What's the Best Thing You've Ever Done for Yourself???

As the new year 2020 approaches, a question for the past:

-- What is the best thing you've ever done for yourself???

I read an article this morning on BBC news that brought home (pun intended) the best thing I've done for me:

https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20190826-the-holiday-islands-where-locals-have-nowhere-to-live

The article is about Airbnb rentals on holiday islands pricing locals out of affordable long term rentals.

I live on a holiday island, in my condo complex some non-resident owners have begun short term Airbnb rentals.  I have no problem with it (others do, it may be a heated topic at our next annual meeting).  I don't object because so far the short term renters have been pleasant and quiet.  Other than unfamiliar cars in the parking lot, one hardly knows they are here.  They come and go. 

My point is this:  buying my condo over 10 years ago is the best thing I've ever done for myself.  I have no fear that my rent will increase, I know I will always have a place to live and I will never have to move. 

I remember reading an article eons ago about Nantucket, same problem:  the workers can't afford to live there and need to commute to their jobs.  I read about California, similar situation... ever higher rents forcing people out of the cities or into homelessness. 

Wishing all a new year of peace and prosperity, and an affordable roof over your head.

Penny Pincher

Plenitude

Plenitude:

-- completeness: the quality or state of being full
-- abundance: a great sufficiency

Being free from want, happy with what you have. 

Plenitude is my wish for all this holiday season.

Penny Pincher

Giving Thanks - 2019

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, once again I'm thankful for many things this year:

-- NO hurricanes
-- continued good health
-- the 485 square feet I still call home
-- another debt-free year with increased savings
-- and most of all, good friends

Wishing everyone the joy and bounty of the season.

Penny Pincher

When sh*t happens... then what???

My car is in the shop for "you can't drive this car until it's fixed" repairs.  Car problems make me crazy.  What I know about cars you can put in a thimble and still have room to spare.  I knew the car was acting up... I knew it needed work.  I made an appointment at my nearby dealer/service center where I bought the car almost six years ago.  I have been very good about maintenance: getting oil changed regularly, general service, new battery every three years, bought a new set of tires a few months ago.  I thought I would have the car in for repairs for a day or two... cost about $500?  Wrong. Wrong. Wrong.

The car is still in the shop, parts are on order, won't have the car back for another 10 days or so.  Estimated total bill?  New battery, parts and labor for repairs?  About $2000.00.  Gasp.

Here's the good news.  Thanks to my cookie jar, I can afford to pay the bill and not lose any sleep.  The cookie jar is an account I set up in my budget to cover "out of the ordinary" expenses.  I add to it on a monthly basis, use it only when I really need it, and try to maintain a healthy balance.

So, what do I do without a car for the next few days?  I considered renting one.  But, that's stupid spending.  Being retired means I don't need to drive to work.  I can't see paying a daily rate for a car that may be sitting unused in my condo parking lot.  I have enough food at home to last for a week or so, there are fast food joints and a grocery store within walking distance.  About the only thing not close by is the post office where I have packages waiting.  They'll still be there in 10 days.  I can wait.

Read a quote recently that rang true with me:

"Wealth consists not in having great possessions, but in having few wants." -- Epictetus

Penny Pincher

UPDATE: It's been almost two weeks and the car is still in the shop... waiting for a part that's on back order.  I've been hoofing it... to the post office (2 mile downhill walk, $6 taxi van ride home), the grocery store, the bank, the repair shop for a status update.   Haven't rented a car yet... but am thinking about it for a day or two to get laundry and major grocery shopping done.  We'll see what repair news the end of next week brings.  It's a different life without a car.

"It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters." --  Epictetus

FINAL UPDATE:  Car repairs done, bill paid (total: $2061.16)... car runs like new.  Happy me.  What did I learn?  It's good to have 1) savings, 2) a full freezer and 3) sturdy walking shoes.

WTF?!?

Fiction?  I wish they were... here are two articles I read online yesterday that had me shaking my head in dismay.

