Category Archives: Advice

What is Your Goal?

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I almost never mention my first husband.  It was a short marriage that ended decades ago, so it somehow seems like part of a different lifetime.

He and I differed on one very important issue, and I think that is what ultimately drove us apart.  We had different financial goals.  Or at least a different order in which we wanted to pursue them.  All of my life I had two primary goals: earn enough money that I don’t have to be dependent on anyone else, and own my home.  When we married, I had finished my Master’s degree and was started on my career as a financial aid professional.  I had achieved goal number one.  But I was living in a rental apartment.  A year after we got married, we moved to Chicago.  I continued working as a financial aid advisor (this time at a law school—I found my niche!).  He started attending law school.  Within a year of our move to Chicago I was looking at condominiums.  I still wanted to own a home.  He didn’t agree.  He claimed he didn’t want to make that kind of commitment to Chicago.  And that was the beginning of the end.

Ultimately, we divorced.  And a year later I bought a condo in Chicago. A studio was all I could afford, but who needs a bedroom when you have a 27th floor lake view?  It was all mine. And I loved it.  My home, my mortgage, and my rules. After only three years, I sold that condo at a 25% profit.  I moved back to Pennsylvania and started working for Penn State.  And as soon as I was able, I bought a townhouse.  I’ve bought and sold my home two more times since then, and now I know that I’m in the home where I plan to stay for a very long time.  I’ll probably even manage to pay off the mortgage in full.

What I learned over the years is that when the real estate market is strong enough, you don’t have to commit to a home forever unless you want to.  It is possible to sell a home after only a few years without taking a loss on it.  Real estate is more than just a place to live…it’s an appreciating investment.

My first husband still lives in the suburbs of Chicago with his wife and kids.  Ultimately, he did make that kind of commitment to Chicago. We just didn’t have the same goal at the time when it really mattered.  Everyone has their own financial goals. And before you too far into a relationship, it’s important to be clear with your partner what your goals are, and hopefully they will match up with each other’s.

Owning a home and being self-supporting were my goals.  My current goal is retirement at age 60.  Some people have a goal of saving a certain amount of money.  Some have a goal of being debt-free.  Others have a goal of starting their own business.  Your goal is the thing that is important to you.  And everyone’s goal will be a bit different. What is important is that you have a goal and you set your sights on working toward it.

What are your financial goals?

That Time I Fell for a Scam…

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I made a really stupid mistake just before Christmas.  I pride myself on knowing enough not to fall into financial traps.  And I did exactly that.

I was doom scrolling through social media and came across an ad offering me a too good to be true deal on an electric fireplace/entertainment center.  I wanted it to be real.  It looked real.  So I clicked.  It took me to a web site that looked just like Big Lots.  But it was BigLotsSale.com.  Not Big Lots.  I was convinced it was real.  I really wanted that fireplace. So I jumped.  I put in my info and my credit card and I was off.  I received a confirmation email, so I was sure this was for real.  A day or two later I received an email confirming the shipping.  It was real!  It had to be real!

After a few more days. I went back to the shipping email to click the tracking number and find out when my amazing fireplace would arrive.  And that’s when I figured it out.  The tracking number didn’t lead to anywhere.  I started searching the shipping company and discovered it was fake.  Crap!  I had been duped.  A subsequent search on BigLotsSale led me to discover that this is a very common, yet very well done, scam.  Reddit helped me find all of the painful information.

My first action after discovering my mistake was to lock my credit card.  Then I looked at the charges on my card and found one that I had not made.  I called my credit union and they removed the charge I didn’t make right away.  They canceled my card for me and walked me through the process to dispute the charge that I did make on the fake web site.  Then came the fun of moving all of my automatically billed things to a different card.  Automation is great….until it isn’t.  Then I went out to the three credit bureaus (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion) and put freezes on my account, so the scammers would not be able to open new credit in my name.

I’m actually very lucky.  There is no significant damage caused by my error.  My only potential loss is the $50 charge I made trying to buy the fireplace.  And I may eventually get that back as well.  And I learned a very valuable lesson about buying things through an ad on social media.  I don’t recommend doing it without first researching the “merchant.”  But I also learned how easy it is for people to fall victim to a scam.  I’m very educated in this area and still fell for it.  How easy would it be for someone who doesn’t  focus their life around financial education to make this mistake and have it turn out so much worse?

I’m trying not to beat myself up over this.  It’s done.  I learned something. Everything turned out ok.  This was a very impressive, sophisticated scam.  I’m not a financial idiot…just someone who really wanted an amazing deal on something I really desired.  Technology is scary.  The scammers knew from my online history what would make me jump.  And I definitely won’t be making that mistake again.  A mistake is only a problem if you don’t learn something from it.  And I definitely learned a valuable lesson about shopping from social media ads.

