for a new car (with full coverage).
I cut my cable by a tad. I eliminated HBO and Showtime, which saved me an extra $20 a month. I sure do miss True Blood and all of my other favorite shows though.
I also switched around my cell phone plan and found a 17% off discount through the BF's job, which saves around $20 a month.

Your turn: What have you done recently to save money?

My Frugal Shopping Trip

August 11, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 18 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Today I went grocery shopping after work. Usually when I go, I'll try and randomly grab maybe 3 or 4 coupons (and I usually feel pretty happy with those savings). Today I decided I would put my couponing skills to the test.

I brought a grand total of 10 coupons and my store had a $10 off day, so I ended up saving 73% off my grocery bill. My total was only $18.88 for everything! I'm very proud of the money I saved today. Especially since we needed all of the stuff I bought.

What's your monthly grocery budget? Do you use coupons? Any couponing or grocery saving tips/hints should be posted!

Do you have any side jobs?

August 11, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 7 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

DailyWorth published a new article yesterday. You can find it here.

I love the Money Fix Series because it is very relate-able.

Stephanie has a budget shortfall of nearly $500. She has cut nearly everything out she doesn't need and she still has this shortfall. The author of the article suggests that she find some part-time work.

I have been trying my hand at side gigs for about a month.

I secret shop for Best Mark (this has brought in more than $100 so far and I've only been doing this for less than a month)
I participate in online surveys (these don't pay a ton, maybe around $3 per survey)
I'm also trying my hand at writing for Yahoo. I have found it very hard to find myself to write for them though. I have no motivation. I need to change that.

Your turn: Do you have a budget short-fall? What do you do to fix this? Do you have any part-time work? Or freelancing gigs?

Random thoughts for right now

August 11, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 6 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Here's a quick article about jobs.

I think this is a good article for anyone in college or out of college who is still trying to decide what they want to do. I'm a financial analyst (which is on the list) and I greatly enjoy my job. My job is never boring and the days seem to go by quick. Where are you trying to find a job?

Here's an article about timeshares.

I love Learnvest.com also. Their articles are usually very good and interesting. Does anyone own a timeshare? I have never thought about buying one but I have rented them before. It seems like there are a lot of downsides to owning one. What are your thoughts on timeshares?

Also I have exciting news! I helped my mom last night with her resume. She has been out of work for nearly 3 years due to sad circumstances. My father passed away 3 years ago and she was helping him until he passed, which caused her to lose a lot of time at work. Her work then laid her off (which I believe had a connection to her not being able to work). Then my mother had some health illnesses but now she is forced to work again due to money reasons.

Anyways, enough with the sad stuff. She just turned in her FIRST application/resume last night (since she was laid off) and already received a job interview this morning. I'm so happy for her. I hope she gets it and I'm sure she will.

Being Flexible in your job hunt in this Economy

August 10, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 18 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

I'm a big fan of DailyWorth. I read an article yesterday titled How Flex Should You Be in Your Job Hunt? You can find it here.

How far would you go to find a job in this economy? I was very thankful to find a job just a short few weeks after I graduated from college. However, some of my friends graduated just this past May, and are not having as much luck. Most of them have not found jobs, even though that graduated from very good universities. Some of them are going to get their Masters since they have been unable to find jobs.

I would think about taking one of the entry level jobs. You never know where it can take you. I am pretty fresh out of college (just graduated in the spring of 2010) and I was always told that if you can't find a job which fits exactly what you're looking for, to take one that is somewhat similar. That way, when you do find the job that fits you better, your resume will still reflect that you were improving your skills and not just sitting back letting your skills go to waste.

Source: Daily Worth (http://s.tt/1309i)

Some people are forced to take jobs which do not apply to where they want to be or where there degree was supposed to take them. Some are forced to take entry level jobs even though they are mid or senior level management. In this economy, taking a job, any job, might be good for you. You never know where it could take you.

I was always told that if you can't find a job which fits exactly what you're looking for, to take one that is somewhat similar. That way, when you do find the job that fits you better, your resume will still reflect that you were improving your skills and not just sitting back letting your skills go to waste.

However, my friend recently applied for a job through a friend and she was told to leave out information on her year long, unpaid, full-time internship because it did not necessarily pertain to the job field for which she was applying to.

What do you think? Would you take any job? Here are some facts from the Rutgers Survey:

65% would take a lower salary
59% would accept a lower-status job
70% would accept a temporary job

Would you take any job? What would you do?

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When degrees are NOT worth the debt

August 10, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 14 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

To tie in with my last post about why I think college debt is (sometimes) worthwhile, here is an article that I found last month about adults who have unfathomable debt. These people each have somewhere around $185,000 in student loan debt which is insane!

None of these people graduated with a degree that lead to a job which they thought they would have.

Ways to save on college or lessen the burden of college debt include:

Scholarship/grants/work study programs (of course)
- Research ways to get scholarships. Apply for all scholarships that your college offers. Remember to fill out your FAFSA before the deadline in order to be eligible for higher grant amounts. Most schools offer work study programs where you might be a residential adviser, work in the cafeteria, and so on. The work is usually very minimal but can pay off.
Attending community college
- This way you can first get general credits out of the way.
Installment plans
- Usually you can set up a plan to pay for tuition over a 4 or 9 month period, which will lessen the burden of having to pay tuition and fees upfront.
Living at home at least some of the years while you are in college
- I got my own apartment at the age of 18 and bought my house at the age of 20, so I never lived in a dorm. Even though I didn't live at home with my parents, I still saved a significant amount of money by not living in the dorms and having to pay for a food plan also.
Only use student loans for actual tuition and fees
- A lot of the people in the article used their student loans to pay for them to live as well. They should have gotten a job and not have used loans to support them.

Your turn: At what point would you say that your college degree or debt would no longer be worth it? What do you think of these individuals who accrued so much debt? What would you tell them?

First Person: Why I Consider Student Loans to Be ‘Good Debt’

August 10, 2011 BY Michelle Schroeder-Gardner - 18 Comments

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Please read my disclosure for more info.

Some people can escape college and graduate with no debt or hardly any. I graduated with some debt, and I can proudly say that I am not ashamed of it.

I worked full-time throughout college and managed to graduate with two degrees in less than three years after the time that I graduated from high school. I managed to graduate before I turned 21, which I will say that I am also proud of.

However, since I graduated so quickly, I had to take a large course load in order for it to be possible. I took 14 credits (I think it was 14? Somewhere around that amount) while I was in high school, 18 or 21 during most spring and fall semesters and one summer I took 12 credits. The larger course load also came with a higher price, as the scholarships I was offered did not cover tuition beyond full-time status. With credits being nearly $900 an hour, each credit above 18 cost me dearly and added up quite quickly.

Currently, I have around $25,000 in debt, but that includes both my undergraduate degrees and two semesters of my MBA.

I do not regret my debt. I pay around triple the minimum balance each month for each loan that I have taken out and I plan to have my loans paid off within 5 years.

Your turn: Do you have any college debt? Do you consider college debt to be “good”?

Edit: My student loans are fully paid off!

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