Advice

I am here to offer you advice. If you have any questions or issues with any part of life, I can give you any advice I can. If you have relationship issues, roommate issues, apartment issues, budgeting issues, job issues... ask me about it and I will give you some advice. Just post a question in the comments or e-mail me at rfwarlick@vzw.blackberry.net and I will reply ASAP. 

A fresh month

It's getting to be the end of January, we are all about to begin February. Think of this as a fresh start. Think of each new month in this! I know it is only the second month of the year, but I have read studies that say that the majority of New Year's Resolutions have already been given up by now. Don't wait for next year to make new ones. You could do so much damage by waiting around for the next time for resolutions. Make new ones at the beginning of each month! Here's some of what I'm talking about

Budgeting!!!! 

• Credit Cards! I know I have said they are great in the past. Let me clarify how to use them in a good way. Get a credit card with a low limit!!!!! like $500 low. Pay this off every few days and write these amounts in your registrar!!!!!! Don't get a huge credit card unless and carry it around for emergencies, then on a shopping spree! 
  
• Pay off Credit Cards! Let's say you have already maxed out several credit cards, as I'm sure some people have, and are thousands of dollars in debts. Or let's say you are in debt because of school. The simplest piece of advice would be to take it one day at a time, and set aside as much as you can. Get professional help if you are far in debt. The more professional, the more expensive, but the more they can help. But even if you are making enough to live a fairly cushy lifestyle, cut your expenses significantly, budget wisely, and pay off your payments fast to get a better credit score! And don't forget! Those minimum payments may only cover your interest, you may not actually be making a dent in what you owe! 
• Budget week by week! Set aside the right amount of money for your set expenses in the beginning of the month: rent, utilities, insurance, payments... The rest is for your changing expenses: food, clothes, entertainment... Divide the money into 4 (for four weeks in a month) and spend this amount each week, but no more. If you have problems (like I do) try withdrawing this money and spending cash each week. Then once you run out, you run out and don't spend anymore. 
• Keep looking! Keep the cost of all your bills out, and their due dates! Make sure they are all paid in full on time. Some you can even pay in advance! Make sure you have enough for all of your bills, because this is the most important thing. You may be living paycheck to paycheck for a few years (hopefully you then get that huge promotion, or that huge wedding ring...) and you can finally move up in life. But you can't if you have bad credit. 
• Save! The economy :-(. It's not doing well, as everyone hears about daily, but it's the truth. I have heard that it should be doing better by the summer, but you never know. Keep your portfolio and resume ready just in case. And keep some money set aside to get you through if something does happen. It is wise to keep at least 2 months saved up, of daily living expenses. I've heard as much as 9 months should be saved up. But do what you can. Because once your income goes, you can't really do anything. 
• List! Make a list of everything you WANT! This is help you save for these things instead of blowing it on spur of the moment small purchases! Put on there your barstools, and those hot $150 jeans your dreaming of! (Or maybe this is just my list) But make a list, and maybe put pictures up in a few strategic places to entice you to save up! 

Health!

• Exercise! It's never too late to start exercising! Don't be ashamed to exercise. What's the worse that could happen? People make fun of you? No one will! Esp not in a crowded gym! They would get their butts kicked by all the in shape people! You fall off the treadmill? I've done it! Maybe that hot nice guy will see you and realize you're human and check to make sure your ok! Its better to do it now, than 20 years and 40 pounds later! 
• Eat healthy! It's cheaper first of all! Think about how much you spend at McDonald's or Moe's everytime you go. Then think about how much you would spend on a casserole, and how many servings you would get out of it. Also think about how much healthier this is. Everything for lasagna is about $30 (this one is a bit expensive). I usually get about 8 servings out of it, this is less than $4 a serving. And most of the things that go into it you already have! 
• Vitamins! Take a multivitamin everyday made for women (or men if you are a man). This will give you an extra boost that will help you out. It only takes a minute to take and you will feel much better! 

