Fighting burn out with mini vacations

Living in the USA vacation time from work is a premium. Most people get 2 weeks off. I am one of the lucky who gets 3. I also negotiate with my boss a little, toss in Thanksgiving holiday, and I can make that a month. I try to do this each year.

That said it leaves me with a long slog from November to November where I get very little or no time off. I have looked at my pattern of travel and realized that I jam in a couple 2-3 trips when possible. I realize that this is because I have to save my sanity somehow!

I realize now that these trips I take are to maintain sanity and keep me from getting too bored and spending on other things such as more gadgets or a new computer. If I am going to spend the money anyway I want to be sure it is spent on experiences and not stuff. I am at a constant war with stuff!

Examples of my mini vacations over the past couple of years:

• Weekend in New York City
• Memorial Day Weekend in New Orleans
• 2-day Bahamas cruise
• Weekend in Vegas for a friend's birthday

The list goes on for a bit. The point is that I take trips so I can keep going and save the majority of my time off for November. So far I have focused on Asia and don't see that changing for a while. I really love that area of the world with it's diverse people, food, and awesome sites to see. As a result of these long trips November has become my favorite time of the year! (for obvious reasons!)

My advice to those who want to travel is to plan one "big trip" each year that you save for and plan for well ahead of time. As great deals or opportunities for short trips arise do them too! I found that mixing these two is a great balance to work life (at least for me). It makes the year between trips seem a little shorter and less bleak and mundane.

The Grocery Game: Stage 2 Reached!

Today I have realized that I have hit "Stage 2" of the grocery game. I subscribe to a weekly database that finds the best deals each week in my local grocery store. It combines that with the current coupons available in the Sunday newspaper and I get lots of great "Double-whammy" deals.

I have reached the point where my freezer and pantry are mostly full. My grocery shopping has shrunk a lot and now I just replenish what I run out of and stock up on great deals that I know will get used. For example I like Powerade and stock up on it or Gatorade when they go on a great sale. I usually buy enough to last me 2 weeks as that seems to be the sale cycle on that item.

I am now mostly looking for good deals on my favorite meats, produce, and staple items. These are things that I constantly need. For produce specifically I find that the prices are lower and the quality is better at my local farmer's market. I am usually there every week to pick up what I need (its mostly natural stuff and spoils quickly).

It is nice to be able to cook form a full pantry as I have plenty of options to choose from. I do still buy specialized items if I am experimenting with a new recipe or agree to cook a specific dish for a group of friends. Other than that my grocery shopping has become less deal finding and more maintenance. As a result I save a lot of money on food!

Travel Planning! Time for the fun stuff!

I love travel planning. This week I am doing a bit of it for my planned vacations coming up.

With my recent Delta voucher wins I am going to New York City in less than 2 weeks for a weekend. I still have some vouchers left and am looking at the free beach house I have access too in Myrtle Beach or possibly New Orleans for Memorial Day weekend. I love both places!

I am also doing a little more research for my Asia trip in November (another month!) since I will be booking business class tickets using miles and using multiple airlines. It takes a lot more learning on my part. I have to figure out routing options, lounges I can go to, etc. It is all part of the fun for me! This is my big trip I look forward too all year long.

As of now I have New York done, narrowing down Memorial Day weekend and Thailand is probably around 30-40%. I am also waiting on some credit card bonuses to post so I can book the flights for Thailand and lock in my dates. I also have to figure out my itinerary for Asia so I can narrow down my flight options.

Emergency Fund: More than just a target number!

I have decided that a target dollar amount for my emergency fund wasn't enough. For most people it is ok but I like to be a little more detailed about it for my own life. I have come up with a list of sub-funds that the big number covers. I am assuring myself that multiple categories, in order of importance, are covered in the even of a financial emergency.

This idea spawned from the fact that I have multiple savings accounts. I originally got the accounts because of interest rate offers and other various reasons. I now have am using this to my advantage to repurpose them for specific parts of my emergency fund. The numbers happen to fall into place where I feel they needed to be.