If you have ever fallen for a scam, don’t take it as a personal failure.  It’s not.  It’s an opportunity to move forward with better knowledge than you had before.

Be careful out there.  The internet is a scary place!

 

Asking for Help

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I’ve always been rather fiercely independent.  I don’t like to ask for help.  But sometimes it is necessary.  I’ve learned a whole lot about that over the last few days.  On Friday I was limping around the office as my left knee had been hurting a bit all week. But as I was going up the stairs to heat my lunch Friday afternoon, my knee decided it had had quite enough and gave a big pop.  And suddenly I was no longer able to put any weight on my left leg.  I’m enormously grateful to the students who helped me get back down the stairs and to my office.  I won’t know until after some more physical therapy how long this is going to take to heal.  But I do know that I’m going to have to ask for help more often than normal over the next several weeks.  And asking for help is ok.  Everyone has to do it at one time or another.

Most people struggle with money issues from time to time throughout their lives.  And it’s ok to ask for help with this, too.  We aren’t born knowing everything there is to know about money.  It’s a complicated topic!  But there are a lot of resources available to help you decipher all of this.  You can find a basic list here.  For current Penn State students, you can find self-study units on a variety of financial topics at https://financialliteracy.psu.edu/self-study-modules/.  If you want to find more information or schedule an appointment with a financial coach, you can do that at Penn State’s Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center.  Current and former law students at Penn State Law also have an additional resource available through the Financial Education tools offered by AccessLex Institute.  Through this website you can access an online financial literacy curriculum, links to available webinars, and you can even schedule a call with an Accredited Financial Counselor.

I remember a time not so long ago that all of these resources didn’t exist.  I used to spend my time combing the internet for resources students could use to access financial assistance.  And I’m sure that is how my passion for financial literacy education began.  But things are much easier now.  Financial education resources abound.  And if you can’t find guidance on the topic you need assistance with, just let me know.  It’s ok to ask for help! Everyone needs to from time to time.

What is Normal Anyway?

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Buckle up!  It’s going to be a bumpy ride!

January 2020:  Everything is normal. Let’s have a great spring semester!

March 2020:  The world is ending.  Everybody go home and stay there.

August 2020:  Let’s proceed cautiously.  Stay home if that’s best for you, come to school cautiously if that’s best for you.

January 2021:  Vaccine exists!!!  Use all your best Ticketmaster skills to get an appointment.

May 2021:  Things are starting to look normal again!

July 2021:  Delta variant is now dominant.  Nothing is normal.

August 2021:  Mask up and accept the new normal.

January 2022:  Omicron variant is dominant.  Nothing will ever be normal again.

The last two years have been a whirlwind of change throughout the world.  I only vaguely remember a life where I would go to work without a mask, go out to dinner in a restaurant every week, and go to crowded concerts without a care in the world.  I believe that used to be my normal.  But the reality is that “normal” is always a changing thing. It always has been and it always will be.

Just as the pandemic has us adjusting to a new definition of normal every few months, your financial life will have you adjusting to a new definition of normal every several years.  Financial priorities will shift as you move through the many phases of life.  As a young child, the focus is usually saving allowance and birthday money for that special toy.  As a teenager, the goal may be a car or a smartphone, and you may take on a part-time job to attain that goal.  As a college student financial goals may include books, rent, groceries, and a spring break trip with friends.  As a law student, books, rent and groceries are still priority, but a bar prep class also becomes an important goal.  In early career you will be looking at student loan repayment, starting your retirement savings, and purchasing a home and/or automobile.  Then marriage and children become common goals. And eventually you become more and more focused on what is now my financial priority, a comfortable retirement.

Life isn’t static.  Everything changes.  The pandemic has taught us that on no uncertain terms.  Let that lesson guide you through the financial roller coaster that lies ahead of you.  The definition of what is “normal” is going to continue evolving throughout your life.  It’s going to be a bumpy ride.  So just hang on tight and enjoy it.

 

Procrastination

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Procrastination.  Sometimes I feel like it’s my lifestyle.  But I know it shouldn’t be.  Procrastination almost never makes things go better.  It usually makes things go worse.  And it frequently makes things more expensive.

I have a lot of deferred maintenance happening at my house.  There’s a super-long list of things that I keep saying I’m going to work on myself “when I have time” or hire someone to do “when I have more money.”  But reality dictates that I’m never going to have enough time or money to take care of everything.  So things remain undone until it becomes urgent–like when my water heater died a few weeks ago.  If I had tended to the water heater BEFORE it failed I would have had time to shop around for a better deal.  Because I was dealing with an emergency, I got the water heater and the plumber that were available the quickest.  And I’m sure that I paid more than I would have in a less urgent situation.

The same theory applies when you defer maintenance on your body or your teeth.  Preventative medicine costs a lot less money (and time) than if you get really sick or let a whole tooth rot away before you seek help.