Personal

• Job! Now I'm not going to tell you to quit your job, esp in this economy. But I will tell you to do something to improve it! If you don't like your position, think about what you could do to get a promotion. If you actually dread coming into work, begin putting your portfolio together so that you can be ready if another position comes up. But stay realistic. Don't expect to become the CEO anytime soon if you just graduated from college. 
• Relationships! This goes for both romantic and friendship. Relationships are a two way deal, each side has to give and take. Make sure you listen to all of your friends! And make sure they are listening to you. If you think you aren't getting what you deserve, talk to your friend. It's better than blowing up at them down the road. Getting your feelings out may create a tense situation, but think about how tense a situation would be if you blew up at her during brunch because she's going on and on about her stupid dog (not a real life event hopefully) 

Think of each new month as a new beginning, and do what you can to improve yourself. Most peoples New Years Resolutions don't last but a few weeks, an average of 3. Think about if you did this for 3 weeks each month. If you ate well, budgetted well, and exercised for 3 months out of the month? That's 3/4's of the year you would be doing good, instead of 3/52's. Who knows, it may even become a constant habit! 

Decorating on a Budget

Since writing this post I have had a lot of new experiences in decorating and a lot more advice. In addition to this post I would encourage you to read other posts such as Making a House a Home for additional information on decorating on a budget.

When you first move out on your own, you often have only what you used to decorate your dorm or prefurnished apartment in college, sometimes you childhood furniture. But this is usually not enough to decorate an entire apartment. On top of having no decorations, you generally have no money. This blog will help you in your quest to create a comfortable place to live that you love showing off to your friends!

• Roommate: If you have a roommate, you have an additional income, but also additional taste, that hopefully matches. But it would not be wise to purchase a major item to decorate the common areas of the apartment without consulting your roommate, or without a returnable receipt. Also, make sure all the items you purchase you really do like, and don't just go with this decorating theme, because once you two separate, which will happen one day, you have to decorate your next apartment or house with these items.
• Paint: Few things will make your apartment more unique and comfortable than painting it. If you can, getting a professional painter will be best, but make sure the carpets are covered if you do it yourself. Also, check to make sure the apartment allows this. At mine, if it's a dark color I have to put a layer of primer before I move out, but many complexes repaint the walls anyway before the next tenant.
• Stores: There are a lot of stores out there that sell a lot of decorating items geared towards people our age that are less expensive (and often less quality). Target is one. Target is constantly changing what's on their sales floor. But they have everything you may need. Some more are Bed Bath and Beyond, and Linens N Things (if one is still open around you, they are going out of business). What would not be suggested is to order furniture online. The S&H would probably be $100 plus, and you could go to a nice store and buy really good furniture for the price of this S&H. I would suggest going to the stores and picking it up yourself, maybe even renting a UHaul for a few hours and driving it yourself if you or a friend don't own a big SUV or truck. Great furniture stores would be IKEA, Ashley furniture, and Rooms to go. Especially right now, many places have low or no interest for a long time.
• Second-hand: Much second-hand furniture is second hand for a reason, because it is no longer stylish, but there are things to be done about this. Goodwill and other stores have furniture for very low prices. Also try yard sales and flea markets. Sometimes you can find antiques that look great. And you can often haggle with these guys. To spruce up wood, try painting it, especially white. If it has doors that are missing glass, or the glass doesn't look good, take the glass out and put lace in instead. As for couch's and chairs, buy slip covers. If you are not a smoker, smell it very closely, because a smoker may have owned it previously and it's nearly impossible to get that smell out.
• Creativity: Getting creative is the best way for you to decorate on a budget.
• Hang your necklaces on the wall. It's easy storage, and it decorates your bedroom. Add a mirror and write on it using dry erase markers.
  
• Buy some fabric you like and hang it as curtains. Hang panels of it! Borrow a sewing machine from a friend and simply fold over the edges to keep them from fraying. Then take scraps about two inches wide and about six inches long, fold the edges, and then fold them in half and sew them along the top to actually hang with.
• Buy posters, and then buy really inexpensive poster frames and hang these. From a distance they look really good.
• Keep it simple, but use color. Having things everywhere looks tacky. Putting a picture frame or two on a side table, a candle set on your coffee table, just a few things makes it look put together. But decide on a theme, and try to stick to this theme.
• Look up apartment websites such as Rental Decorating Digest and Apartment Living for more ideas. These ideas will cater to apartment living, with non permanent decorating ideas.

I hope this helps in your quest making your apartment your own. It is very important to feel at home once you get home. It helps you unwind from work or shopping. Do everything you can to decorate your apartment the way you want to, but don't go out a max out your credit card. You may have a relaxing place to live, but that will change once your bill comes!