From Marketwatch: a 24 year old financial planner with credit card debt

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/meet-the-financial-planner-who-uses-her-12000-credit-card-debt-to-help-clients-avoid-her-own-mistakes-2019-10-07

From The New Republic: Capital One credit card exposed

https://newrepublic.com/article/155212/worked-capital-one-five-years-justified-piling-debt-poor-customers

"What's in YOUR wallet?"  Be aware and beware!

Penny Pincher

Due Diligence

Read a great line online this morning regarding scammers/cons/grifters etc.

“You have to invite a vampire into your house before it can suck your blood.”

To put it another way:  No one can take advantage of you without your consent.

Be aware and beware.

I think that says it all.

Penny Pincher

How much money do you REALLY need for retirement?

Yesterday I read an eye-opening article in Marketwatch:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stop-pushing-poor-people-to-save-more-for-retirement-2019-09-12?mod=mw_theo_homepage

The telling paragraph in the article is this:

"But first we need to get something straight: retirement saving isn’t about making yourself rich in retirement. In reality, retirement saving is about being able to maintain your pre-retirement standard of living once you stop working. And most Americans, including low earning workers, seem able to do that."

Here's what you REALLY need for retirement:

Enough money to cover "your pre-retirement standard of living once you stop working."

Got that?  No pie-in-the-sky million or more dollars.  (Unless you lead a much more extravagant life than I, in which case you're probably not reading a blog about Cheap and Cheerful Living.)

Using your present income/expenses as a base, you need to figure out how you're going to match your present income.  Social security?  401K? Investments? Savings?  IRA? (Unless it's a Roth IRA, you'll be paying taxes on your mandatory IRA withdrawals.)  On the expense side, you'll need to factor in health insurance (Med-B is automatically deducted from your monthly social security payment).  In my budget the top 3 expense categories are: housing (condo fees, cable, power, water), cash (groceries, gas, incidentals), medical insurance (Med-B, AARP supplemental insurance & drug coverage, air ambulance).  These 3 areas account for the lion's share of my annual spending.  What's ironic is that I spend roughly the same total dollars annually in each of the 3 areas.  

To make your plan work you need financial software.  Get it, use it, make it your best friend.  Without it you're just whistling in the dark.

Penny Pincher

It's All Relative

Last week when I was pissing and moaning about my current electric bill -- about $100, no a/c, fans only running 24/7, about double what I pay in winter when the fans are off -- I ran across an article on Marketwatch about expats living in Belize.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/to-hell-with-it-she-ditched-canada-at-56-for-belize-where-couples-get-everything-you-could-imagine-for-under-50000-a-year-2019-09-05?mod=MW_home_top_stories

A highlight of the article was this list of expenses for living in Belize:

International Living magazine estimates that, if you’re frugal, you can get by on $2,000 a month. Sample monthly expenses might include:
• Rent: $850
• Electricity: $250
• Water: $35
• Cellphone: $50
• Internet and land line: $35
• Cable TV: $24
• Transportation: $50
• Gym membership: $100
• Food: $600
• TOTAL: $1,994
Source: International Living

Using the above categories, I tallied my average monthly expenses (no gym membership for me, I walk every morning).  Surprise!  My expenses came to about 1/2 of the frugal living in Belize total.  Seems I had nothing to bitch about after all.

Penny Pincher

C.Y.A.

Cover Your Assets

I had a wake-up call a couple of months ago when I realized my cumulative accounts at the local bank I've done business with for almost 40 years, was heading toward the F.D.I.C. insurance ceiling.  It was time to diversify.  But how?

A Google search pointed me to this article:

https://www.thebalance.com/best-ways-to-insure-excess-bank-deposits-4178055

I decided I wanted to open back up accounts at another local bank.  I never even considered an online bank.  I want online access, but I also want bricks and mortar and real live people I can deal with if necessary. 

