Today R and I went to Muir woods and spent the day hiking through the redwood trees. We go several times a year and every time I'm amazed at the natural beauty of it all. The stream which can be little more than a dribble at certain times of the year was rushing with all of the rainwater from our recent storms creating beautiful small waterfalls. The best part is it's only $5 a person to get in! When you add in the $6 bridge toll, $3 for the snacks we took, $10 for the In N Out we ate after (we love In N Out, it's a rare guilty pleasure) and we had a great Saturday for $30 and also used up the last of our prepaid Zipcar $$ for the month instead of letting it expire. And as an added bonus, we also got some good exercise.
If you live in the bay area and have never been to Muir Woods to see the redwood trees, you should really consider going. Depending on where you want to go you can hike for an hour or for a day. You can walk along streams, pass trees more than 300 feet tall, hike to the ocean and walk along the beach or just hang out in the visitor center and gift shop - which incidentally has some pretty cool gifts for your friends and family that enjoy nature.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Back to climbing
After taking 10 days off to recover from an injury I got back into the climbing gym this weekend. I was very rusty with my footwork and I need to build up my endurance again. In the last four weeks I think i only went climbing 3 times :( and two of those times I had to stop early due to pain. So I really need to build up the strength in my hands, forearms and legs again.
The good news is that I climbed for hours and am pain free! I easily climbed a few 10.A's, struggled up a 10.C, yes I fell, and failed to even make it to the top of a 10.D. It was the first 10.D I've ever tried and it was at the end of the night when I was already tired, so I don't feel bad that I wasn't able to do it. Plus, doing challenging climbs wasn't even my main goal, staying healthy was. And I did that!
After climbing I went into the locker room for my weekly weigh in and this week I came in at 170.8, up nearly half a pound from last time and keeping me well on pace to finish the year at 178.
Also this week, I've hit the gym at lunch for a quick 30 minute workout three times so far. I won't go today because I'm climbing tonight but will go again on Friday. I'm going to try and take the 10.D first thing tonight, hopefully being fresh will help me get up the wall.
The good news is that I climbed for hours and am pain free! I easily climbed a few 10.A's, struggled up a 10.C, yes I fell, and failed to even make it to the top of a 10.D. It was the first 10.D I've ever tried and it was at the end of the night when I was already tired, so I don't feel bad that I wasn't able to do it. Plus, doing challenging climbs wasn't even my main goal, staying healthy was. And I did that!
After climbing I went into the locker room for my weekly weigh in and this week I came in at 170.8, up nearly half a pound from last time and keeping me well on pace to finish the year at 178.
Also this week, I've hit the gym at lunch for a quick 30 minute workout three times so far. I won't go today because I'm climbing tonight but will go again on Friday. I'm going to try and take the 10.D first thing tonight, hopefully being fresh will help me get up the wall.
Monday, January 25, 2010
exercising?
Sadly no, I haven't been. I aggravated a recurring injury and had to shut things down for a week.
This has been a lingering injury because instead of giving it ample time to heal, as soon as it would stop hurting I'd be climbing again. But after my first or second climb I'd be in pain again. Not this time. This time I went a full week with no stress on my shoulder or arm muscles. After three or four days I was pain free but still kept to my recovery plan. No climbing, no gym for a week. I really missed it. About midway through the week I would look at file cabinets at work and think to myself that I could easily climb up to the top of the cabinet.
After a week has passed I was pain free, but still didn't go back to climbing. Instead I gave my shoulder a series of small tests to help it build up. I did push-ups one day, curls another and finally pull-ups and after each day I was still pain free. I was finally ready to get back to climbing!
This same process of breaking a goal down into smaller goals can also help with your finances. Want to pay down your debts so you can live debt free? First get pain free - get a handle on your monthly budget so you're saving more than you spend. Next start to build a little muscle with small exercises - send extra money toward your debt. Full recovery - find even more places to save and snow ball your payments which will really cut down on the debt you own.
This has been a lingering injury because instead of giving it ample time to heal, as soon as it would stop hurting I'd be climbing again. But after my first or second climb I'd be in pain again. Not this time. This time I went a full week with no stress on my shoulder or arm muscles. After three or four days I was pain free but still kept to my recovery plan. No climbing, no gym for a week. I really missed it. About midway through the week I would look at file cabinets at work and think to myself that I could easily climb up to the top of the cabinet.
After a week has passed I was pain free, but still didn't go back to climbing. Instead I gave my shoulder a series of small tests to help it build up. I did push-ups one day, curls another and finally pull-ups and after each day I was still pain free. I was finally ready to get back to climbing!
This same process of breaking a goal down into smaller goals can also help with your finances. Want to pay down your debts so you can live debt free? First get pain free - get a handle on your monthly budget so you're saving more than you spend. Next start to build a little muscle with small exercises - send extra money toward your debt. Full recovery - find even more places to save and snow ball your payments which will really cut down on the debt you own.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Overwhelmed at work
Today I was greeted with 6 urgent tasks and one major, and very urgent, project to start my day. looking at the stacks of paperwork on my desk made me feel a little overwhelmed at first. It was oddly demotivating seeing all of this work that I had to do. I really wanted to skip the 6 smaller tasks and focus on my large project but I new the smaller tasks needed to get done so I couldn't just blow them off.
I took a few minutes to get a cup of tea, gather my thoughts and organize the 6 tasks. While it looked like a lot of work at first glance, I estimated that each task would only take about 20 minutes each. I closed my email and web browser to minimize distractions and began working my way through each task. An hour and a half later I finished the last of the tasks, went to the gym for a quick workout, got some lunch and then had the afternoon to work on my larger project.
The next time your faced with something that looks overwhelming at first, take a deep breath to relax and look at the situation calmly. It may not be as much work as you think and if you remove the things that commonly distract you (phone, email, web surfing, texting etc) you probably can get things done faster then you first thought.
I took a few minutes to get a cup of tea, gather my thoughts and organize the 6 tasks. While it looked like a lot of work at first glance, I estimated that each task would only take about 20 minutes each. I closed my email and web browser to minimize distractions and began working my way through each task. An hour and a half later I finished the last of the tasks, went to the gym for a quick workout, got some lunch and then had the afternoon to work on my larger project.
The next time your faced with something that looks overwhelming at first, take a deep breath to relax and look at the situation calmly. It may not be as much work as you think and if you remove the things that commonly distract you (phone, email, web surfing, texting etc) you probably can get things done faster then you first thought.
Updates
I managed to go to the gym twice this week and also went climbing twice, though my climbing is being severely restrained by a recent shoulder strain. I think I'm going to have to stop climbing for a week to ten days to let it heal before I can hit the walls again. I really feel bad about it, not only do I really want to climb but I can't help but feel like I'm letting my climbing partner down by not being there. I know that he'll be able to "partner call" for someone to fill in, but I still feel bad about it. Still, there is no way I can reach my goal of climbing an 11 with a bad shoulder, so I have to get myself healthy.
Also, at my weekly weigh in, I tipped the scales at 170.4, so I'm about seven and a half pounds from my goal. With a good healthy diet and plenty of exercise I think I should be able to make my goal of 178 pounds.
Also, at my weekly weigh in, I tipped the scales at 170.4, so I'm about seven and a half pounds from my goal. With a good healthy diet and plenty of exercise I think I should be able to make my goal of 178 pounds.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Student Loan
While checking in on the $5,000 student loan payment I sent it to make sure it was received, I learned that my interest rate isn't 1.9% like I originally thought. It's actually 1.625% !! This gives me less incentive to pay off the loan early because I'll be saving that much less in interest costs and when combined with the opportunity cost of not having the extra cash to save, invest or keep for an emergency I'm no longer sure it makes sense to aggressively pay down the loan.
I think I may send in an occasional extra payment but not make it automatic. I'll have to give this some more thought though.
I think I may send in an occasional extra payment but not make it automatic. I'll have to give this some more thought though.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Getting a Credit Card Fee Reversed
I just received my credit card statement and was surprised to see a finance fee charge of $28.12 for foreign transaction fee. Huh? I did go to Canada and use my card but wasn’t aware that there would be a fee involved to do that. So, I checked the web site to see if I could find the fee disclosed there. Nothing.
On my current statement I saw the following: “Your card provides the convenience of transacting worldwide wherever MasterCard is accepted. Each purchase you make outside the US is subject to a transaction fee.”
Hm. I don’t remember seeing that before. And how is the transaction fee determined? Checking past statements I confirmed that the paragraph above was not included.
Again I went back to my account website to try and find my user agreement assuming that the fee must be buried in the agreement someplace. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the user agreement anywhere on the site.
My only recourse was to call my credit card company and see what was going on with this fee. Before I called I reminded myself to follow the basic rules of success: be respectful and courteous to the CSR, ask for what I want (an explanation of where the fee came from and hopefully the fee waived) and to be persistent, going to the manager level if necessary. I also went to the bathroom, not knowing how long the call could last but preparing myself for the worst.
I quickly navigated the computer options and got to a live CSR. After asking about the fee I was told that it was a 3% charge applied to charges placed outside of the US. Quickly grabbing a calculator I confirmed that since I did charge $940 outside of the US the $28.12 charge was pretty accurate. The CSA went on to say that the fee was charged by the processing company directly and that it couldn’t be reversed.
I didn’t like the sound of that. Sticking to my original plan, I explained that I couldn’t find disclosure of the fee anywhere on the website or my statement and that they needed to disclose a fee to me before they could charge me for it. I think this sent the CSR off his script at this point as he was silent for a minute and then told me that there wasn’t anything else he could do but that his manager could answer any other questions I might have. Yes, please I told him.
I was finally past the gatekeeper and into the inner sanctum where the real power to make decisions lies. She must have gotten a summary from the CSR because the manager already knew what I was calling about and told me nearly the same thing as the CSR, except that the manager also said the fee was indeed disclosed in the user agreement and in fact she was having another copy of the agreement sent to me just in case I didn’t have my original copy.
Feeling myself losing the battle I reiterated that I looked at the web site for the agreement or a fee schedule and told her I wasn’t able to find one and that it also wasn’t listed on any of my statements. I then asked if she knew where on the website the fee was disclosed. She stumbled for a bit and then admitted that she wasn’t sure if it was listed on the website.
There it was. The crack in their defense I was looking for. Ignoring what the original CSR said about the fee being non-waivable, I told the manager that I didn’t think it was right for them to charge a fee that wasn’t readily disclosed and asked for the fee to be waived. After a slight pause she said that she could waive the fee as a one time courtesy to me. I thanked her for waiving the fee, she thanked me for being a good customer and I ended the call.
The lessons learned are that finance fees and charges can be disputed and reversed – despite what a CSR might tell you provided that you are calm, courteous, persistent, willing to ask for what you want and have a logical reason for having it waived. Hopefully this lesson will be able to help one of you get a fee reversed with your credit cards.
Follow up note: After doing some research I have since learned that it is standard for most credit card companies to charge a fee for purchases outside of the US. Since I had never heard of this, I think that might be a sign that I need to travel more. Still, I don't feel bad at all for having the fee reversed, Citi should make it far easier to find the fee disclosure for things they are going to charge you for.
On my current statement I saw the following: “Your card provides the convenience of transacting worldwide wherever MasterCard is accepted. Each purchase you make outside the US is subject to a transaction fee.”
Hm. I don’t remember seeing that before. And how is the transaction fee determined? Checking past statements I confirmed that the paragraph above was not included.
Again I went back to my account website to try and find my user agreement assuming that the fee must be buried in the agreement someplace. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the user agreement anywhere on the site.
My only recourse was to call my credit card company and see what was going on with this fee. Before I called I reminded myself to follow the basic rules of success: be respectful and courteous to the CSR, ask for what I want (an explanation of where the fee came from and hopefully the fee waived) and to be persistent, going to the manager level if necessary. I also went to the bathroom, not knowing how long the call could last but preparing myself for the worst.
I quickly navigated the computer options and got to a live CSR. After asking about the fee I was told that it was a 3% charge applied to charges placed outside of the US. Quickly grabbing a calculator I confirmed that since I did charge $940 outside of the US the $28.12 charge was pretty accurate. The CSA went on to say that the fee was charged by the processing company directly and that it couldn’t be reversed.
I didn’t like the sound of that. Sticking to my original plan, I explained that I couldn’t find disclosure of the fee anywhere on the website or my statement and that they needed to disclose a fee to me before they could charge me for it. I think this sent the CSR off his script at this point as he was silent for a minute and then told me that there wasn’t anything else he could do but that his manager could answer any other questions I might have. Yes, please I told him.
I was finally past the gatekeeper and into the inner sanctum where the real power to make decisions lies. She must have gotten a summary from the CSR because the manager already knew what I was calling about and told me nearly the same thing as the CSR, except that the manager also said the fee was indeed disclosed in the user agreement and in fact she was having another copy of the agreement sent to me just in case I didn’t have my original copy.
Feeling myself losing the battle I reiterated that I looked at the web site for the agreement or a fee schedule and told her I wasn’t able to find one and that it also wasn’t listed on any of my statements. I then asked if she knew where on the website the fee was disclosed. She stumbled for a bit and then admitted that she wasn’t sure if it was listed on the website.