Managing your money also goes a lot more smoothly if you don’t procrastinate.  When you pay your bills on time you avoid late fees.  When you time your deposits with your outgoing money, you avoid overdraft fees.  When you plan food in advance you save money by avoiding convenience foods and restaurants.  Typically anything that is planned in advance is cheaper than just flying by the seat of your pants.  Textbooks are cheaper if you buy online or buy used (which requires buying early).  My personal favorite “early is better” (in normal times) is music festival tickets—they are almost always less expensive if you buy super-early (usually before the lineup is announced).

Procrastination can cause a number of problems.  Many of them will require money you don’t need to spend.  The quick and easy cure is to STOP PROCRASTINATING!  I’m sure I can do that.  I’ll get around to it someday…

But What Can I Do?

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The world is upside down.  It feels like we are experiencing 1918, 1929, and 1968 all at the same time.  Plus murder hornets.  And California is on fire.  And even the one thing we could always depend on (the US mail) is a question mark.  Due to a global pandemic we have no idea what the next hour holds, let alone tomorrow or next week.

During times like these it’s easy to throw up your hands and say, “Why bother?  I can’t do anything that will make a difference.”  But you can.  You can do SOMETHING.  Which is much better than doing NOTHING.  You can wear a mask.  You can stay home when you’re not in class.  You can say no to that questionable party you were invited to.  You can encourage your friends to also say no to that questionable party.  You can make sure to maintain a six foot distance between you and the next person.  It’s SOMETHING.  And something is much better than nothing.

Sometimes it will feel like your finances are spinning out of control.  It’s easy to see what you CAN’T do and difficult to see what you CAN do.  I can’t pay my rent on time.  I can’t go out for dinner.  I can’t buy that extra textbook.  I can’t put gas in my car.  But what CAN you do?  You can arrange with you landlord to make payment after your student loan comes through.  You can make a pot of spaghetti for next to nothing.  You can borrow books from friends or from the library.  You can take the bus.  You can evaluate your belongings to see if there’s anything you don’t need that you can sell.  You can pick up a micro-job or gig work.  There is always SOMETHING you can do.

The world seems pretty weird right now.  It can feel helpless.  But you are not helpless.  Remember….you can always do SOMETHING!

Lost: One Credit Card

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I lost my credit card two weeks ago.  I had it in my pocket while I was at a music festival.  And then next day I couldn’t find it.  I checked my purse.  I checked all the pockets.  I dug through my camper (that we were staying in at the festival).  I just can’t locate it.  And at the end of the day, this is really no big deal.

As soon as I realized the card was missing in action, I logged into my account on line to check for recent activity.  I found there were no charges that I hadn’t made.  Then I put the account on “pause,” which allows regularly recurring charges to continue but any other charges will be blocked.  This has given me some time to continue looking for the missing card, in case it is just misplaced and not really gone.  The idea of cancelling the card and changing the number everyplace that I have recurring charges is less than appealing, so I want to give my camper one more good overhaul in case it’s hiding in the mattress somewhere.

In the meantime, I’ve been really glad that I have another card that I’ve been able to use instead.  Without a backup card I would have been in a bad place (adulting really seems to require plastic payment these days!).  I’m thinking it’s probably a good idea just in general to have more than one credit card.  Not just because of situations like mine, but because not all places take all cards.  Some merchants will accept MasterCard, but not Visa.  Some will take MasterCard and Visa, but not American Express.  And so on and so on.  I like to be prepared for just about any situation, and having multiple payment options helps with that.

My plan for tonight is to pull everything out of the camper and really search for the card one more time.  If I don’t find it, I’ll cancel it and get it reissued this week.  But luckily, if it really is gone, it’s no big deal.

Things We Have No Control Over

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Sometimes you have to deal with things that you have no control over. This has been more than clear this week to anyone living in the Carolinas. And it really hit home for me yesterday.

Anyone who has visited me in my office this semester had a chance to see the wrist brace that I’ve been wearing all summer.  And yesterday I finally had surgery to repair that injury.  The surgery went well and now I’m recovering at home for a couple of days. And while I’ve dealt with the aftermath of anesthesia before, this was my first experience with a nerve blocker.  The up side of the nerve block was that I had no pain for 20 hours after my surgery.  The down side was that my left arm was completely numb for that same time.  I had no control whatsoever over its movement.  It was actually fascinating to me.  My left arm was just dead weight (which was MUCH heavier than I would have expected!).  I wore a sling to support it and just had to live without my left arm for the day.  (Teeth and feet become very useful tools when you only have one arm).  I just had to find ways to work around the thing I had no control over.

