Time, Money, and Agency

Posted on April 24, 2014April 24, 2014 by Danielle

Are you old enough to remember the Whole Earth Catalog? It was an amazingly romantic document. You could entertain yourself for days fantasizing about all the things you could learn to do (many of which you had never heard of) and how utterly self-sufficient you could become.

Another book that came out about that time was Living Poor with Style, by Ernest Callenbach. Would anyone buy that book nowadays? Yet, it was a masterpiece of rethinking consumerism, with the proposition that less stuff and more self-sufficiency was the way to happiness. It’s hard to believe that these books were part of the same baby boom generation that survives now. We went a totally opposite way—tons more stuff and almost no self-sufficiency. Building a brick oven has morphed into turning on a microwave. Not only do we not cook, but even cooking shows have become competitions, not instructions. Do any of us believe we could actually make, ourselves, what we see on Cake Boss or Iron Chef?

We baby boomers have somehow come to the conclusion that we’d rather work long hours with no vacations so we can pay someone else to, well, handle our lives. Right now I’m reading Michael Pollan’s book Cooked, where he argues that our lack of being able to make things narrows our lives—we spend our time in increasingly narrow and isolating specialties (for which we may be paid quite well), but without the agency—the ability, control, and perspective that comes from being able to accomplish something fundamental, particularly in a creative way. We also lose the cooperation and connection that shared meals, purchasing raw materials from growers, and perhaps even cooperating with neighbors to share skills and tools, used to bring. And our children? Well, if we’re lucky they’re quite proficient at scoring high on the SAT.

For many things, if you want to learn how to do a craft, you won’t even be able to find a local teacher. The Craftsy platform has made a serious go of it by promising video instruction, the ability to contact a live teacher, and a chat room to share creations and discuss with “classmates”. Not at all the same thing as sitting with my aunt and sewing my finger with the machine, but about as good as it gets nowadays when mom, dad, and grandmother may have never learned the basics.

And why is this? Because none of us have any TIME anymore. Callenbach argued that, given enough time, you could save money by re-soling your own shoes. That’s too far for even a do-it-yourselfer like me, but I have discovered over the years that I can do practically anything a handyman can do if I watch enough Youtube videos (the modern alternative to hands-on instruction). And the issue of time makes me laugh—we all seem to have enough time to cruise Facebook, forward cute kitten videos, keep up with Game of Thrones, and keep the computer gaming industry going strong. And then there’s shopping…

If you spend your time, you will save your money, usually. I have my doubts about sewing clothing, since so much cheap stuff is available, and some hobbies (knitting being another) encourage some of us to hoard wonderful stuff rather than actually use it. Still, what you actually take care in making is often far, far better than what you can buy already finished. But what I am arguing is not so much saving money (although I like that), but the satisfaction and control over your life—the POWER—that being able to make things and understand methods delivers. Making things can slow down consumption—besides the time invested, one fine thing can be much more satisfying than a lot of purchased crap.

Give yourself the gift of pride, power, and uniqueness. Do it yourself. Really, it beats scrolling through Facebook from your cubicle (or corner office).

Updating the envelope system for financial planning

Posted on February 21, 2014February 21, 2014 by Danielle

(Photo credit: Sarabbit)

I love the old envelope system. In case your mom never taught you about this, you decide how much you’re going to spend for food, housing, clothes, etc. and you put that amount in each marked envelope every time you get paid. When the envelope is empty, you’re out of business. (Actually, my mom never taught me this—her approach was basically to just save everything, and not spend at all until they pried it loose from her fingers.) Unfortunately, just don’t use cash anymore.

Nevertheless, it works. If you are really in debt, I do recommend that you move your spending to cash as much as possible. Freeze those credit cards in a block of ice and don’t use them until they defrost (seriously). Give yourself, your partner, and your kids a specific amount of spending money and when it’s gone, it’s gone. Renew when you get paid.

But since we live in a modern plastic and virtual world, can we create a virtual envelope system? Well, sort of, and it would help many of us to better money management.

First, set up a budget. OK I can hear the groans already. Don’t make this too complicated—savings, required expenses and spending money might be enough. Most people find it easier to do a percentage of income rather than a fixed amount. That way, you know what to do with any “found” money, pay raises, or freelance income.

Next, put the required living expenses (rent, insurance, utilities, etc.) in your checking account. In general, it’s best not to carry your checkbook around with you—you probably pay these expenses at home at your desk and not having the checkbook removes some temptation. If possible, have your paycheck sent directly to this account.

Set up auto-pay and auto-withdrawals. You can either authorize the payees, such as credit card companies, to automatically withdraw from this account, or you can set up payments from the checking account to payees such as utilities. Don’t pay extra for this (some utilities are really dumb on this one).

