Recovering Women Wealth

Sober Women Managing Money & Mental Wealth

Archives for April 2019

People Are Basically Generous – Featuring Tim from Life For The Better

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In continuation of my interview series, “people are basically...”, I am excited to introduce you to Tim and L.

They are a young couple with a very bright future and an already impressive net worth. However, that has not come by happenstance as they make very intentional choices in their lives.

Without further ado, here is Tim & L from Life for the Better…

Introduce Yourself to Ms. Fiology Readers

Hey! My name is Tim and I’m 26 years old. I currently live in a Tiny House and love every second of it. I recently got married to, “L” and we have a little puppy named Atlas who is 8 months old. He’s half Australian Sheppard half Husky. I have been in the Air Force for 8 years and plan to do my 20-year career.

Did you go to college?

I went to college and graduated in 3 years. I came out with two degrees as well. One from the Air Force and the other in Management Communications.

I worked the overnight shift from 11 pm to 8 am and then went to class during the day. I recommend this to a lot of individuals who want to complete their degree while also having a job. Additionally, I could do my homework sometimes at work when it was slower but it also gave me a paycheck and job experience for the future.

[Deanna here – and I just want to highlight that last paragraph as Tim said it so nonchalantly. Working night shift and taking college classes during the day takes immense discipline and perseverance. I think it’s brilliant but additionally very hard. Kudos, Tim.]

Do you have any debt?

The only debt I have is a rental property. I’ve avoided debt by going to college on the overnight shift and using that money to pay for tuition, rent, gas, food, etc. etc. This simple choice of working different hours than the regular individual has helped me avoid debt.

I also don’t buy items that don’t bring me happiness. I feel as if there are so many objects in the world that we can

Tim & L’s tiny house. How adorable is that??

bring into our homes that this becomes the “norm.”

However, I have realized that I’m only going to buy things that bring me true happiness in life. I will buy a more expensive guitar for example, because it brings me happiness. By purchasing a better guitar I am more apt to play it and respect it versus having a less expensive guitar. I value the purchases that I make.

I also pay myself first and treat my savings as a bill because it forces me to pay myself first. Paying yourself first is a sure way to become financially independent. You do not have to be in debt to anyone else.

What is the biggest obstacle you’ve faced in life?

That’s an interesting question. I feel there are many obstacles in life that are hurdles. Some of them compile and become bigger and bigger hurdles that compound. One that sticks out most to me is joining the Air Force. I say this because the military provides so many opportunities to succeed in life but that isn’t without compromises.

I’ve been fortunate enough to obtain two college degrees, have a full-time income, see 20+ countries, meet life-long friends, do things I would have never done in the civilian world, and many other things. This is all due to me signing my name on the dotted line.

However, some of the compromises are sacrificing family and friend time to create a work-life balance. Our work operations are 24/7/365. This forces us to work shift work throughout the year.

Anyone who has worked shift work will tell you it’s exhausting. Planning oil changes, doctor visits, groceries, family outings, etc. around work takes a toll on the body. Not to mention shifting your sleep pattern and entire body rhythm.

What I’ve learned from this is to balance my work and personal life.

Not everything is about work, granted that is different by being in the military. I will always do my duties. The saying “you don’t know what you got til it’s gone” holds true here. I didn’t know that I had such a strong support system with my family and friends. I’ve also learned that I love spending time with these individuals in my life.

Do you know what your purpose is?

That’s a deep question! I think it’s always evolving for me as I become older and more mature with different life experiences.

My life motto has always been adapting and changing over the years but each time it comes back to helping others, traveling the world, experiencing all there is, living, laughing, and loving.

I’ve always been aware that I am a gifted individual by having an education, financial literacy, athletic ability, a desire or drive to learn new things, amongst many other gifts. I have always wanted to take these gifts and help others in some way.

I keep going back to the idea of starting a non-profit organization to help others. This would incorporate helping others, traveling and enjoying life. To me, that is my purpose in life.

Right now, I’m doing that by being in the military but I’m also doing it for the future by learning all that I can now so I can develop my skills for the future.

What is your investment/retirement strategy?

I invest in the Thrift Savings Plan through the Air Force and max that would along with a Roth IRA. I think being so young and maxing both of those accounts out is more than enough. However, I have had extra cash at the end of each month and saved up enough for a rental property. I also invested in silver for extra savings.