I began my search at the F.D.I.C. website:

https://research.fdic.gov/bankfind/

I plugged in my location and scanned the results.  Living on an island limited my choices.  I went to the website for a bank within walking distance of my condo.  Nope. Didn't offer what I wanted.  However, another bank with two locations within an easy drive had exactly what I was looking for.  A fee-free checking account for seniors and a simple savings account.  All F.D.I.C. insured.  I gathered my identification, checkbook and drove to the nearest branch.  Within an hour I had two new accounts, both with online access.  In a week my new checks and my Visa debit/ATM card arrived in the mail.  I set up an online transfer from my original bank to my new bank for monthly additions to my new accounts.  Easy peasy.

Last night I discovered the benefit of duo-banking.  My monthly utility bill was posted and ready to be paid online.  However, that day I had received a new Visa debit card from my original bank which I immediately activated, but was told it would take 2-3 days before I could use it.  In a holiday week it could take longer.  Back up bank to the rescue!  My debit card payment went through in the blink of an eye.  Bill paid.  Happy me. 

Penny Pincher

Secret of Successful Skinny Living

Here it is:

KISS

Keep It Simple, Sweetie.

De-clutter.  Get rid of the excess.  Here's what I have in my life:

-- one home
-- one car
-- one bank (three accounts under that one roof.. checking, savings, convenience for money inflow)
-- one wardrobe (I live a tropical one season life)

The two back to back hurricanes in September, 2017 changed my diet and my grocery shopping list.  With no power for two months and daily ice runs to keep minimal foodstuffs fresh, I learned to live lean.  I shop with a list and usually stick to the list.  My favorite recipes are 5 ingredients or less.

Keeping it simple means for me less time spent on maintenance and more free time for fun.

Penny Pincher

International Women's Day - 3/8/2019

Today is a day for all women everywhere on earth to celebrate.  The Google doodle for today celebrates women in 14 beautifully illustrated inspiring quotes from women.  Go see it for yourself.

Google doodle for International Women's Day

Here's my personal wise saying for all women:

Never be less than you are for anyone.

No false modesty, no hiding your light under a bushel.  Be proud of who you are and what you have accomplished.  And above all, control your own money.  As my dear friend Susan said: "She who makes the gold makes the rules."

Penny Pincher

Catastrophe

As defined in my favorite holiday movie (Christmas in Connecticut with Barbara Stanwyck) catastrophe is a word from the Greek, meaning: NOT good.  In tarot cards, it's #16 in the majors, the tower.  Again, NOT good.  It's an event of little warning with dire consequences.  Like an earthquake or tsunami.    Cutting to the chase, my windows 10 laptop DIED.  Catastrophe.

One minute I was happily surfing the net, the next my computer (for NO apparent reason) shut down.  WTF??  When I attempted to restart, the machine tried repeatedly to repair itself, to no avail.  DEAD.   FRIED. TOAST.  OMG.  Visions of all that lost data danced in my head.  O.M.G.

When I began writing this post, I was unaware that people in Alabama were about to be hit by devastating tornadoes.  Losing homes and lives.  In the overall scheme of things, my dead computer is mere fly shit.  I already have a new laptop on order, and will spend a day reconstructing my Quicken data.  I'm a paper hoarder, so have everything I need to get the job done. Would that those hit by the tornadoes would fare as well.  As a survivor of two hurricanes in September, 2017, my heart goes out to those who have suffered losses.

Penny Pincher

Fasten Your Seat Belt

Even as a kid, I hated roller coasters.  The heights and the up/down motion combined to make my stomach churn.

The current state of the stock market also fills me with stomach churning dread.  Then I remember, I'm not IN the stock market.  I got out after several years of dipping my toes into very conservative mutual funds.  I was fortunate.  I earned a few bucks and got out completely before 2008.  Whew. 

When it  comes to financial risk, I'm a complete wimp.  My acorns now rest in an FDIC insured savings account, earning paltry interest, but it's interest paid every month and compounds into a nice annual return.   I thank my bank and  my stomach thanks me. 

If the thrills, chills and spills of the stock market give you a rush, then fasten your seat belt, it's going to be a bumpy ride.  Don't forget your Dramamine.

Penny Pincher