Fifty Cents

Saturday night, while I was walking to my El station, wallet in hand, fishing for a couple singles, a guy approached me to ask for money. Before I could give him my standard No, sorry, I don’t have any extra money on me, I heard him say something about needing $0.40.

My fingers were, literally, touching a $10 bill, so I couldn’t really say I couldn’t help him. And, honestly, I knew I had a couple quarters in the change pouch. So, in a split second, I changed my mind and said sure, yeah, I think I have that. Will $.50 be OK, or do you need exact change?

I handed him two quarters, and he thanked me over and over again, like I’d handed him the winning lottery ticket or the secret to curing cancer or something. Thank you so much, I really appreciate it, thank you, he kept saying. That’s when I looked at him, like for the first time, as I hadn’t looked up before then, as I’d been looking at the street, my wallet, the change I was counting. He was blonde, carrying a beach towel, all of 19 years old, at most.

No seriously, thank you, really, he said again, walking ahead of me to the Red Line. While we got our tickets at the booth, he and his friends were getting theirs. And he came over to me again, before they went through their line, and told me again how much he appreciated it.

I’ve been thinking about it since, thinking how good he made me feel for giving him half a dollar and how simple of a thing it was really, less than the cost of a candy bar or a can of pop. Less than I would worry about if it fell out of my wallet.

End-of-the-Week Updates & Round-Up

More news:

1. Friday night turned out to be the summer’s first officially free event for me: a movie in the park. Unlike the big Chicago Film Festival, which shows classics on Tuesday nights (big bummer for this get-up-early girl), this showing was conveniently at 9 PM Friday. The movie of choice? E.T.

Verdict: I still spent $6 on bakery ahead of time, which isn’t that bad really. The showing itself could’ve been better, though. Because of our seats, we couldn’t hear well, and the screaming toddler nearby didn’t help. So all in all, learning experience #2: go early if you’re going to a free event. There will be lots of other money-savers who scope out better seats.

2. I got the raise. Sort of. Basically, my boss worked out a way for me to get a bonus-based increase each month that should (fingers crossed) mean a 10% boost, at least if our workload stays the same or increases (likely). So all my worrying for was nothing.

________________

On to the round-up. This week’s CMN bloggers are even better than before, armed with a new member! Help us welcome Spilling Buckets to the crew!

Here are some highlights of the past week:

• Broke Grad Student gives us a little background into when/how he started his site and how it’s allowing him to pay off his student loans. He also interviewed me, so THAT’s definitely a must-read.

• Want to win an iPod Shuffle? Head over to Poorer Than You for your chance!

• No matter what your financial situation, Broke-Ass Student says you have the greatest asset already, and it doesn’t cost anything. Take a look at her post, which, I’ll be honest, made me smile.

• Green Panda Treehouse was recently featured on MSN! She celebrated with a post giving us an overview of what she’s all about. Definitely worth visiting.

• What do YOU do when the cashier makes a mistake in your favor? Is it worth correcting, or is it a frugal blessing? MFA or Bust initiated a great discussion on this; go see!

• Last, but not least, our new friends Spilling Buckets (love their blog! have been reading for a while!) make an interesting observation about Real Simple. True confession: I think this mag is beautiful, even if not so helpful/simple/frugal. Used to subscribe but now I only flip through it at the store every once in a while.

Free Fun: First Lesson Learned

My blogging buddy FGS issued me a great challenge last week, in response to my mentioning the Single-Step Personal Finance Challenge: Get some friends together to do routine, free nights together. Here’s the recap of week #1:

Event #1 came to me, without my doing much work: an e-mail announcing a free foodie event in the area, showcasing hot Chicago dining. I was so in. I forwarded the invite to some friends, and they were all in, too, even though it was last-minute.

Then the glitch came: by the time we all RSVPed, the event had been filled. We were so out. And my first free-event lesson was learned: do your research, and plan ahead.

What we did instead was not at all frugal, but fun: dinner in a cute neighborhood, followed by a showing of The Dark Knight. I spent about $18.

Future ideas include free concerts, free movies in the park and free nights at local establishments. Stay tuned.

Unexpected Frustrations, financially

I said I was starting with the good (and oh, it was good), but today I’m telling you the bad news (and to me, it’s very bad):

I still haven’t gotten the raise my boss said he’d fight for, the one I asked for over a month ago.

I was planning to follow-up with him a month after asking, but he actually beat me to the punch, telling me he’d been busy and that maybe he’d be able to work out a bonus instead.

This concerned me for two reasons:

1) A bonus is not a raise. it’s one time. it’s potentially small (true, potentially big, but doubtful). It’s also, necessarily at our company, based upon proof of some grand accomplishment. While my work has been consistent and good, it hasn’t suddenly spiked.

2) A vague suggestion of a bonus is no guarantee. I already waited a month after asking, and now he gives me no concrete answer, no specific, tangible hope of what I can expect or when I can expect. Since then, I’ve heard nothing.

This has been percolating in my mind for a couple days now, and I’m not sure what to do next. I like my job, I like the people I work with, I like what I’m doing and think it good for my future career. However, if there’s no hope of advancement/promotion/moving up, while there are plenty of new projects/assignments and responsibilities, maybe I need to start thinking about moving on.