My thoughts on this are to save as much as possible while I’m younger and then let it sit for the future. Compounding interest is my friend right now!

I currently have a net worth of 250K and it’s kind of satisfying to know that if I let this sit until retirement age that I could just live paycheck to paycheck and be a millionaire by then.

[Deanna here – um, woah! That is a stellar net-worth at 26 years old. That certainly did not happen by mistake!]

How do you give back?

I give back in many ways! One of my favorite ways to give back is by donating my time to others. I like to volunteer when able. This simple gesture of giving someone time is invaluable.

I volunteered with Big Brothers Big Sisters for a few years and had my own “little”. He didn’t have a father figure around so I found it amazing to teach him about life in the few years we interacted with one another.

I also give back to others secretively with Random Acts of Kindness. Some of the things that I’ve done is pay for a random strangers meal in a diner.

On one occasion we & another patron were the only ones in a diner. We told the waitress we’d like to pick up his tab. We watched from the window and his reaction was priceless when he found out dinner was paid for.

I’ve also bought…

  • A tank of gas for someone while traveling
  • Starbucks for others behind me in line at the drive-thru
  • Uber Eats’ ed coffee to the local police department
  • Left money on the water refiller so they didn’t have to pay
  • Amongst many other things.

This is all doable because L and I give one another a $100 Visa Gift Card for Christmas and we use it throughout the year on others. When the money runs out we just continue with the random acts because it’s what makes the world go round!

Often times we are so involved in our own space and own little world. Additionally, we forget to look up to other humans and give them love. How cool would it be if we all loved one another and used our two hands to help each other versus for ourselves?

That’s 14 billion hands working together versus 2 hands working for ourselves.

Closing Thoughts

When I do these interviews, I read through them and look for a theme that jumps out at me before I choose the adjective for the title. After reading this article by Tim, the thing that jumped out at me loud and clear is how Tim & L practice generosity.

The other obvious thing that jumps out at me is their intentionality in life and at such a young age!! They live in a tiny house (adorbs!), max out their retirement accounts, and practice mindful spending.

It’s pretty clear that Tim & L’s present lives and future are pretty bright. Additionally, they are two people making the world a better place. I like the thought of 14 billion hands working together. 🙂

Theme pic by Everton Vila on Unsplash

Preventative Care for Our Finances

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Preventative care is a big thing in healthcare right now. As a matter of fact, all Affordable Care Act-compliant plans include preventative care at a zero dollar cost to members.

Who wouldn’t rather prevent a condition versus treating it? Some things are preventable with good habits and early detection.

Unfortunately, there is also rotten luck and genetics; although, that doesn’t negate the importance of preventative care. 😉

I propose that as we do preventative care for our physical and mental health, we can also do it for our financial health.

Prescriptions for our Finances

If there is a financial problem like debt or not enough money at the end of the month, we need to treat the problem. I’ve written several prescriptive articles pertaining to such things:

However, once you’ve treated the problem and cleaned up your debt, you now get to focus on the prevention of these things occurring again. And I would argue that prevention is a bit more fun! 😉

Preventative Care for our Finances

How do we practice preventative care with our financial lives? There are several things we can do to make sure we maintain financial peace for ourselves and our families. Furthermore, I’m going to relate them to the typical preventative care we seek with healthcare.

Here are four ways to practice preventative care with your physical health as well as your financial health…

1. Have Insurance/Maintain an Emergency Fund

Insurance is like umbrellas – you’ll be glad you brought it when it rains. Photo by Ulises Baga on Unsplash

I think of health insurance as my emergency fund for, well, my health. I have a high deductible health plan so for minor check-ups, I pay out of pocket. Although, if God forbid, something catastrophic occurs, I’ll be covered by my health plan.

Having an emergency fund for my finances is temporary insurance for my income. Sure short term and long term disability insurance is actual income insurance, but an emergency fund serves the same purpose.

If you were to lose your job today, how long would your emergency fund sustain you?

I’ve found that as I get better and better with my budget, I have fewer emergencies. That is mostly because I budget for many foreseeable events. However, I am not immune to unforeseen emergencies so I maintain an emergency fund which covers about 6 months of expenses.

The key when using your emergency fund, is to replenish it.