Here is a break down of my target $10,000 emergency fund (in order of importance):

• $5,000: Job loss/pay the bills general fund
• $500: Medical co-pay and misc fund
• $500: Car repairs
• $1000: House Repairs
• $3,000: additional job loss fund for more extended unemployment and misc. emergencies

I have the first 3 covered as of today. This brings me now to the extra $3,000 to add to my general fund. I am comfortable with a $5,000 general fund but would feel much better with $8,000. I am now adding $100 per month to the general fund and any extra income/savings will go to that as well. I calculate that I could live for 4-5 months off that $8,000 if I had too. The peace of mind I get is priceless!

Another "tiny" emergency fund that is built into my monthly budget. I have a $100 misc category that I will use up first before tapping into any fund. This keeps me from having to do $5-20 transfers for little stuff that would throw my budget off. It just makes my life easier to manage financially! I do track it and roll it over or transfer to savings if there is some left.

Pro Tip: Create a "Bills" Calendar on your Computer/Smart Phone

A while back I created a calendar called "Bills" on my computer. This calendar syncs with my iPhone and now I know when all of my bills are due. I have automated the majority of my bill paying but have a few that are not for various reasons.

Regardless if you automate or not this is a useful tool. I have reminders pop up and I can go check to be sure that the automatic payment went through or I just simply make the payment when it is time. This forces me to be aware of my money while still keep it 90% automated and less prone to mistakes.

I also use this to keep track of irregular payments such as insurance. I pay my life, auto, and homeowner's insurance once per yer to get the lowest rate. They are all due in different months. This calendar also reminds me when to send these payments which could be easily forgotten other wise!

Because of this system have virtually eliminated all late fees and associated stress. I don't pay the insurance company's "lazy tax" by getting on a monthly plan. That is just not frugal at all! It took me about 30 minutes to set up and I don't have to worry. Get an new bill? Add it to the calendar. Drop/or change a bill? Adjust as needed!

Making My Credit Card Bonuses work: Business Class to Asia!

I have been focusing lately on some credit card bonus deals so I can get my flights to Asia this year in business class so I only have to pay taxes. I am working 2 deals where I will have enough miles for a one way on Star Alliance (Continental, United, etc) and the other way on One World (American, British, Cathay Pacifc, etc) in business class both ways!

I am doing my first mileage run in May that will boost me up to the miles I need to cover the Star Alliance half. Once I hit $4,000 in spending on my American Airlines card a big bonus should come in and I can star searching and booking both halves of my trip. It will be nice to fly in business for a 24+ hour journey and actually get some sleep.

It will be nice if I can work deals like this every year where I get enough points to keep going on my overseas extended vacations and not have to pay a lot out of pocket! Only time will tell if this will happen but I will take what I can get!

Why Pay to Watch/Read Advertisements?

The title of this post is to make you think. People are spending around $100 USD per month on cable or satellite TV. They are essentially paying to be forced to watch the ads and relentless marketing that makes you buy more stuff. This is a very good scam in my opinion.

The same goes for magazine subscriptions. You are paying for them to mail you ads to read. Sure there may be a couple of interesting articles. But you are slammed with ads for the 20 pages between the articles you read. How else could they afford to send you the magazines for $3 per year?

The point is to ditch cable and magazines. They are 100% unnecessary and are a drain the money away from your true goals in life. If you must watch shows find alternate sources such as Netflix, Hulu, or the particular TV network's website. If you are a sports fan (which is also overrun by marketing) then I suggest looking for streaming online packages for the games you want. I promise they are less than $100 per month!

Start today! Cut the cord and move on with life!

How to use a United Airlines paper voucher

A friend of mine had some United Airlines paper vouchers, valued at $100 each, that he gave to me in exchange for a flight in the future using my miles. I needed this vouchers to purchase my upcoming flight to Boston for my Boston - San Diego - Boston mileage run.

I did some digging around online and also called United trying to figure out how to use the vouchers. Once I found out the steps it was a relatively simple process. I will explain the process in plain words for all to understand!

First you must call United reservations line. You cannot book tickets from paper vouchers online. I found it was best to find the flights you want online then call. You will be connected to India call center.

Rules:

• Only good for United flights on United planes. No partner airlines' flights. 
• You forfeit any leftover value (In my case the flights were $264 but I sent in $300 in vouchers)
• You must go to the airport within 24 hours or mail the vouchers by the 2 week deadline.
• You can book for flights past the expiration date of the voucher. You only need to book before it expires.