Groceries are a special case. Certain unnamed hoity-toity supermarkets don’t accept checks anymore. If you do have any budgeting problems, it’s probably better to take out grocery (and restaurant) money in advance and put it in an actual envelope. Or use a cash card like Bluebird (transfer the right amount of cash into it each month). If all else fails and you have trouble monitoring this, designate one credit card for groceries and set up alerts to warn you when you’re getting near your pre-set goal (some allow this and will text you).

Now we get to savings. Again, you can set up auto-pay and auto-withdrawals from most investing institutions. I highly recommend NOT having your savings accounts in the same place as your checking. It’s just too easy to raid it when you need extra. For this reason I like internet based banks, credit unions that are different from where you have checking (so you have to make a special trip), or the big guys like Vanguard where you have minimum requirements.

I particularly love the automated options because it removes opportunities to make bad decisions. We all tend toward inertia. Making a decision every month to save is much more likely to fail than making a decision once, having the savings going forward happen automatically, and just getting used to those withdrawals happening.

Finally, make a list of annual or intermittent expenses (insurance, tuition, property taxes, etc.). Add up what it amounts to annually, then divide it by your pay periods. That’s what you need to put away if you don’t want to be surprised when they show up.

Don’t be afraid to create multiple accounts, say, savings for intermittent expenses, checking for regular household expenses, goal savings for vacation, retirement account, etc. Some internet savings (CapitalOne 360, for example) will allow you to designate “sub-accounts” and name them for specific purposes. You make the deposit and let them know which sub-account it should be designated as.

Mind-games? Sure, but sometimes these little tricks result in big improvements.

Hitting the re-start button

Posted on January 14, 2014January 14, 2014 by Danielle

Certain places are the end of the world. San Francisco was like that when I lived out there, and Key West (from which I just returned) appears to be another. These are places that have more than their share of burned-out cases, but also a high number of people that decided to chuck it all and start their life again.

Key West is delightful in its acceptance of eccentricity, but also in the variety of ages of those who have decided to re-start their lives in some radically new way. The first morning our waitress was in her 70s, with a sequined beret, fingerless gloves, and a few other items of clothing people 20 years younger might hesitate to wear. On the way down, the plane seat right in front of us was occupied by another femme d’un certain âge who was head to toe in red velvet, and who I later saw in the airport kissing the much younger husband she had mentioned. Gives one hope, non?

But the point of this tale is to address all the guilt and regrets I hear this time of year, along with the resolutions to do better. Sure, I’ve got a few regrets myself. Okay, maybe a hundred. What I saw while in Key West was what I think most of us who are baby boomers (or younger) have experienced—you may have to restart your life several times. There are a few people among my clients and acquaintances that knew they wanted to be lawyers at 20 and will retire from that same profession at 66. But far more common is the person who started out as an attorney and is now a shaman, the investment banker who re-trained in Chinese medicine, the corporate executive who retired early to paint, and the divorcée who started an entrepreneurial venture. Technology and the demand for skills has moved so swiftly in the past 30 years that few of us could have known what training we needed “back then”. Few of us planned to get a divorce when we said, “I do”, and all of us believed when pregnant that our children would sail brilliantly from pre-school through the Ivy League to a high paying job, a devoted partner, and a long and healthy life. If only.

Then there are the regrets about not having saved enough, made poor investment choices, and bankrolled a relative or child that turned out to be a black hole. Our brilliant children sprout terrible problems, our competent and ambitious spouse develops a chronic illness, our boss is unreasonable, our co-workers insane, our company gives us the shaft.

What can you do about that history? Truly, nothing. None of us can re-write the past, control another’s behavior, or singlehandedly manage our employer or our clients. Didn’t lose the weight you planned, didn’t meet your savings goal? Um, me too.

On several mornings in Key West, I found myself waking up depressed. I, too, wanted to chuck it all and re-start in some tropical paradise where stress was low, seafood was plentiful, and I didn’t need a winter coat ever again. Or move to Paris. Or sell the house and keep only what fit in a back pack. Or…or…

Once I had my coffee and was able to shake off the effects of the previous night’s tropical drinks, I was able to think this through.

Just about every decision we make seems right at the time. Most of us try to make good decisions based on what we know at that point, or make bad decisions because we’re just too stressed out over something else to focus down. And, every time you make a decision, you close down other possibilities. This is why so many people have great ideas for a novel, but so few of us actually write one. Artistic types in particular may get stuck on the dime because even finished works are never as good as they were in the imagination.

A trip to Key West gave me plenty of examples of the possibilities of alternatives and creating a life different from the past, and people who courageously face what it takes to make that change. We can’t change the past, but we can re-boot and aim toward a different future. As long as you’re alive, it’s possible.