Scheduled my first art show of the year
I’m that much closer to meeting one of my goals for the year: I’ve just set my first art show for 2009, and possibly a second. I’ll have a show at a fairly upscale coffeehouse in March. It’ll be part of the downtown Seattle’s first thursday art walk. They’ll be making up postcards for the show, and it will run for 1 month. It gets a lot of foot traffic, my best friend works immediatley next door, and they have an opening for the show. Have I mentioned that they get a LOT of business?
I’m going to have to get 2 works professionally framed, which will be expensive, about $225-$250 plus some money for the prints (luckily I do them myself and can defray a lot of that expense with my work trade at the lab where I do my printing). I have all the other works they were interested in already framed, but there are 2 that weren’t, so I have to buck up and do that. I don’t mind – I had wanted more work framed for the particular series of work that I’ll be showing. I guess I shouldn’t feel that bad – one of the works that I have to frame I had sold the previous framed version of.
The upfront costs are always high (the bad part of photography – it always needs to be framed), but in the end, it’s easy to do shows with finished works. I currently have 27 framed works to show, that’s a few thousand in professional framing, not to mention the money I’ve spent on making the prints. Once done, it’s easily recycled from show to show.
The second bad thing is that they charge a 30% commission; not unexpected, but sometimes there isn’t any (which is always preferable). At least they make up postcards for the show, which I’ll be splitting the costs on; I believe they cost about $50/500 cards. Great to have and then I can use it for promo material later on with the leftovers.
If anyone is interested in bright, bold, well-composed fine art photography, send me your address to debtmaven at live dot come and I’ll mail you a postcard!
I may also have a second show the same month at a frameshop in downtown Seattle – it’s a division of the company I work for, and they started doing employee art shows last year. I think my boyfriend and I will be doing a group show (don’t think I’ve mentioned it before, but we work together and we both do photography). I may try and push this to April. Doing 2 shows back to back the same month is a little much. I am trying to do new work for this show, so I better get my butt in gear and start scanning photos and printing!
It’s going to be an expensive photo month, so, wish me financial good luck all!
A quick update about this month’s debt payments
It’s January 31 and I haven’t yet made any debt payments. I think I may be able to pay $100-200, but I’m going to wait until I get paid on the 5th. There are a couple reasons I haven’t been able to make any payments this month, and am not planning on making any significant dents.
The first main reason is that this is the month that the piper’s payment is due: I have to pay for my new laptop purchased right after xmas, which I paid for on my citibank credit card. $580+tax. I then realized I had to use up my FSA account, and bought a $300 trauma first aid kit. WIth a few other expenses, that came out to a $1065 amount which I paid in full with my ginormous recent paycheck (luckily it was large or Iwould have had to carry a balance, shudder). On one hand, it’s nice to know I’m not going further into debt for the computer, but on the other, it sucks that I can’t pay down the principal on debt I’m paying interest for.
Now, I am will be getting that $300 back from the FSA claim, any day now. As soon as I do, it will go straight towards debt payment!
At least I increased my savings. It feels good to do that! I’ll be posting my budget results shortly (hey, it’s not the end of the month yet!).
A long-term look at debt payments and savings
I started having those thoughts every person in debt eventually starts having “What could I be doing with my debt payments if I didn’t have debt?” I realized that if I stick sorta close to my budget, even not paying for debt, and instead save that money, I could conceivably have a downpayment for a house in 2-3 years (you know, the 20% down that is generally recommended)!!!!!
I’m just starting to realize how depressing it is that I’ll have to wait 5+ more years before I get to the point that saving or spending is actually an option. Well, it’s depressing for a few moments. I don’t really let it get to me. It’s all academic at this point, a theory that I can mull over in my head, that I can actually accrue savings and build up money for a really large purchase.
I have never saved money in my entire life, and I’m 37 years old! I contribute to 401K in my current job, but only at the minimum to get a match from my employer, which is 3%. Any higher and it would affect my debt payments. In my previous 5 year stint at corporte america before I returned to school for an art degree (that most useful of degrees), I had an amazing job where they matched up to 7% at 100% (they were rolling in money, a new company, and with a very fresh, very HR-positive atmosphere). I built up quite a bit at the time.