One thing’s for sure, I’m not quitting without another job lined up.

Right now, I’m just doing a lot of weighing: staying versus going, applying elsewhere versus more aggressive negotiating here, being thankful for what I have versus wanting more.

Am I being schmoozed? Or is it crazy to want a raise after one year? I mean, really? Am I being unfair to my boss?

Unexpected Blessings, financially

Oh, I have so much to blog about, friends. Let’s start with the really good: two very unexpected blessings that I am superhyped about (side note: did you know super- usually doesn’t get hyphenated when creating a compound noun? there’s your fun grammar fact for the day or, your unexpected blessing, if you will. Wow, I am in a good mood.)

Blessing #1: a brand-new, shiny, huge-screen iMac.

Oh. Yeah. It’s an entirely new Internet experience, and I like it. A lot. Right now, I am sitting with the old desktop, set up next to the new iMac, one playing You Tube’s “I’m Yours” video, one with my blog open. I could really get used to this.

Funny thing is, I didn’t even know we were getting one. My dad’s colleague bought the iMac, realized he didn’t want it and sold it to my dad for $750 yesterday. With a new printer. Yeah. So cool. We’ll be giving the desktop computer away to someone my dad knows, but the dual screens are fun for now.

Oh, and did I mention that it comes with inDesign, the full MS Office Suite, Adobe, and oh gosh, I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you my supercool (wink, wink) excitement. 

Blessing #2: A brand-new, I-get-to-pick-it-out Blackberry cell phone.

My current phone, the one I bought on eBay, is struggling. Right now, I’m carrying superglue in my purse with me at all times, ready to reapply when needed, to keep the screen plastered to the phone’s body. My own fault for being cheap about it.

So my dad’s company, the one I work part-time for, is buying me a new phone. It’s a tax right-off for them, and, since I don’t take a salary, they really want to. I’m supposed to buy whatever I want, and they’ll reimburse me (my favorite kind of shopping!).

Good. Day.

More later.

Job Hunting & Dating Both Stink

Last week, I had a guy tell me, as he walked me out after dinner on our first date, “You’ll have to let me know if you want to do this again sometime.”

He leaned in as if to go for a hug/kiss, right there in front of the restaurant, and I turned away a little bit, still smiling and thanking him for the meal. Completely confused not just by his last statement but by the entire night, I had, literally, no idea if he was actually interested or not. I hadn’t felt any bells or fireworks through the evening, but that’s not really necessary to me on the first date; I had fun, but I didn’t know what I thought yet. My plan? Wait to see his next move.

It’s kind of like when you go for a job interview. The HR rep or manager asks you a lot of questions and you answer and gather more information, not really sure what you’re thinking about the company yet. You are still interested, willing to hear what they offer, but you’re not desperate for it or anything. It’s not your dream job, it seems so far, but you’re still deciding if has potential.

I’ve been on so many job interviews. More than dates, in fact. I’ve interviewed for entry-level positions I didn’t have half an interest in, just for the sake of interviewing and learning what was out there. And the result? I’ve gotten really good at interviewing. Like, really good. If I can get you to give me the interview, nine times out of ten, I can get you to give me the job.

Dating, on the other hand, I don’t have down yet. I’m still gathering info, you know? I’m still going on these dates and learning what to expect from guys, who, it seems, routinely don’t call you back or, on the flip side, pursue the heck out of you, or, like my Ex, don’t talk to you for a year and then say he wants to get back together.

Some people get really lucky. They marry their high school sweethearts. They land a killer job out of college. But, for most of us, it’s not that simple.

And for that reason, it pays to do your homework, hoping with all your fingers crossed that you can be the exception and have things work out without all this trouble. In the mean time, you might as well do what you can, I say:

Here is a list of great job-hunting/interviewing resources I’ve come across over the past few months that I thought you might enjoy. Unless you’re in your dream job, you should always have your eye out for what’s available. It just makes sense.

• The Best Job Hunt Post: Top 40 Links from the Web. from Green Panda Treehouse. I know I just linked to this yesterday, but go over and check it out, OK? Great list of info.
• Resume Rules for Job-Hunting Fools. from Feminist Finance. Tangible, practical resume-writing tips.
• If there’s one thing I admire about Krystal, it’s the amount of job interviews she scores! Clearly, she’s doing something right. In this post she shares some of her secrets, though not the biggest ones, because, after all, job-hunting is kind of a competition.
• Work Coach Cafe is a great site with all kinds of career-related resources, from resume advice to loads of Q & A.
• And of course, I might as well plug myself a little: if you’re from Chicago or a writer, click the To Job Hunters tab above for a list of job banks. You can also read all about my job-hunting history by clicking the job-hunting category of the sidebar.

How College Money Network Is Good for You

Just in case you missed my first announcement about the new, fantastic, exciting College Money Network, here’s another plug: are you in college? did you recently graduate? are you a 20-something, or are you the parent/friend/sibling of a 20-something?