There it was. The crack in their defense I was looking for. Ignoring what the original CSR said about the fee being non-waivable, I told the manager that I didn’t think it was right for them to charge a fee that wasn’t readily disclosed and asked for the fee to be waived. After a slight pause she said that she could waive the fee as a one time courtesy to me. I thanked her for waiving the fee, she thanked me for being a good customer and I ended the call.
The lessons learned are that finance fees and charges can be disputed and reversed – despite what a CSR might tell you provided that you are calm, courteous, persistent, willing to ask for what you want and have a logical reason for having it waived. Hopefully this lesson will be able to help one of you get a fee reversed with your credit cards.
Follow up note: After doing some research I have since learned that it is standard for most credit card companies to charge a fee for purchases outside of the US. Since I had never heard of this, I think that might be a sign that I need to travel more. Still, I don't feel bad at all for having the fee reversed, Citi should make it far easier to find the fee disclosure for things they are going to charge you for.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Student Loan repayment
Playing with my financial calculator (yes I do that for fun sometimes) I ran some calculations on my student loan and came up with some interesting results. My current loan of $40,398 will take 218 months to pay off with no changes. However, I sent in $5,000 yesterday bringing my loan balance down to $35,398 which will be paid off in 186 months if I keep my payments the same.
Then I ran calculations based on paying more each month. If I hit my goal of paying an additional $1,370 or $114 a month it would be paid off in only 117 months – assuming I maintain the higher payments. An extra $200 a month would bring the payoff period down to 91 months. But even small amounts can really cut down on the length of the loan. An extra $80 a month would save me 55 months, an extra $30 would save 25 months and even an extra $100 a year would save 6 months. Taken to the extreme, a mere $2 extra a month, which I would never notice in my budget, would take off 1 month.
Here is a chart of various payment options
Payment Length of Loan in Months Length Reduction in Months
$219 186 0
$222 185 1
$227 180 6
$250 161 25
$269 148 38
$300 131 55
$319 123 63
$333 117 69
$419 91 95
(sorry about the poor chart)
Even paying extra each month I’m looking at 10 years or more of student loan payments, unless I really ramp up my prepayments. Ouch. At least it’s at the rock bottom rate of 1.9%, which is why I’m not really in a huge rush to pay it off. There is a lot to be said for the option value of having cash on hand to either make a timely investment or to use in case of an emergency. So what am I going to do? I’m going to start by paying an extra $50 a month and contribute additional amounts based on what I earn from outside sources.
Then I ran calculations based on paying more each month. If I hit my goal of paying an additional $1,370 or $114 a month it would be paid off in only 117 months – assuming I maintain the higher payments. An extra $200 a month would bring the payoff period down to 91 months. But even small amounts can really cut down on the length of the loan. An extra $80 a month would save me 55 months, an extra $30 would save 25 months and even an extra $100 a year would save 6 months. Taken to the extreme, a mere $2 extra a month, which I would never notice in my budget, would take off 1 month.
Here is a chart of various payment options
Payment Length of Loan in Months Length Reduction in Months
$219 186 0
$222 185 1
$227 180 6
$250 161 25
$269 148 38
$300 131 55
$319 123 63
$333 117 69
$419 91 95
(sorry about the poor chart)
Even paying extra each month I’m looking at 10 years or more of student loan payments, unless I really ramp up my prepayments. Ouch. At least it’s at the rock bottom rate of 1.9%, which is why I’m not really in a huge rush to pay it off. There is a lot to be said for the option value of having cash on hand to either make a timely investment or to use in case of an emergency. So what am I going to do? I’m going to start by paying an extra $50 a month and contribute additional amounts based on what I earn from outside sources.
Monday, January 4, 2010
2010 Goals
In 2008 I made a list of goals that I wanted to accomplish during the year and I did well, completing almost all of them. For some reason I never made that list for 2009 and it felt like I was floundering a little during the year, sailing through life without a ruder. I’m sure that I made progress both financial and personal, but I couldn’t quantify any of the gains.
With that in mind, I made a list of what I would like to have happen during 2010, both financially and personally.
Financial:
Max out Roth – I’m already sending in enough to max it each month, I just have to keep making the contributions.
Maintain 16% in 401k – maybe even increase it to 17%
401K balance of $60k – current balance is $42,156, additional investments should bring it up to about $55k so I’m hoping for roughly a 9% return to make up the difference.
Make an extra $500 – I want to make extra money on the side but as I’ve never done this before, I’m going to set a low goal in the hopes of reaching it and getting some positive reinforcement.