Fashion on a budget

Most people want to look their best anytime they leave home. Most people want to stay up on the latest fashions, but not everyone can afford the latest fashions. There are entire blogs devoted just to this: staying fashionable on a budget. This blog will talk about some tips and tricks, but if you want more detailed information, google fashion on a budget and follow some of those blogs.

• Online Codes: Especially during economy lows, stores are constantly passing around codes for their online stores. There are websites devoted just to giving you codes to get discounts. Whenever you order something online, check some of these out first. A great one that I have mentioned before is www.retailmenot.com. Before you buy something online again, be sure to check this website out and you may be able to get free shipping, or an overall discount, and you can buy more! 
• People.com! This website is in connection to the gossip magazine that is found in grocery and drug stores. But it does have a section in which it shows where to buy less expensive versions of celebrity clothing. The exact website is: www.peoplestylewatch.com/people/stylewatch/shopping. 
• Shop! There are some great stores out there that have very fashionable clothes at lower prices (and lower quality). But if you are the type of person to wear an outfit that is in style for a single season, buy less expensive clothes, even though they may fall apart after a few months. Forever21, Wet Seal, and Charlotte Russe are some of my favorite examples. 
• Department stores! Department stores have great clothes a lower prices. Most department stores have a large section of well known and expensive brands. Instead, go to the juniors, petite or women's section and shop here. They often have great sales and great looking clothes at lower prices.
• Second hand stores! While some great things can be found at Goodwill for just a few dollars, and these should definitely be checked out, I'm more talking about Plato's closet. You can take your old clothes here and get money, and then spend it on clothes. Many clothes were simply grown out of and are still in style. They are also very picky (so don't expect to be able to sell everything) but this also means that you will find fashionable clothes. 

It is always important to look your best, and dressing fashionably is always a plus. But unfortunately, this can sometimes be expensive. I hope this helps you look your best while staying within budget. And if you want more detailed information, be sure to google fashion on a budget to find entire blogs devoted to this subject.

Money Saving Tips

Especially with the economy, it is often necessary to save money where you can, especially when you are already the bottom wrung at work. This will help you save money where you can. 

• Buy store brand- Stores are getting better at copying ingredients of the national brands. It is often a good idea to at least try the store brands, because if you do like them you could save a lot of money, $30 for every $100 spent. Some items that are good to buy store brand are your staple items: rice, flour, sugar, salt, milk, applesauce, apple juice, frozen vegetables, frozen juices, or vinegar. You shouldn't buy toilet paper, macaroni, salad dressings... 
• Use coupons and sales. Buy a divider and clip coupons every Sunday, or go online and print out coupons. Sales, especially around the holidays, are always a good idea. Before you buy anything always check your coupons or sales, or maybe even hold off for a sale.
• If you buy items online often, you should be using discount codes everytime. There are websites that have lists of shopping codes by store that can give you discounts and free shipping. Some of these include www.retailmenot.com, www.currentcodes.com and www.couponcabin.com
• Buy energy efficient light bulbs. They cost a little more and are a strange shape, but they use a quarter the energy and last 10 times longer. They are especially good if you leave a light on all the time to prevent walking into a dark apartment. Most apartment complexes maintenance teams are willing to change out any light bulbs you can't reach. 
• Drink tap water instead of buying bottled water. Most bottled water is taken out of a tap anyway. It may taste a little different, but it is something you can get used to. You can also fill up bottles with tap water, but be sure to constantly wash the bottles. 
• But fake flowers. Flowers brighten up any apartment, but spending almost $20 a week on new flowers can get expensive. If you buy fake flowers to just switch out each season, you can save a lot of money. 
• Don't continue to buy movies and TV seasons. Rent them instead. Blockbuster charges about $5 to rent a single movie, and this can get expensive. Try getting netflix. I rent two movies at a time and it costs only about $14 a month. You can rent as many as you want, but only a certain number can be out. This is a great way to watch TV shows you get into late, or you want to re watch instead of spending $50 for the entire season. DVR is also great. It costs only $7.95 a month and you can record two shows at a time. This way you aren't stuck at home all the time. 
• If you take a lot of pictures and then get them developed in an hour, this can add up. Many websites, including shutterfly and Kodak can print and mail pictures you load online for less than ten cents a picture plus shipping and handling. It only takes about a week to get them, and if you order in bulk you can save a lot of money
• Put some money in a savings account of some kind. You could add $20 to an account each week, or add 50 cents to a jar every day. Do something special with this money: Each year take a vacation with this money, use this money for Christmas presents, or save it towards a car or house. If you don't think about it and just add money to this "account," it can add up quickly. 