Well, CMN is the PF site you can’t miss. All of the authors (Including yours truly, ahem) are either students or recent grads, with opinions and philosophies and tips and tricks that directly relate to how to manage money as a student.

To give you a sampling, here are some of my favorite posts among the CMN crew from this last week:

MFA or Bust gives some advice on how to ask for more, when it comes to college funding. Let’s cross our fingers that her savvy negotiating makes school more affordable for her! And why not use her advice to improve your own assistance package?

Broke Grad Student discusses a question almost every student asks, when considering grad school: Should you take a break between undergrad and grad school, or no? Have an opinion on that? Go weigh in!

Whether you’re a student or not, you’re probably feeling the sting of gas prices. Stephanie at Poorer Than You tells how she’s fighting the effects. Check out her post, Saving Money on Driving, One Way or Another.

College is often the time when kids first become independent, learning to do things, even manage money, on their own. Broke-Ass Student brings up an interesting question: Is Your Money Safe in the Bank?. What do you think?

A genuine highlight of my week’s reading was Laura’s post, The Best Job Hunt Post: Top 40 Links from the Web at Green Panda Treehouse. We all have to look for a job sometime; it’s just the way of things. And with today’s extremely competitive marketplace, it pays to do your homework.

Single-Step Personal Finance Challenge

One of my fellow College Money Network members, Laura at Green Panda Treehouse, tagged me and the other CMNs recently with the First-Step Personal-Finance Challenge.

Originally started by Mrs. Micah, this challenge is simple: Find one step you can take to make your financial system better or more organized.

I’ve been thinking about it, trying to decide which areas of my financial system need to be updated. There’s giving, which I overbudget for so I can live the principles I believe in, but which I sometimes struggle with and haven’t come to a conclusion over; there’s saving, which is mainly focused on my steady stream to the ER fund and continued investment in my down-payment fund; and, last, there’s spending, which I could always cut more on, honestly.

Of those three, the one that seems to have the most tangible goal-setting potential is spending.

I’ve tried specific spending challenges before: only spend XX on eating out this month, etc. The point of this challenge seems to be what all my other goals were lacking: it’s something small.

So my single step: I can only order out food once next week at work.

What about you? Wanna take the challenge?

So I Have This Friend (or, on mooching)

What do you do when, say, a friend comes to visit and suggests you go to THAT restaurant with the amazing food and the great atmosphere, the one that makes delicious food but hits your wallet big-time? Then, say, this friend orders an entree and drinks and more drinks and a side of this and a bit of that, laughing it up and saying how good it all is, only to say, when the bill comes, that she can’t cover it?

You only ordered something small, because, well, you’re on a budget after all. And your friend says something about how she doesn’t make much money and it’s hard to find good work and you know? Maybe you can help her out?

This happens to me sometimes. Not frequently, and not with a lot of people. But with some people very frequently, in fact with one particular person all the time. I’ll know I can spend $10, so I’ll order something small; Friend knows she has $10 in her wallet but orders something big, knowing I can help her, if it comes to that.

I don’t mind giving to my friends; in fact, I believe in it. But maybe there’s some kind of line we can cross with giving. Maybe at some point, giving becomes excusing? Maybe at some point, my “sure, here’s another $10″ becomes “you don’t have to be responsible for what you do”?

This same friend has been looking for a better job, on and off, for almost a year. She makes $8 now, so, yeah, she doesn’t have much money. So what do I do? I offer to help her with her resume, thinking that this could help her get a better job, help her make better money. I spend three hours one Friday night beefing it up and reorganizing and formatting, etc. I send it to her and say, voila! like she’ll fall over herself gushing with praise. She doesn’t respond. She never says if she’ll use it.

The truth is, she never asked me to look at her resume. It was my idea, my plan to help her get in a better financial situation. In other words, it’s what I’d want someone to do for me. Just like I’d want someone to help me if I needed money, though, to be honest, I’d never, ever, not-in-a-million-years order something I knew I didn’t have the money for. I wish someone had helped me make a resume when I was frustrated, desperate for a job. I wish someone had given me advice and guidance to getting the right position. I wish someone would help me when I feel like I need it.

But do I wish that only because I’m looking back? I mean, if I hadn’t done anything, would that have meant I needed help that no one gave or that I didn’t want it (the jobs/resumes/whatever) enough?

What do you think? Can you give too much to your friends? Is there a way to know if you can? And how do you train yourself to stop helping people who don’t want you to? How do you love them enough to say, You can do it yourself? How do you love them enough to say, Sure, I’ll pay for it again?

Introducing… the College Money Network!

I’m thrilled to announce to you the launch of a brand-new PF network, set around the theme of money and college. There are six members (including yours truly), and we are college students, grad students or recent grads.

The College Money Network is a place where we’ll pool our information, giving you the best content we can, all about money, school and being a 20-something in the midst of it all.

Here are the other members (you’ll also notice a list on my sidebar):

• Broke-Ass Student || http://www.brokeass-student.com
• Broke Grad Student || http://www.brokegradstudent.com/
• Green Panda Treehouse || http://www.greenpandatreehouse.com/
• MFA or Bust || http://mfaorbust.blogspot.com/
• Poorer Than You || http://poorerthanyou.com/