 The agent will hold the reservation for you and you can view it, change seats, etc. online. I played it safe and used priority mail with delivery confirmation. It got there in 2 days and my flight was confirmed paid via email. My only cost was postage!

I must say this is a far cry from Delta where I simply enter in the numbers of my paper vouchers and can book my flight right then and there. It is a lot more efficient this way and I am sure cuts way down on overhead. I am unsure why United makes it so difficult (except that maybe they don't want them redeemed!).

Make sure to use your vouchers! It does not matter whose name is on them as they can be used to book a flight for anyone going anywhere. You can also mix vouchers and cash to pay. When you send in the voucher you have to include a copy of the ID of the person traveling as well as a copy of the ID of the voucher owner. In my case I had to send my ID as well as my friend's ID.

It is a but if paperwork, red tape, and hassle but well worth 30 minutes of my time for a free flight!

Tip: Avoid the US Mail if possible!

First off I want to say the mail has its uses. Good for sending letters, documents, checks, and so on. On the flip side they do a horrible job with packages and their tracking is horrible.

Long story short I ordered a new Garmin GPS unit to replace the one I stupidly left in a rental car. I put in my home address for billing and work address for shipping so I could be present to sign for it. I put the wrong zip code on the shipping address. It got sent out anyway--via US mail.

It is now nearly 3 weeks later and the item eventually went back to the shipper. I credit this problem to a few things:

• I made a mistake. I will take some of the blame.
• The website I purchased from did not cross-check the city/state and zip code. The zip code I entered was for a different city! A lot of online retailers do this check in background and ask you if something looks off.
• The post office couldn't make any changes. They just sent it back. If I make a mistake with Fedex or UPS all I have to do is call to get the address corrected. For almost a week the tracking said it was in "Atlanta, GA". I called the postal service and by the time I got a call back the item was already returned the the person didn't tell me any information I didn't already have.

Bottom line is I will use the mail as a last resort. They are the most archaic and inefficient shipping service in the world. I would rather pay more for UPS or Fedex and know it will get there within a reasonable amount of time and have someone to call if things go wrong somehow. If I have no other choice then I will mail it but I will purchase delivery confirmation or even certified mail to be sure it gets there. The people who work at the US Mail have zero incentive to improve and that is why it is so bad in the first place.

Shipper/Receiver beware! US Mail is a gamble at best!

My top 5 most useful financial tools

I use multiple tools to keep track of all of my financial life. They all make my life easier and automate as much of it as I feel comfortable with. I am the type who checks everything on a daily basis and watches every dollar. I have a good budget built for how I live and it works well for me.

Here are my top 5 financial tools:

1. Online Banking -- I bank with ING Direct. They have one of the best (in my opinion) online banking systems. I can send money electronically to anyone's bank account. I have free bill pay. I earn interest on my checking account. This is definitely my most useful tool!
2. Mint.com -- I use mint to help me keep track of my monthly budgets and it gives me a good "big picture" view of my current financial situation. It is about 90% automated now. I can log in, adjust the categories for a few transactions, and see where I stand at any time!
3. Microsoft Excel -- I use excel to create and adjust my budget (and update Mint if I need too). I also use excel to track all of my non-budgeted items like car repairs and extras that are not specifically in my budget. I do monthly tracking so any "surplus" gets moved to savings and not spent. I also track my Net Worth in Excel monthly (and I post that here too!)
4. iPhone - I make notes to myself related to finance such as budget adjustments I need to make, non-budgeted expenses and income, and ideas to research later. I have a calendar with my schedule of payments and reminders, I have online banking apps, and much more! Very handy.
5. Annual Financial Review - I review my entire big picture once per year in April to look at my budget, taxes, investments, savings, and estate planning each year. I make sure I am still on track for my lifelong goals and make any adjustments that I deem necessary. This step is the most important!

Having the above 5 tools at my disposal makes keeping my finances in order and in line with my goals much easier. I am to the point where I can manage my finances from anywhere that I have internet access. This is important since I plan to live overseas at some point and need to be 100% online if at all possible.