Kristy from Master Your Card asked for my 15 personal finance habits to round off that 25 Random things about me that I didn’t complete.
Good idea, Kristy.. so here goes!
1. I always make a monthly budget and try my best to stick to it.
Like around $1500/month which gives me about $500 play money, although I must admit, a real budget for me would be $2000 a month, it’s just that I like challenging myself.2. But I never really deprive myself.
When I was clearing my debt, I had a Starbucks budget. Punishing yourself never works. It just makes you mad and caffeine-deprived.3. I try not to pay retail because I know the markup is ridiculous.
Stores can slash prices by 80% and still turn a profit! WTF JACOB? Ugh. Makes me sick.4. So I try to buy less, at a higher quality but for the right price.
I learned this the hard way many times – if you buy cheap, you’re going to pay twice, and cry inside.5. I believe in saving as much of your income as possible. I have a goal to save 50% of any net income earned. I try to meet that goal as much as possible.
6. I don’t spend money on unnecessary products any longer.
For example, I don’t see the point in shaving cream. I just use soapy suds and shave with that. It’s all marketing, like cold water detergent.7. I use up everything I can before I buy. I used to stockpile makeup and toiletries. Not any more. I use up what I’ve got. It clears clutter too.
8. I don’t pay for or watch cable TV. All my entertainment is via the internet. I watch Rich Bride Poor Bride on Slice.ca, a guilty pleasure.
9. Being environmentally friendly actually helps the wallet. I know y’all say that buying green is more expensive but it isn’t. You just learn to make do without chemical cleaners and use baking soda, vinegar or lemon juice instead, and I feel healthier without the chemicals assaulting my senses.
10. BF and I cook at home from scratch. Even without BF, I cooked at home all the time.
Saves in the wallet and in the ass.
Win win.
11. I’ve become a minimalist. It wasn’t to save money. It was to avoid seeing so much damn clutter, and I don’t miss any of it for a single second.
12. Compounding interest was my gateway drug into finance. If you ever do the math on compounding interest of what you can earn in 10-40 years with $5000 a year, it’ll blow your mind. Then you make pretty graphs and drool over them at work.
13. Am glad I learned how to budget, track expenses & take control of my finances now. …rather than later especially in light of today’s times.
14. I believe in giving to charity but it isn’t a rule with me.
I don’t have it in my sheet every month, but on average, I do give 15% – 30% to charity. I don’t make it a set rule because then it feels like a burden, or a debt.15. I’ll never make the same mistakes with my own kids. …that my parents made with me. My kids are going to learn all about their money early on.
There 
15 PF Tidbits from me.
What are some of yours?
- "But you told me I could splurge!!"
- Paying your debt in installments
- 5 Steps to Taking Control of your Finances
- How to bust out a budget, step-by-step
- Reader Question: Help me figure out where to allocate my cash
There's somethin about Tawny....
on Feb 3rd, 2009
@ 6:51 PM:
Great advice….you’re inspiring me!!
sariti
on Feb 3rd, 2009
@ 6:56 PM:
thank you FB for the tidbits, they are all very useful…i’ll keep them in my mind… :.)
W.
on Feb 3rd, 2009
@ 7:51 PM:
Great list. I was nodding my head to pretty much all of them.
No.s 2,4 and 10 are the truth – I live by those principles.
Lol @ “Then you make pretty graphs and drool over them at work”. If they find out that’s what I spend my time doing, I will be in so much trouble
dinah34
on Feb 3rd, 2009
@ 8:10 PM:
those are great tips! i never thought about thinking of compound interest that way. i need to get making graphs.
pinque
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 12:18 AM:
I just love your blog, especially all the finance tips. I need to start reading prior to my shopping sprees!
Michelle
http://pinque.wordpress.com
GREENI$BLACK
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 12:35 AM:
I like the idea of the “starbucks budget”!
Too many times I try to deprive myself, and just like a real diet, i end up binging because of it!
I think I will give myself a $100 shopping budget every month so I don’t go overboard whenever I do have extra money
marisol
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 12:43 AM:
These are great!
I plan on not getting cable when I get my new place. All of the shows I watch are online and FREE so why waste $70 on cable & DVR rental. Besides, I find that I watch more TV that way.
Steve Morozumi
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 2:57 AM:
great advice. on the deprivation thing, i think finance newbies and finance maochists try to preach dropping the coffee. not necessary!, and potentially dangerous or at least debilitating! thanks again FB!
-Steve @ fluxlife
Dolly Iris
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 3:13 AM:
Great post! I share many of the same money practices and views.
Mentally Sane
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 3:49 AM:
Hahaha! Glad you liked the idea. I tried to put a few personal finance items in my list, but this is even better!
So, a few of mine would be:
1. I absolutely love change! I have a piggy bank (just got a new porcelain one!) and I like the sound of the coin going in.
2. In fact, sometimes I still pick up coins from the ground – has to be a dime or more, though, and I wash them off in CRL (or is it CLR?).
3. I used to think that as long as I still had checks in my checkbook, I could spend money. I learned a really hard lesson that way…to the tune of $1000. Hmmm, I think I just found a new blog post!
Hey, love the new look BTW. Don’t think I’ve mentioned that yet.
Kristy
http://www.masteryourcard.com/blog
Miss M
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 1:14 PM:
I love your list. I seem to enjoy punishing myself though, I need to save up a little spending fund so I don’t feel so guilty when I buy myself something.
asgreen
on Feb 4th, 2009
@ 1:45 PM:
I love compounding interest!
QL girl
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 11:41 AM:
I generally agree with your list, but I just wanted to point out that all soap is not created equal. While I don’t need to buy the most expensive shaving cream, when I used soap my legs were always itchy and burning after shaving. I must have sensitive skin, but it is such a HUGE difference when I use a good shaving gel. We’re not all that lucky that we can use soap. =] (I totally agree with the “cold water detergent” though!)
As for #3, I can never get over that!!! I always get a little mad when I see clearance racks with clothes priced at ridiculously low prices and I think if they’re willing to sell it that low, they must be making fortunes off the regular priced stuff!!! I’m slowly learning to buy less, but in higher quality as well.
FortySix
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 2:49 PM:
Really on Number 10…I mean…nobody gets a lil frisky in the kitchen…wouldn’t be my damn kitchen i tell you…
46
Mandy
on Feb 5th, 2009
@ 4:50 PM:
Always wanted to be a minimalist, but it seems too hard to let go everything. ): Maybe you should write a tutorial. (: