I’m debating another financial experiment similar to the spending moratorium I undertook last July. This time, I am considering not using any credit cards or debit cards for an entire month, starting April 1. No, this is not a joke.
I got the idea after talking to a friend who had to cancel her credit card because of fraudulent charges. (This was not the same friend that had her credit/debit/ATM card number skimmed.) My friend didn’t have a back up for some reason and was forced to go without a credit card for about a week.
She was astonished at how different it felt to make regular purchases – with cash. At Target she picked out a gift for her grandson’s birthday that came to $61. She balked. $61? In cash? She would not have thought twice about swiping her plastic.
My friend’s experience made me wonder. Is it easier to stay on budget with cash? I pay my bill in full every month so this experiment is not about learning to spend within my means. It’s about spending less.
I rely heavily on my credit card because I spend cash so easily. In fact, I try to limit my ATM usage to one withdrawal of $100 at the beginning of the month. So there is a chance this experiment could go very badly.
Loading ...
Here’s a nifty graphic from Turbo Tax that shows where your taxes go.The chart singles out 11 categories that benefit from taxes, including national defense, international affairs, and health care. Using data from Salary.com, the chart shows for 10 different jobs the average salary, the average tax bill as a percentage of income, and the average tax bill as paid in dollars.
At the top of the heap you have the CEO, who makes $643,846 and pays 34 percent of his income (some $215, 734) in taxes. At the bottom is the janitor, who makes $28,245 and pays 16 percent of his income (some $4,585) in taxes . Strangely, all the workers depicted are men, unless those are burly cross dressing women.
A pie chart next to each job description shows how many dollars go towards each of the recipient categories. The dollars figures are different for each job but the percentages that goes to each category is the same. Note that military spending is by far the biggest recipient of our tax dollars, followed distantly by health and a nondescript category labeled “other.”
I highly recommend checking out this chart that shows where you tax dollars go.
I read a striking statistic today. Spending on food and drinks is supposed to increase by 11.6 percent this holiday season – greater than any other category measured in a survey conducted by marketing firm IBISWorld. Total spending on gifts is shrinking by 2.6 percent.
That means the food at your friend’s holiday party is going to kick ass, but she won’t be giving you a present. To be fair, during this holiday season total spending on gifts ($82 billion) still whomps spending on food ($28 billion). But still – people are pulling back dramatically on gifts. The recession is over, folks!
“More people are pulling back the need to shop for unnecessary goods,” said Toon van Beeck, an analyst at IBISWorld. “It’s not all about giving someone a gift, but going back towards family values and spending time with friends.”
I’m curious if the BargainBabe.com community is pulling back their gift giving, or defying the trend.
Loading ...
I have never made anywhere close to what Hubby makes. Partly because I chose a profession – journalism – that is low-paying and partly because he has been working up the career ladder seven years longer than me. But we have always pooled our income and had equal rights to spending the total.
Now that I am making next to nothing as a blogger and freelancer (I totaled $6 in my first week), I feel uncomfortable about spending as much as Hubby does.
When I asked Hubby how he felt, he insisted I still had equal rights to our reduced income. But I am not so sure.
After all, I am the one who decided to quit my job and embrace entrepreneurial journalism. Why should I force my career decision, and its fiscal implications, on Hubby? Tell me what you think by voting and leaving a comment.
Loading ...