How large should your emergency fund be? Well, a good rule of thumb is 3 – 6 months of your expenses. Some people even like a larger safety net of 1 year’s worth of expenses.

Figuring out your basic monthly expenses will be easy if you maintain a budget. Now subtract out all the discretionary (optional) expenses. If you were to lose your job, you can easily cut these out but you’ll still need somewhere to live, something to eat, utilities to sustain your environment, and transportation to get you around. Once you’ve calculated those monthly expenses, multiply it by 3, 4, 5, or 6 and save that amount!

2. Annual Physical Exam/Annual Financial Review

You’ll be glad you did! Photo by Plush Design Studio on Unsplash

Just as we are advised to get annual physical exams and for the ladies a women’s well visit, we can also hold an annual financial review. The purpose of both is to make sure things are running smoothly.

Typically, this annual financial review will be done with your spouse and/or partner or in my case with yourself.  However, you can additionally do it with a financial advisor or a mentor.

The things that can be reviewed at your annual financial review could be, but are not limited to:

  • Are you on track with your debt pay off plan?
  • What is your progress on your yearly goals?
  • How is your career going?
  • Re-balancing your asset allocation
  • Are you on track with your retirement goals?

I will be holding my first annual review in June this year with myself. I will be doing most of it with me, myself and I; however, I’m thinking of bringing in a money mentor for a second opinion. You know how I feel about accountability!

Said money mentor has not been determined yet. 🙂

3. Eat Healthy & Exercise/Maintain a Budget

Kick it up a notch! Photo by Meghan Holmes on Unsplash

Most healthcare professionals will tell you that the most important things we can do to maintain our health are to eat well and exercise.

I once heard Dr. Wayne Dyer say something like, “you can either take the time to exercise when you are young or you can take the time to be sick when you are old.” Sure there are exceptions to this statement and I’ve got genetics to prove that.

However, it made an impression on me and I always take the time to exercise.

Budgeting certainly seems like a way to maintain your financial health.

I am a fan of budgeting and continue to maintain one even now that I’m out of debt. However, I know many people who simply hit their savings & retirement goals each month and live off the rest.

Whatever works for you, do it. However, if you choose the latter, I still highly recommend tracking your expenses. Reason being so that you can look at the things you are spending money on each year and decide if you need to improve.

If you are a redeemed debtor or spender, I highly recommend a budget. Budgets create discipline and build good habits. I’ve been doing it for several years and it’s mostly turnkey. I do have fun in trying to raise my savings rate each month.

“Discipline equals Freedom” – Jocko Willink

4. Maintain Healthy Habits/Automate Your Savings

Create habits for a healthy life – Photo by Drew Beamer on Unsplash

Healthy habits in regards to your physical & mental health definitely include exercise & eating healthy but it also includes:

  • Setting reminders for annual visits to different healthcare professionals.
  • Preventative visits to chiropractors to maintain alignment (especially if you are prone to back problems).
  • Counseling
  • Recovery groups

Once you establish a healthy habit, it becomes automatic. Things that are automatic are easier. Take the time now to establish healthy habits.

I’ve written on the power of automation with our finances previously. It’s a powerful way to maintain good habits with your money and practice a preventative approach.

How can you do this? Well, for one, if you have access to an employer-sponsored retirement plan, you can pick your percentage of contribution or dollar amount and have it taken out pre-tax each pay period. It’s lovely as you never see that money.

Secondly, if you have a Health Savings Account (HSA) compatible health plan you can contribute to an HSA account. Additionally, you can have this taken out pre-tax each pay period. Check with your Human Resource (HR) department to see if they’ve set up company-sponsored HSA accounts with a particular bank. If not, you can open one of your choosing and give your HR department the necessary account information so you can have your contribution automatically withdrawn pre-tax.

Thirdly, if you have an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) with Vanguard or another servicer, you can typically set up automatic withdrawals from your checking account into your IRA account. Check with your accountant to see if you qualify for a tax deduction at tax time.

Closing Thoughts

Prevention can take us far in life with our physical and mental health. Additionally, it can serve us well if we apply preventative practices to our finances.

Healthy habits are formed out of intention and bad habits are born from laziness. Prevention takes effort on the front end but can build a well-oiled machine for years to come.