Sometimes you’ll face financial challenges that you can’t control.  The unexpected auto repair.  The annual tuition increase. The rising price of gasoline.  A medical situation.  The cost of the bar exam.  Air travel for a family emergency.  Financial stress can come in any number of forms that you can’t control.  But what you can control is how you prepare for and react to these things.  A budget.  An emergency fund in savings.  Insurance.  These are all preventative measures to deal with the things you can’t control.  Loans. Credit cards. Side jobs. Selling things you don’t need.  These are all reactive measures you can take to relieve your financial stress.

We will all face things that we have no control over.  But we all have control of how we prepare for and react to these things.

A Moneywise Twofer–Protect Yourself

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Sometimes it’s just way too hard to choose only one topic for my weekly writing adventure.  This week there are two things that both seem to need urgent attention, so the Moneywise Tip is going to be a twofer.

First up, September 4 is the last day for students to purchase the Penn State Student Health Insurance Policy (SHIP) for fall semester.  And while you are young and healthy it’s easy to think you can get away with not having insurance.  But you really shouldn’t.  One broken bone.  One bad case of the flu.  One inflamed appendix.  Any one of these can happen at any time, and without health insurance it can easily set you on the path to a lifetime of medical debt. You can read more about that here.  But know that the choice to skip insurance is a game of Russian roulette you really shouldn’t play.

And for the second topic of the day, a student came to me last week to discuss something that scared both of us.  She came in to say, “I came to give you the information you called me about this morning.”  She went on to tell me that she had received a phone call from me asking for her birthdate and Social Security number for a student job she was applying for.  One big problem:  I hadn’t called her.  The caller had used my name, but I didn’t place the call.  It was a scammer. The reality is, anyone with access to the internet would be able to figure out that she is a student at Penn State Law, and I am the Financial Aid Director at Penn State Law.  I’m actually kind of stunned that someone would do this level of research to try to run a phone phishing scam.  But it happened.  So how do you protect yourself against this kind of thing?  My rule of thumb is that I never give out personal information on a phone call that I did not initiate.  No date of birth.  No Social Security numbers.  No credit card numbers.  If I didn’t place the call, no one is getting that kind of info out of me over the phone. Period.  And thankfully, this student was smart and didn’t share that info on the phone, even though she thought it was me on the other end of the phone.  WHEW!  (Just so you know—I would never ask for that kind of info on the phone.  I would always ask for you to bring physical documentation of these things.) Scammers are still everywhere, so make sure to protect yourself!

Time and Money

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Time and money are a lot alike. They are both limited resources.  Everybody seems to need more of both.  You often find yourself swapping one for the other.  And both need to be budgeted with care.

The beginning of a new academic year is a great time to look at how you are budgeting both your time and your money.  It’s kind of a “clean slate” time of year.  You have a brand new schedule of classes that you need to plan your study schedule and other responsibilities around.  You may have just received a large refund of student aid funds that you’ll be using to cover your living expenses for the next several months.

It’s easy at a time like this to feel wealthy.  You have a lot of money in your bank account.  You have months before exams.  And that’s when it’s easy to make a lot of poor decisions.  If you make poor decisions and squander your time, you’ll find yourself trying to play catch-up at the end of the semester instead of heading into exams less frantically and more prepared.  If you make poor decisions and squander your money, you’ll find yourself struggling to pay December rent and wondering how to spruce up your daily ramen noodles at the end of the semester.

The best way to avoid these challenges is to spend your limited resources wisely.  Both your money and your time.  This is best achieved with a plan.

By now you are likely familiar with the assorted tools used to plan your time.  An electronic calendar in your phone.  Or perhaps an old fashioned paper calendar.  Maybe even a Pinterest-worthy bullet journal.  Gather your syllabi from your classes.  Mark in important deadlines.  Plan where you need to be in your outlining process by what dates.  With it all spelled out there for you it is much easier to avoid the last minute rush.

Money always seems to be more challenging.  It feels like “budget” really ought to be a four letter word, the way it makes people cringe to think about it.  But there are a lot of tools available to help you deal with it.  Your first step really should be to make sure that your student aid refund is in a savings account.  Then decide how often you are going to “pay yourself” from that savings account by moving money from savings to checking (I like monthly, but many prefer weekly or bi-weekly).  Divide the money by that many transfers, and that’s how much you have for each budget period.  But then comes the hard part.  You still have to decide how much goes to each expense.  Some things decide themselves for you—you don’t really have any way to control the amount of your monthly rent once your lease is signed.  But groceries, clothing, and fun money are a lot easier to adjust.  You may want to try an online budgeting program such as You Need a Budget or Every Dollar.  Or you may prefer to just create a spreadsheet using Excel in Office 365 or a Google Sheet.

How you go about your plan is as malleable as the “recreation” line item in your budget.  But the important thing is that you do it.  If you are failing to plan, you might as well be planning to fail.  Just do it.