MONEY & FINANCE #59: CREDIT, MONEY MANAGEMENT, AND SAVING


EXERCISE #1


I read the article on how credit scores work and took the quiz. I got everything right on the quiz. Of course, I had just read the article right before I took it.


I was surprised to learn that inquiries into your credit can lower your score. I didn't know that opening new credit cards can negatively affect your score, although for only a short time. This means I won't be taking stores up on the offer to get their credit card just to get a 10% or 15% discount for that day's purchase. I have done this once or twice several years ago, but I won't do it again. I never use the cards again, so there really is no point. I have one credit card that I pay off monthly. I also thought it interesting that insurance companies are using your credit score. Since I have a good credit score, I'm not too concerned. It is interesting that they have found a correlation between credit scores and insurance claims.

EXERCISE #2

I don't have a spending or budget plan. However, I am very conservative with my spending, so I usually know in my head what I can afford. I might be interested in creating a budget plan if I had more time. In the last exercise I used Expensr, and I like the way it shows your expenses graphically, but I haven't had time to use it.

To create a budget, I would start by estimating my monthly expenses, like electricity, gas, auto expenses, etc. I have done this on several occasions, and monthly expenses do add up quickly. I would then estimate how much I want to save each month. Right now, I just put into savings what I have left over after bills are paid. I would allocate money each month for special treats, such as eating out, clothes, movies, and other entertainment. It would also be a good idea to track these type of expenses for a couple of months to see what I am spending money on besides my monthly bills. Expensr would be a useful tool for this.

EXERCISE #3

I found the TCDRS site had several useful bits of information. I didn't log in to my account, since I need to look up my pin number. However, I did just receive my yearly statement. I have a retirement fund from a previous job, TMRS, which works with TCDRS. The Proportionate Retirement Program publication on the website describes how this works. I didn't know that we get a guaranteed 7% interest rate on our money. I also didn't know you had to take your money out when you are 70 1/2, although I'm sure I will be wanting to retire a few years before I'm 70. I thought it was very interesting that your spouse has to sign a form if you choose to withdraw your money, and they won't receive benefits. It seems like if it's your money, it shouldn't concern them, but then I don't have a spouse. I found the website to be most helpful. The publications cover about any aspect you might have questions about.

Money & Finance #58 Banking, Budgeting, and Spending

1) My bank has been offering online banking for free for several years. I love the ease of online banking. Both of my college age children use the same bank, and it is very easy to transfer funds to their accounts. I can also easily transfer to my investment accounts with another company. Bill paying can be done with a click of a button. One thing I don't like is all of the e-mails they send me about services they offer that I am not interested in, but they can be easily deleted.



I honestly did not know what safeguards the bank offers, so I went online to check it out. They offer 100% coverage of funds that may be taken out of your account unauthorized. One thing that I do is I change my password every 6 months or so, and I'm very careful about giving out any personal information. I didn't even give the name of my bank in this blog. :)

2) I looked at the 3 budgeting websites and decided I liked Expensr. I signed up, and I think it's something I would like to continue to use. I really like the graphs. It gives you a very visual picture of what your expenses are. I set up a budget, and it gives you a nice bar graph, showing if you are staying within your budget. I will be curious to see how my graphs look after I have completed my expenses for the month. This is a very useful website.

3) I took the quiz, "DO YOU HAVE A SPENDING PROBLEM?". I scored very high for not having a problem, but I have always been very "tight" with my money. My parents were products of the depression, and my dad was from a very poor, but happy family. I learned to save from them. I was also a single mother of two, and we all know what a librarian's salary is like. I already do almost all of the things the article suggested for saving money. I always buy generic store brands and generic drugs. I have a high deductible on my insurance, and I pay off my credit card (only one) monthly. I knew about keeping your tires inflated to help save on gas, but I don't keep up with that as much as I should. I will try to do that more in the future.

Pot Luck #54 TXT U L8R Texting

I have sent a few text messages, but I don't text often. I first started texting a few years ago when I had a friend who was working overseas, and it was cheaper for us to text each other. My daughter also took a trip out of the country, and she sent me a text to let me know she arrived safely. I sent her a couple of texts, as well. I don't know all of the lingo and shortcuts, so I find it tedious to text. I thought Lingo 2 Word was interesting. It seems texting is creating an entire new language. Will it really effect people's ability to spell correctly?

I would never text and drive. I'm not adept enough at texting to do it without looking at my phone continuously. I think it is very dangerous for even adept texters to text and drive. No one should be driving and doing anything other than concentrating on the road and what's around them, especially in a city like Houston!