Blog Update

I know I just reminded everyone of my posting schedule on my bloggerversary post, but I have an update. I’m going to be pausing my Thursday posts so I can work on some other financial projects. They are all things I’ve announced like:

  • Cleaning up old blog posts
  • Working on writing a book
  • Writing curriculums for teaching financial literacy to women in recovery
  • Financial coaching?
  • Organizing the site to make it conducive to finding beginner & intermediate topics

I’m finding that I’m a little exhausted and I’m not achieving all my goals so I need to re-evaluate & prioritize these things.

That being said, I’ll still have my Monday posts going strong. Furthermore, as I clean up old posts, I’ll promote them as well.

Thoughts? Questions? Concerns? Hate it? Love it?

Theme pic by Artem Kniaz on Unsplash

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Combining the Debt Snowball with the Debt Avalanche

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There are many ways to pay off debt, but most notably are two very popular methods:

  1. The Debt Snowball Method
  2. The Debt Avalanche Method

Both have their strengths. Neither is bad. I still say that the best method is the method that you are going to stick to!

This purpose of this article is to show how you can combine both the debt snowball and the debt avalanche into a hybrid method.

A Hybrid of The Debt Snowball and Avalanche

I couldn’t think of a catchy name. The Debt Snowlanch or the Debt Avalball just don’t roll off the tongue.

I personally followed the debt snowball method when paying off my debt. I was desperate to get financial peace and when I was steered towards Dave Ramsey back in 2014, I grabbed hold of it. It certainly worked as I made my final debt payment on December 29, 2017, and became debt free for the first time in 23 years!

However, I learned about the debt avalanche method after getting out of debt and was intrigued.

Let me briefly explain the tenants of each method and then review the pros and cons of both before we talk about combining the two.

The Debt Snowball

Photo by Jeremiah Higgins on Unsplash

It’s pretty simple really. First, you need to know the balance of all your consumer debts (not counting your mortgage) and write them down. Then you line them up from the one with the smallest balance to the one with the largest balance.

The plan is to pay the minimum balance on all but attack the smallest balance one first. The ways to do this are by driving down your expenses, working extra, and/or selling stuff. Basically, you do whatever you can to generate extra income to throw at the smallest debt.

Once you pay that one off, you roll that payment into the next biggest balanced debt. You’ll continue with this process until you get to the end of the line.

The idea is that as you pay off debts, your snowball gets bigger and bigger. So by the time you get to your biggest debt, you’ve got a rather large snowball.

Pros of the Debt Snowball

  • It’s a process that works. Thousands of folks have paid off millions of dollars using this method (just check out all the Dave Ramsey debt free screams).
  • You can see all your debt balances.
  • There are some fairly quick psychological wins by paying off your smallest debts first.
  • By the time you get to your largest debt, your snowball should be BIG.

Cons of the Debt Snowball

There really is only one glaring con of the debt snowball method. And that is it ignores interest rates and hence may not be the most mathematically optimal method.

The Debt Avalanche

Photo by Krzysztof Kowalik on Unsplash

So the debt avalanche is similar in that you write down all your consumer debts (except your mortgage) and their balances. However, this time you also write down the interest rate associated with each debt.

You line them up from highest interest rate to smallest interest rate. Like the debt snowball method, you pay the minimum balance on all but attack the one with the largest interest rate first.

Of course, as you pay off a debt, you roll that payment into the next debt.

Pros of the Debt Avalanche

  • It’s mathematically optimal.
  • You can see all of your debt balances.
  • Certainly, this method will work.
  • As you pay off your debts, you gain an avalanche momentum.

Cons of the Debt Avalanche

Like the debt snowball, there is really only one major con, in my opinion. And that is if your highest interest rate debt is your biggest balance debt. If that is the case, it will take some time to get momentum. My fear is that many may give up because they are not getting the psychological win of paying some little ones off.

The Hybrid

Never fear we can take the positives of both and combine them into a hybrid. Firstly, I’d like to give credit where credit is due. When I did my ChooseFI interview Brad asked me to explain the debt snowball method and how I did it.

I did and I also went onto explaining how I learned about the debt avalanche method after I got out of debt.

Jonathan chimed in and expressed that he has started to blend the two in his mind. I simply LOVED what he had to say about it so this is where the idea for this post came from. I recommend you listen to that podcast first to whet your appetite and then come back here for my breakdown.

