Queercents

If you’ve always wanted to be an entrepreneur when the time comes to leave the corporate cubicle, do you know how to manage your money? Whether you choose to leave on your own timetable or are the recipient of some rampant downsizing and reorganization, you need to have a strategy and system for understanding your business and personal finances in this brand new world.

For over 17 years I did what the rest of the employee cattle call did — got paid regularly, managed my finances (in my case very closely), and waited for the next paycheck to come in. It was a pretty predictable cycle in which planning, investing, spending, and floating money was easy. Then, I got reorganized right out of a job which I took as a blessing in disguise to finally get full time into my business which I had been running on a part time basis for several years. But, what about the finances? How the heck do I manage in this brave new world I just stepped into?

As I’ve experienced you really need to know three key things on both an estimated and actual basis.

1) What money is coming in?
2) What money is going out?
3) What do I have in reserve?

It sounds simple but can be a whole new way of thinking especially if you’re used to a guaranteed paycheck showing up at your direct deposit door each week or month. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the more difficult things with being a couple is trying to work together on a budget. Initially, we had nothing and just went on a wing and a prayer with the occasional nagging that we should tone down the expenses.

After a few years, that got old and we decided to work together on the money more closely and figure out what was coming in and going out. Every 2-4 weeks we would sit down together and see if we were on track with income, bills and figuring out what needed to be reigned in. That has and still continues to this day.

However, there was still an issue that would come up. You see, my partner is a stay-at-home spouse and enjoys it thoroughly, but she felt that she wasn’t contributing enough financially. So on occasion we would see what job she could pick-up. But she didn’t like working out of the house much, so these jobs would be short-lived. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re less than a week away from the big retail day of reckoning known as Christmas here in the United States. This coming weekend is bound to be filled with door to door gridlock for people headed to malls, outlets, and other shopping meccas. I will be far away from the maddening crowds opting instead for a few quick errands on Friday and a weekend filled with connecting with friends and doing some last minute holiday touches.

Part of what fuels this last minute push in my opinion, besides the obvious procrastination factor, is the intense tie-in between gifts and expressing our love at this time of year. So many of us have family, friends, and partners we love dearly. And, because as humans we often feel woefully inadequate at expressing how we feel fully, we turn to outside expressions of that love. Now, that isn’t all bad of course, who doesn’t love gifts? But, I know for personal experience, last minute shopping and wayward spending can often be fueled by feeling like we don’t have “enough” or the “right thing” for that special person in our lives. Read the rest of this entry »

When I was in middle school, one of my friends made a New Year’s resolution to avoid fried foods all year. I have a specific memory of sitting in a McDonald’s with three or four people’s orders of french fries piled in the middle of a tray, all of us sharing–and Cecilia abstaining. She kept her resolution all year, and the time without turned her off the taste of fried foods. Did I mention we were in middle school?

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone else who kept such a broad New Year’s resolution, although I have known people to take the opportunity of a new calendar or school year to write out step by step plans of achievable, measurable goals and succeed.

This week and next week, I’m going to lay out my financial plans for 2008. A few qualifications, first. Most of it is focused on the first six months of the year, although I have a few longer-term plans in there. The beginning of 2007 feels like it was so long ago, I don’t feel confident planning out the whole next year. Also, like any good plan, I already know I’m going to make changes and shuffle, so I also plan not to freak out about changes of plan. After the jump, I lay out my plans for spending and saving; next week, I’ll look at my debt, credit and career. Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago I talked about the process of my partner buying a new car. Everything went great and then it was time to go pick up the car and bid adieu to the old Honda Civic. I must say there’s nothing like detailing an old car and then trading it in to make you almost feel nostalgic about it even though we never really loved the car (although I LOVED driving it in Manhattan as I got in touch with my inner cabbie). Picking up a new car is not as simple as just dropping off the trade in and picking up the new set of wheels though - it’s not over until it’s over…

It has been 6 years since our last car purchase so I almost forgot about the last mile of hurdles you need to walk when it comes to major purchases. The dreaded “extras” conversation:

• Do you want the extended warranty?
• Do you want the wheel and tire warranty?
• Do you want the Xzilon coating?
• Do you want this or that added to your loan?

Sigh, at this stage of the game I just wanted to say “I want the car!” However I know that the myriad of questions can lead to a HUGE difference in the overall cost of the car and some of the options we might actually want so I settled in for the long conversation. Read the rest of this entry »

There was a good article a while back from bankrate.com called Waste not, spend not or spend a lot that has some good thought- provoking points. I will highlight a few, but read the whole article for more detail.

“Has ours become a throwaway society? Maybe we should be conserving our resources. On the other hand, a big part of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending. Every new cell phone, plasma TV, car or upgraded computer means jobs for somebody … somewhere.”

So the money we put back into the businesses around us help to fuel the economy that we have become accustomed to. Although I do wonder if some businesses are just a bit top heavy in salaries, etc. It seems we could have an even better business model. Then again, I haven’t taken a business or economics class. Read the rest of this entry »

Living in the far left city of San Francisco, sometimes I just want to be a closet environmentalist. I care about the environment, but the aggressive measures that my city takes to be green can be off-putting to a lot of people. I agree that we’re doing too much damage to the Earth already, but it takes time to change people’s habits, and even more time to get enough people to actually listen.

To those who say they can’t afford to go green, either because of time or money, I’d like to offer a different point of view. I’m environmentally conscious without trying very hard. Granted it’s easy for my partner and I to be green because we don’t have kids, and we have the luxury of flexible schedules. However, the following snapshot of a typical weekday for me shows how easily you can find an inexpensive and environmentally conscious choice at each point throughout the day. Read the rest of this entry »

Federal guidelines define moderate drinking as “consumption of up to one drink per day for women and up to two drinks per day for men.” Some days I don’t drink, some days I have more than two, but overall, my average consumption is about fifteen drinks per week. How about you?

I’m sure there is a myriad of health reasons to cut down my “slightly above moderate” drinking, but I consider myself a healthy guy in many other respects. I eat obscenely healthy foods; I exercise regularly; and my only vices are diet soda and booze. If I had any incentive to cut down on drinking, it would be financial.

Drinking drains my wallet, and I’m almost embarrassed to say how much. I like fine microbrews and good wine; I’m a bit less discriminating with spirits, so I save money there. Through tracking my expenses, I’ve learned that I spend between $30-$50 per week on alcohol. Granted, half of the money goes to overpriced bar and restaurant drinks, but if you take the median to project spending by the year’s end, the grand total comes out to $2,080 spent on booze. Read the rest of this entry »

“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. – Henry David Thoreau

Recently, Alex Williams at The New York Times peddled the benefits of list making in his Ten Things to Do Before This Article Is Finished. He writes, “Once the province of bird-watchers, mountain climbers and sufferers of obsessive-compulsive disorder, the life list has become widely popular with the harried masses, equal parts motivational self-help and escapist fantasy.”

Life lists are good. A list of financial goals – even better. Why? Achieving these gives you the money and freedom to experience and start checking off what’s on the life list. Read the rest of this entry »

My partner and I recently decided to start saving to build a new home in 10 years or so. I’ve been saving for my retirement via a 401k plan for some time, but saving a significant sum for a shorter-term goal is fairly new to me.

Since we have an investment horizon of 10 years and the flexibility to wait a few years longer if we need to, it makes sense to invest in stocks or mutual funds to get the greatest return. I’d rather not have to monitor my investments daily, so I started my research by focusing on mutual funds. After all, I’ve been investing successfully in my 401k plan’s mutual funds for nearly 10 years already, and it seems simple enough. Read the rest of this entry »