Potluck#56: To Tweet or Not to Tweet...Twitter

Reading through all the information on Twitter, it sounds so cute, especially the glossary, i.e. twaiting, tweeple, etc. However after searching twitter, it seems rather inane. I searched weaving, which is a new hobby of mine. I didn't expect posts on car weaving--weaving in and out of traffic. . .interesting. I looked at some of the Trending Topics next. I looked at Earth Hour and Living Social's. The Earth Hour Tweets were not interesting, but some of the links led to interesting websites. I then looked at one of the nifty queries, Love or Hate. It was just a series of twitters about what people liked. I did an advanced search and put my home town in the places search. I got some twitter/tweets, whatever you call them about the weather from the local news station. That could be useful, I suppose.

I don't see Twitter as something I would ever use, even though it sounds so cute, and I do like birds. Once again, I think some people may have too much time on their hands, but I'm probably just not getting it.

Pot Luck #55 Getting the Most out of Facebook

Signing up for a Facebook account was very easy. I was surprsed that it took names from my e-mail that were on Facebook and asked if I wanted to make them friends. I have 2 e-mail friends who are on Facebook. That was easy! I searched for other people, but being of the "older" generation, I didn't find anyone I knew. I added flair to my account. the only hard part was deciding what to add. I will keep my Facebook account, but I don't know how much I will use it. Some of these new things are nice, but who has the time to spend on the computer. I'd rather be reading or doing outside activities. Still I may find it useful in the future.

Books, Readers, and Beyond #54

EXERCISE #1

I was a member of a book club at the previous library where I worked--Victoria Public Library in Victoria, TX. I was mostly a participant, but I did lead the group when the reference librarian was not able to attend. The group met at noon and was called The Brown Bag Book Club. People were welcome to bring their lunch as we discussed the month's book. I enjoyed the group. I have recently become a participant at my branch's Mystery Club, and have led it a few times. I really enjoy discussing books I've read, and socializing with other readers. I believe an online site would be helpful to decide if I wanted to read a book, but I would prefer an in-person book club. I guess I'm old fashioned that way. :)

EXERCISE #2

I think it would be great to have a book discussion group that focused on a different genre each month. The different genres could be mystery, coming of age, classics, romance, historical, inspirational, and even a teen and children's. This would be a good way to introduce people to different genres and discussions could center on the book and the aspects of the genre they like.
I would start off with a bildungsromans or coming of age novel, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith. This novel was listed as one of the top books of the 20th century in GoodReads.

EXERCISE #3

I looked for the rating of What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman in LibraryThing and Shelfari. Both gave it a rating of 3 1/2 stars. However, there seemed to be more positive reviews in Library thing. Several of the reviewers in Shelfari thought the book was terrible and should not be considered a mystery. I thought it was a great myster, and it kept me guessing until the end. I loved the book.

Books, Readers, and Beyond # 53

EXERCISE # 1

I looked at the online sites of the three bookstores located in Katy, where I live.

Katy Budget Books
Their site is o.k. Their special events caught my attention first. They also have lists, like award lists, and they have staff recommendations. I didn't see a place to search for the books they have in their store, but you can search books and order them online. I assume they order them for you. This store also sell used books, but I couldn't find out what their trade in consists of.

Bookworm Shop
The Bookworm shop is a small bookstore in Katy that also sells used books, as well as new books and related book items. Their policy on trade ins was easy to find. It is a very nice website for such a small store. It was very easy to navigate, but you can't search for books on their site.

Books A Million
Books A Million is a big chain store, so their site is very well done. It is easy to navigate and see what they have available.

EXERCISE #2

I searched for the book Uses of Enchantment by Heidi Julavits. This was one of the books that was recommended by What I Should Read Next. I searched Books A Million and found the book was available in hardback for $18.28, on CD for $31.23, and as an audio download for $24.99. I also searched Amazon and our database, but I did not find an eBook version.

EXERCISE #3

I very easily logged into Net Library and registered. Then I decided to check out a book from HCPL's digital books. I checked out Wanted by Shelley Gray. However, I hit a snag when I couldn't download the software to read the book from an HCPL computer. I downloaded the software on my home computer and read some of the book. I think if I had a laptop or better yet one of the reading devices, I would have enjoyed reading the book more. I do not like sitting at a desk when I read. I much prefer my recliner, where I can get very comfortable and get into my book. I have tried Amazon's Kindle during a demo I attended, and I might be o.k. reading from one of those. My eyes do get tired of reading from a computer screen, so I still prefer reading from the printed page.