Step 1

So you still want to start with writing down the balances of all your consumer debts and like the avalanche include their interest rates.

Do you have some small balanced debts? For example things with a balance under $1,000. If the answer is yes, I still want you to focus on cleaning these up first.

Sidebar: if you happen to have any payday loans which have extremely high-interest rates or you owe the IRS money, you are going to need to focus on these first. Both of these types of debt trump all others in order of precedence so place them at the front of the line.

You will pay the minimum on all (if possible and if not, see this article about contacting your creditors).

Then you will attack those small ones first.

Take this next bit of advice seriously! Find any way you can to throw extra money at them:

I want you to get some psychological wins early on because it helps builds confidence. Additionally, you’ll get some annoying little debts out of the way so you can focus on the bigger ones strategically.

Step 2

Once you’ve paid off the little ones ($1,000 and under) and are starting to believe this is really possible, let’s sit down and make a plan for your bigger ones.

Look at your remaining debts and focus on the interest rate. Now that we are dealing with higher balance debts, $1,000 or more, the interest rate matters more.

Line them up highest interest rate to smallest interest rate.

Similar to your first step, you are going to pay the minimum payment on all debts, but attack the ones with the largest interest rates first.

This way you’ll get a little combination of a psychological as well as a mathematical win on paying down your debts.

Photo by Andre Benz on Unsplash

Closing Thoughts

The most important thing here is to actually pay off your debts. If you have a preference to use one method over the other, go for it!

By combining the two, you’ll get the pros of both methods and with larger balance debts, interest really does matter.

As I mentioned I used the debt snowball because it was what I was taught it totally worked. However, looking back I realize that my smallest debts were also my highest interest debts so it wouldn’t have mattered.

Alright, is there anyone out there who used a hybrid of the two to pay down their debts? If so I’d love to hear from you.

Theme pic by Jessica Fadel on Unsplash

 

A Tale of Preparedness or a Lack Thereof – Lessons from 1 Year of Blogging

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Ms. Fiology was born one year ago at CampFI Mid-Atlantic 2018 on the weekend of April 13th – April 16th. I owe a big thanks to Jonathan for introducing me to Kevin Clack and to Kevin Clack for pushing my blog past the goal line.

#Grateful Photo by Courtney Hedger on Unsplash

Happy 1-Year Boggerversary to me!

My first post went live on April 19th, 2018. Okay, okay so I’m releasing this post one day early so technically you can wish me a happy 364 days of blogging. 😉

However, I did start blogging for ChooseFI in January of 2018 so if we want to get technical I’m at a year plus.

Lessons Learned From 1 Year of Blogging

I think the first thing I’ve learned is that this is work. For me, it’s enjoyable work but none-the-less it’s work.

Treat it Like a Job Unless it’s a Hobby

Here at Ms. Fiology, I am my own boss! Oh dang, that means I’m in charge. Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash

From day one, I’ve decided that I wanted to treat this as a job. This has helped me with my goal setting and being disciplined. Initially, I committed to posting every Monday.

Once I was comfortable writing posts once a week, I upped it to twice a week. Now I post on Mondays and Thursdays.

I’ve heard over and over from veteran bloggers that if you want to grow your readership, consistency is key. This way your readers know what to expect from you.

Preparedness

Some lessons we learn early in life and they can carry us far. I feel like most people should have learned the value of being prepared by high school. Not this gal!! I was too busy partying and having fun so unfortunately, my studies often were on the back burner.

Actually, I did prepare for one set of classes. And those were in mathematics because I enjoyed doing math problems. Obviously, I recognized that if I did my homework, I did well in class. I saw the correlation but I just wasn’t motivated to study for the other subjects.

In college, I started to appreciate all that the world had to offer in terms of education. I found a love for reading and additionally doing more math problems.

Furthermore, I found the value in taking the time to be prepared but occasionally we need to be reminded of the basics…

A Lesson in Preparedness and a Lack Thereof

Scene 1

Imagine this, it’s 9:00 PM on a Sunday night and I’ve committed to releasing a post every Monday. Furthermore, my email service is scheduled to send out my newest post by 7:00 AM so it needs to be live on the blog by 6:59 AM in order to be emailed.