But back to savings. I’ve never had any before now. I currently have $625 for my emergency fund – not a lot, but it’s still in its infancy, and I hope to have $1000-1500 this year JUST for savings (not an amount I’ll touch for the expected large yearly expenses – I’m saving separately for that).
It’s still interesting to me how I’m able to pay so much in debt payments while I never seemed to be able to do so before, and I feel like I’m living pretty close to the same level I used to. Where did all that extra money come from (post-budget)?!?!
Just some rambling thoughts that have been in my head this past week.
Overtime chances have increased
I’m at work now, and it’s 10:45 pm. My job is 8 to 5, normally. I’m in working a 4 hour overtime (partly doubletime) job again! I think I’m the only person that has opening/closing powers for the building that likes to come in during the middle of the night and make extra money.
Our company has recently made some changes in security (we’re a secure facility, and the more secure we are the better clients we get and the better our insurance rates get). Specifically, they are going to reduce the number of people that have access after hours. The pool of people who can do this has now shrunk, which means I have a greater chance of getting these late overtime jobs when they happen.
Good news, though I am going to be tired tomorrow!
New 0% interest cards: how many, how often?
I just recently applied for a 0% Discover card at end of November/early December 2008. I was approved for a $5000 limit. I know I have good credit, and no credit limits have been reduced by anyone recently, nor have any cards been cancelled due to inactivity.
So should I try and get additional 0% interest rate cards? My question is how often one should apply, or how long to wait before going for an additional one. I heard from the credit card company whenI applied that a credit report request doesn’t count on the date it is requested, so I take that to mean that I can apply for a bunch at the same time, and see what comes back? Not sure if this is true or not. Regardless, it’s 2 months later, so that no longer applies.
Does anyone have any advice or places I can try and find out? I can always try and apply again and either be accepted or rejected. Honestly I have little care how this will affect my credit score. I’m not planning on needing additional credit, nor buy a house in the foreseeable future.
I hear that Chase has some good rates – I just have to find other good low interest or no interest cards that have at least 6 month or longer for that low rate or it probably isn’t worth my time. I also just read that Chase has been raising fees and interest rates, and dropping credit balances. It sounds like some a company that is stretched a bit too thin and I don’t even know if they’re still accepting balance transfers! Maybe after all I should just not worry about it. 10% is high for the line of credit, but I can handle it. I think after all, with this uncertain credit market, I should just hunker down, pay it off, and not try the balance transfer game. I don’t want to get too many cards with too many minimum payments (especially as the amount due is doubling and getting higher for so many of them). I don’t want to extend myself too thin; 3 debts are probably enough.
Rant: appreciating having a job
I just have to rant a little here about a few of the people I work with. I manage crews for jobs going out to various clients (which change daily). There are a few people who, while I really enjoy them on a personal level, sometimes drive me insane with the amount they complain on the job, incessantly, about the jobs they go on, tasks they have to do back at work, the clients I send them to, you name it. I can’t stand it! I mean, don’t they understand how lucky they are to even HAVE a job in today’s economy? For one of them, do they even remember how bad it was in the food industry (where this one person spent a very long time employed at)? To complain to the degree they do, man, it gets tiresome.
I mean come on! Do they really think that I (as their manager) don’t notice how they complain non-stop about the jobs they get sent on? Do they really think they can pick and choose which jobs to get sent on?
I told one person, when he started whining about not wanting to go on one job, and that it had an early start, that his option was to go, or his other option was to stay home and take the day off. I think in the future, when I get complaints, then I’ll just tell them “you’re right, don’t come in. Stay home tomorrow.” There are plenty of other people I can give the work to.
There are certainly days when we don’t have work for all crew (we are client dependant at least for my department). The way things are going, with so many businesses failing, layoffs happening (it has happened to many of our largest clients!), and the expected continuance of bad news throughout the coming year, I wish they would shut up, stop whining, buck up and just do their darn jobs! Don’t you think I remember their attitudes when I have to choose who gets work, and at the end of the year, who gets raises?