Update 1/14/2009

• Woot.com: This is a great website that sells very nice items for dirt cheap prices. They sell one item on special everyday, and make sure you check it out early because they usually sell out! They also sell tshirts and wines. One drawback is that it may not be something you actually need, so think for a minute about how much you'll use it, how necessary it is, and how much you have to spend. But if you have a little extra money to spend and want to buy something that takes a lot of extra money, go check it out! 

Budgeting!

Unless you're lucky, chances are you don't have a lot of extra money. You are the bottom wrung of your job, and your pay reflects this. You are on your own for the first time, and don't have your parents to bail you out. This blog will help you in your first years on your own, showing you how to make smart financial decisions, and how to save a few dollars here and there. 

• One of the most important things is for you to save your money from one month to spend in the next month. Basically, any money you bring in during January, put into a savings account and don't spend until February. This way you will know exactly how much you have to spend, rather than guesstimating, and possibly coming up short.
  
• Create a budget!  This will show you exactly how much of your money is necessary for bills, and how much you have to spend on groceries, clothing and entertainment. Your budget should include your set expenses such as rent and utilities first. Then you should add a guesstimation of the rest of your fluctuating expenses, such as gas and food. The remainder is what you have for entertainment: clothing, movies, bar tabs... The Internet is full of helpful websites with budgets. A great one is http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/instantbudget/instantbudget_101.jsp. This website has you fill out a 7 question analysis that allows you to see how your peers spend their money, and then has you fill out a column of your own spending. Another great website is http://financialplan.about.com/cs/budgeting/l/blbudget.htm. This one is simpler. It is n easy worksheet that can be printed and filled out. 
  
• Create a spending registrar for your checking account and write down every penny that goes in and out of that account. This is just a little booklet about the size of a check book. Your bank teller will be happy to give you a few registrars. Especially when you pay bills by check, some things may not go through for a week or two, enough time to forget that one bill in the five that you paid.
• Get a credit card! But before you go out and get a $20,000 credit card limit and max it out, read this paragraph. Unless you are one of those one in 100 very organized people, it is nearly impossible to record every transaction you make. This is how a credit card with a very small limit will help. The best way would be to get one through your bank. They usually have the lowest rates, but are also the hardest to get. A website that compares credit cards is www.creditcards.com. This is a website that allows you to search for a credit card by what benefits you want, your credit, the issuer... Once you get a card, adjust the limit so that it reflects the amount you would be able to pay off in a single month. You should put your groceries, entertainment, clothing, and other various items on this card. Then every few days pay it off. If you get one through your bank, you should be able to transfer funds online from your checking account to your credit card at no additional charge. Record this amount that you transfer in your registrar. It is much easier to record a few large payments a week than dozens of small transactions. 
• Clip coupons! There are dozens of coupons and sales advertised in the Sunday paper every week. Most newspapers will have an option that involves only Sunday delivery, or you can always buy one. You could also borrow a friends paper once they are done using it. Before you go shopping always look through your coupons and pull the ones you may use. There are also some websites that will give you coupons online: www.coupons.com, www.valpak.com, www.couponcabin.com. 
• Speak with your superiors at you job about discount benefits. Many companies have partnered with other companies to offer each other discounts. You may be able to save money on eye exams, cell phone plans, or vacations. All of these are very expensive items that could blow through your budget, but if you get a discount you may be able to save a lot of money.
• Shop at discount stores! Many stores, such as Marshall's and TJ Maxx are able to buy items at a discounted price and pass these savings on to you. Their stock isn't steady, but they constantly have very pricey and luxurious items at greatly discounted prices. I once found a nice Coach bag for about $150 at TJ Maxx. Plato's Closet (www.platoscloset.com) is a great second hand store for young people. Basically, you drop off your gently used clothes and get money back for them, and then you can buy gently used clothes at a discounted price. Just be sure to wash your items before you wear them. 

Budgeting is one of the most important things of living on your own. It is very easy to get in trouble with money because you want to buy certain things. But you have to understand that anything you buy on a credit card, you have to pay back with interest. You should only spend money that you have, and record every penny. Pay your bills as soon as you get them so that you know what you have left. Shop at discount stores, it's the same item, just a better price.