I’ve gained a little following so I don’t want to let anyone down. Additionally, I like to produce quality content, so I don’t want to disappoint.

Formulating my thoughts into a cohesive article with clear takeaways takes time. Let’s get to writing.

Okay, I think I have something good going.

Oh, crap now it’s midnight and it’s still not done. Maybe if I go to sleep now, I can get up at 4:00 AM and put on the finishing touches.

That would be me throwing my alarm clock because it’s going off after 4 short hours of sweet sleep. Photo by Malvestida Magazine on Unsplash

The time of Reckoning

What the heck?? How am I supposed to operate on 4 hours of sleep?? Snooze for another 20 minutes. Rise. Make coffee. Sit down & drink it. Oh crap, now it’s 5:00 AM and I only have two hours to finish and edit my post before I must get ready for work.

Write. Re-write. Edit. Oh shoot, I have to add images because everyone likes a picture, right? Right. Find some pics.

Add words to the photos on Canva. Who said I have to add words to my photos anyway?? Oh yeah, if I’m going to promote on Instagram I need a square photo…with words. And if I’m going to pin it on Pinterest, I need verticle photo….with words. Stupid words! Who invented words anyway??

And my theme on my blog looks best with a banner style photo.

Okay, screw it I’m not putting words on my theme photo. They’ll see the title.

Oh no, it’s 6:45!! Okay, hurry up and edit the piece, dang it. Now check all the links. Good, good everything looks kosher.

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

Okay, okay, I”m ready to hit publish.

Seriously, I’m gonna do it but one more glance. Oh crap, it’s 6:58, I cannot glance over it again.

Okay, I’ll hit publish and then I’ll review it again, I can always edit it after it goes live. Right? Right.

Alright, it’s live!

Dang it, I spelled “affect” wrong – effect is the noun and affect is the verb, girl, don’t forget it!!  Okay, edit, publish again.

The Socials

Now before I get ready for work, let me tweet it out. Okay, done. Awe but some of my friends are making funny tweets. I gotta comment on a few…20 minutes later.

Now let me get this thing up on insta. Okay, what cool hashtags can I insert?? How about – #FinancialIndependence #DoHardThings #Sober and #MsFiology? Perfect!

Okay, now let me pin it to Pinterest and write a little blurb. Good, good only one more platform to go…Facebook. Ugh, if I go on FB, I’m going to see notifications and get distracted. Stay focused, girl, stay focused, you got less than 30 minutes to shower and get ready for work.

Arrive at work exasperated.

Good times. Photo by Abbie Bernet on Unsplash

Scene 2

Okay, let’s try this again…

Serenity now. Photo by Harli Marten on Unsplash

I walk into my apartment on Sunday around 9 PM after a lovely dinner with the family. I turn on my laptop and review my articles for the week one more time.

Perhaps I make a few edits. I check to ensure all of the links work. Yep, great.

I crawl into bed with my book. After reading a chapter or two, I give in to sleep for a glorious 7-8 hours.

This time when my alarm goes off, I don’t want to throw it.

I get up and turn the hot water on so I can make my french press coffee. Next, I curl up on my favorite couch with my favorite electric blanket and read my bible. I pray.

The coffee is delicious and I have extra time so I read another chapter in my book.

Now, I promote my freshly published article on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook. I say hi to a few friends virtually, make some comments on posts. I even read a personal finance article or two that catch my fancy. Additionally, I promote those on twitter.

I hop in the shower, get myself ready, and I’m out the door to walk to work a little bit early.  Life is good.

Closing Thoughts

Which would you choose? Yeah, me too. I’ll take the latter one every time, but know that it does come at a cost. The cost is to take the time to prepare, block off time, sacrifice, and be disciplined.

Truth be told, I’ve experienced it both ways and my strong dislike for scene 1 is what inspires me to remain disciplined and re-create scene 2 over and over. Sometimes, it means I have to say no to social functions so I can achieve my goals.

However, it’s also about balance as you can see my Sunday night was spent having a leisure dinner with my loved ones.

Okay, are you ready to give it a try? It doesn’t have to be starting a blog, but what is the next thing you’re dreaming of doing? Are you ready to take the leap? Whatever it is, may you remember this tale of preparedness or a lack thereof and chose to prepare wisely…