Recent expenses
I just purchased a new laptop last month, and well, I just got my credit card statement. The credit card that I hadn’t planned on using (and definitely NEVER planned on ever carrying a balance on, EVER AGAIN). The amount due is $1,000. Why so high? My computer was only $600. I also realized at the end of 2008 that I had to use up my FSA deductions which was $500 for the year. I ended up buying a $300 first response trauma kit (with free shipping!). I bought it online, so I definitely wanted to use my credit card and NOT the debit card. So now I’m getting hit for the damage.
My recent paycheck was very very good due to 120 hours for 2 weeks and alot of that being over and doubletime. So I just wrote a check for the full payment, and I won’t have any interest charges on my card. Whoo hoo! But the down side of that means I have a lot less for the rest of the month’s budgetted expenses and even less for debt payment.
I still have enough for some debt and savings payments, so I’m put $100 towards savings (bringing my emergency fund to $625). I think I can pay money towards debt, but I am making myself wait until I get my next paycheck to make sure I don’t have any shortfalls.
I did just submit a claim for the first aid kit. I’m not sure how long it will take to get the check, but I expect it will be about 2 weeks. As soon as I do, I will put it 100% towards the line of credit principal. I still think I’ll have at least $2-300 additional to put towards debt. I had a $400 starting balance in my checking account which is partly why I’m able to afford both the new computer and my expended large debt payment this month.
So even with such a huge credit card statement, I still feel like I’m on track. I just hope I won’t have any more big unexpected purchases for a while (note that the laptop was expected, but a bit earlier than I had planned for).
Changes to debt sidebar (Discover card added)
I’ve added an additional credit card to my list of debts, but don’t worry, I’m not planning on spending more! This is a new card I got for the 0% interest rate. I had a $5000 limit, so I transferred $4,800. With their 3% transfer fee, that adds $144, for a $4,944 total “new” debt.
This resulted in a large payoff on the Line of Credit – It’s now at $8,988 due! That also drops my interest payments from $115 to $75. I’ve estimated that it will save me over $300 to do the transfer, so I’m not that concerned over the $144 charge.
I do know that my minimum payments will be 4%, so I’m going to revise my budget to reflect a decreased minimum Line of Credit payment plus an addition of $200 for the Discover Card. I will pay the minimum on the Discover card, and apply all extra debt payments to the Line of Credit. I have 0% interest through the end of the year. After that, I’ll transfer all remaining balance BACK to the Line of Credit, which has a 10% interest rate.
It always seems a shame when paying interest that you pay more than you actually pay off (ie, the privilege of having credit). I wish I could include that extra payment, but it kindof doesn’t count. In the same spirit of paying interest rates, I’m not going to raise my debt total, nor decrease my amount “paid off” on the total debt by that $144 transfer fee charge. I’ll chalk that up to payment that doesn’t count and isn’t tracked in the totals.
A budget doesn’t automatically mean restrictions
I’m by no means a budget pro. I’ve only had one for 3 months. Sure, I still struggle with keeping my food spending down, but I’ve found that budgetting can be a positive experience. The idea of a budget is to keep your spending habits within reason, and to be aware of finding cheaper alternatives whenever possible. However, I’m also finding that it’s ok to spend money, when you need to.
I remember BB (before budget) feeling that even the idea of going out and spending money could be a negative experience – sometimes guilt and fear about whether or not I should, or if I could, and if I had enough for it, or if, oh well, there goes making a debt payment this month.
Things like getting a haircut ($45-60, plus tip), or getting something dressy needed for a big event or holiday, or even buying undergarments (something I will never buy used, thank you very much, even though they are hideously expensive for the amount of material involved). There are regular expenses we all have that BB, somehow happened out of the blue, unexpectedly, with negative consequences.
By having a budget, I feel like I actually have freedom to go out and purchase something when I need it – it’s in the budget, I can afford it, and it’s ok to get it, even if the world won’t end if you don’t have it. There’s a sense of freedom in that, rather than restriction.
What are your fav PF blogs?
What are your favorite personal finance or frugality blogs? Which ones do you love to visit the most? I’m looking to find more to read – I have a few that I’m considering adding to my bloglist, but I’m waiting to see if they update often enough, as well as keeping the info encouraging and inspiring.
In fact, tell me about yourself, and if you have a blog of your own, what’s it about? To everyone in the community, stop by and say hi!
DebtMaven 