saving

Why you need an “abundance tracker.”

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Recent talk of inflation (and the possibility of hyperinflation) has left me very jumpy. That’s why a squib in Melanie Lockert’s newsletter really resonated with me. 

“Do you ever feel like you’ll never have enough? This is a common issue when it comes to money mindset, and can impact our financial and mental health,” Lockert wrote.

“So one thing I’ve been doing lately is something I call ‘abundance tracker.’ I track all moments of abundance.”

A few recent examples:

Lockert’s health insurance premium decreased.

She received a gift card for food from someone who couldn’t use it.

She cashed in Starbucks rewards points for a free coffee.

According to Lockert, tracking “moments of abundance” can help reset your mindset: “From the discounts you get, to the gifts, time and support. It all counts.”

Turns out I’ve been doing that for the past week or so. I just didn’t know what to call it.

 

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How are credit scores calculated?

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You try hard, but still have a mediocre credit score. You pay no attention and have a great one. Just how are credit scores calculated, anyway?

Good question – and it has a complicated answer.

This is a topic I tackled for the “How Credit Works” section at Self.inc. “How are credit scores calculated?” takes a deep and nerdy dive into the issue of credit scores.

<<Surviving and Thriving has partnered with CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Surviving and Thriving and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Opinions, reviews, analyses and recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.>>

Every so often I do a “read me elsewhere” roundup of articles I’ve written. Lately a lot of the work I’ve done is either editing someone else’s site, doing non-bylined stuff or writing stuff that’s so ridiculously specialized that I wouldn’t bore my readers by sharing it.

The topic of how credit scores are calculated is one that I think can help a lot of people, though. No matter how unfair you think the credit scoring system is, the fact is that we are currently stuck with it. A smart consumer will learn to operate within its confines. That is, unless you like paying many tens of thousands of dollars in extra interest during your lifetime.

From “very poor” to “exceptional,” credit scores matter. They determine the kind of interest rate you’ll get on housing, vehicle and other loans. They might determine whether you get that loan at all, at least from a conventional lender – and the others can somehow get away with charging loan rates of up to 35.99 percent. 

 

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Monday miscellany: Gig-worker taxes edition.

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Instacart, Uber, Amazon Flex, DoorDash – these and other gig-worker jobs were a nice side hustle for many people. Since the pandemic began, they’ve helped some laid-off workers keep the wolf from the door. When you spend all your time putting out that day’s fires, you might not have stopped to think how gig-worker income … Read more

Found money in 2020.

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This was not a good year for found money. In the last 12 months or so I picked up just $5.88.

Frankly I’m surprised I found more than a buck all year, given that I (and everyone else) stayed home a lot during the pandemic.

In addition, my gut feeling is that COVID-caused unemployment/fear of unemployment might also have made people clutch their coins a little tighter. It might even have made some folks  stoop to pick up that dime they dropped at the cash register.

Or the dime that someone else dropped. Maybe more money was out there all year, but other people found it before I could.

That’s fine with me. I don’t technically need this found money, being one of the lucky ones whose job did not fade away in part or in full in 2020. The reason I pick up cast-off coins all year long is that I donate them.

As always, I’ll round up the donation. This year it’s going up to $30, which is what I sent to the Food Bank of Alaska yesterday after a Facebook friend asked everyone to donate to FBA if they could. Doing this reminded me that I hadn’t counted my found money yet this year.

Now I have. Here’s the total:

 

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Can’t get ahead? Try a “savings challenge.”

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th(I’ve decided to re-publish articles now and again in honor of what the kids call Throwback Thursday. Given that some of us can expect higher-than-usual credit card bills in January, these savings options might help.)

Years ago I moderated MSN Money’s Smart Spending message board, on which people would post frugal hacks, recipes and other tips to stretch a buck.

The boards went away some years before the Smart Spending blog did; when that happened, some of the most loyal commenters created an alternative universe.

“Not MSN Money Proboards” is a place for veterans of Smart Spending and other message boards to stay in touch and keep sharing the wealth. Or, rather, the road to wealth. (Edited to add: The Not MSN Money Proboards has morphed into something called Your Money and More, which includes money, lifestyle and other board options.)

One post I checked in on today, “2014 Savings Strategies,” brought up the old custom of “savings challenges.” Those were popular during the worst of the recent recession; you couldn’t swing a virtual cat in the PF blogosphere without running into someone’s post on challenges.

Stuff like:

  • Spare Change Challenge – Every night put all your coins in a jar
  • Dollar Bill Challenge – Like the above, except with paper instead of specie
  • Five-Dollar Bill Challenge – Pretty ambitious, but a little too rich for some bloods
  • Random Number Challenge – Pick a number and every night check the bills in your wallet; if one has a serial number ending in the chosen digit, into the jar it goes

But the Proboards posting also mentioned a couple of new ones.

 

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A “solar vortex” and a short rant.

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swagcodeOn Thursday, March 6, the Swagbucks rewards program is offering a “Solar Vortex” Swag Code Extravaganza – and from now until April 5 new Swagbucks members have the chance to earn a 500-point bonus.

From 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PST the site will offer a sun-and-sand-themed giveaway of games and codes totaling 36 points. I’ll post any that I find on Surviving and Thriving’s Facebook page. 

Those of you who haven’t joined yet should consider joining through the above link, because it gives you a shot at that bonus. If you earn 1,500 Swag Bucks between now and April 19, you’ll automatically get 500 extra SBs.

Those 1,500 points can be earned through searching, watching video, shopping, answering surveys or any way you like. And the points can be used to buy gift cards, electronics or the various other items in the Swag Store. You can even donate them to charity if you like.

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Get free retirement advice from the pros.

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thHave you thought about how you’ll manage after you stop working? Get some free advice at “Jump-Start Your Retirement Plan,” a day-long online chat on Feb. 20.

Sponsored by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and the National Association of Personal Finance Advisors, the event is designed to help consumers make the smartest possible money moves.

Given some of the comments from my recent Mary Hunt book giveaway, I’m hoping that readers will make time to attend. You can submit specific questions, such as “I’m in my 40s – how do I get started?” or “We’re on a really tight budget – what are your suggestions?”

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Is it ever too late to start saving?

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thLast week I participated in a Tweetchat with Liz Weston, J.D. Roth, MP Dunleavey and other personal finance geeks. One of the questions was, “I’m in my 40s and just started saving. What advice would you give beginners to make the most and try to catch up?”

A flood of 140-character advice poured in, but J.D. Roth summed it up best of all: “The best thing when starting to save late in life is to just DO it. Don’t worry about lost time. Just save.”

Easier said than done, to be sure. But necessary nonetheless.

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