Maintain $10K emergency Fund - this means that I'll resist the temptation to spend it and also that there won't be an emergency in 2010 major enough to cause me to tap into this fund.
Net Worth $200K – currently my net worth is just under $150k. This is a bit of a reach and I’m not sure if I can get to $200k but with a diligent saving and investing plan and some decent returns I might be able to get there.
Sell something on ebay – again, this is something I’ve never done but want to learn how to do.
Pay down student loan to $32,000. The balance is currently $40,398 and I just sent a wire transfer for $5,000 which will bring my balance down to $35,398 and I’m estimating that with my regular payments the balance will be $33,370 at the end of the year, so in effect my goal is to pay another $1,370 in addition to the regular payments. The interest rate is only 1.9% so I’m in no real rush to pay it off, but even paying small additional amounts can make a big difference in the length of the loan so I want to start making an effort to pay it down. I’ll write about that more later.
Personal:
Climb 5.11 – I climbed a few 5.10c’s, so hopefully by continuing to go regularly I can reach 5.11 by the end of the year.
Climb/Yoga 3x per week – my plan is to either climb or do yoga on a T,Th, Sat schedule.
Consistently work out 3x per week – my plan is to go to the gym by my work on a MWF schedule. With vacations and days off, I won’t get there every day but my goal is to do it consistently.
Weigh 178 lbs – Here my goals are coming together, by going to the gym and working out more, I’m hoping to add muscle mass and increase my weight to 178 lbs. But, I need to do this through exercise and eating right because I want mostly additional muscle mass. I don’t want to eat doughnuts and chips all year long and gain fat weight.
Take two vacations – R and I have been talking about going to Hawaii some day, maybe this will be the year that someday arrives. I also want to take another vacation either with R or by myself, just to get away, relax and go someplace I’ve never been before.
Look into moving – there are some things about our apartment that really bother me, so we’re going to look into finding another apartment that is a similar price range but has better amenities. It would be great if we could find a place that costs the same of less, but that might be wishful thinking in SF.
I have a lot of goals on my list this year, and I probably won't get them all checked off but if I can get most of them and make progress on the others I'll still be much better off than if I never made this list. I also like the accountability of having my goals on paper.
With that in mind, I made a list of what I would like to have happen during 2010, both financially and personally.
Financial:
Max out Roth – I’m already sending in enough to max it each month, I just have to keep making the contributions.
Maintain 16% in 401k – maybe even increase it to 17%
401K balance of $60k – current balance is $42,156, additional investments should bring it up to about $55k so I’m hoping for roughly a 9% return to make up the difference.
Make an extra $500 – I want to make extra money on the side but as I’ve never done this before, I’m going to set a low goal in the hopes of reaching it and getting some positive reinforcement.
Maintain $10K emergency Fund - this means that I'll resist the temptation to spend it and also that there won't be an emergency in 2010 major enough to cause me to tap into this fund.
Net Worth $200K – currently my net worth is just under $150k. This is a bit of a reach and I’m not sure if I can get to $200k but with a diligent saving and investing plan and some decent returns I might be able to get there.
Sell something on ebay – again, this is something I’ve never done but want to learn how to do.
Pay down student loan to $32,000. The balance is currently $40,398 and I just sent a wire transfer for $5,000 which will bring my balance down to $35,398 and I’m estimating that with my regular payments the balance will be $33,370 at the end of the year, so in effect my goal is to pay another $1,370 in addition to the regular payments. The interest rate is only 1.9% so I’m in no real rush to pay it off, but even paying small additional amounts can make a big difference in the length of the loan so I want to start making an effort to pay it down. I’ll write about that more later.
Personal:
Climb 5.11 – I climbed a few 5.10c’s, so hopefully by continuing to go regularly I can reach 5.11 by the end of the year.
Climb/Yoga 3x per week – my plan is to either climb or do yoga on a T,Th, Sat schedule.
Consistently work out 3x per week – my plan is to go to the gym by my work on a MWF schedule. With vacations and days off, I won’t get there every day but my goal is to do it consistently.
Weigh 178 lbs – Here my goals are coming together, by going to the gym and working out more, I’m hoping to add muscle mass and increase my weight to 178 lbs. But, I need to do this through exercise and eating right because I want mostly additional muscle mass. I don’t want to eat doughnuts and chips all year long and gain fat weight.
Take two vacations – R and I have been talking about going to Hawaii some day, maybe this will be the year that someday arrives. I also want to take another vacation either with R or by myself, just to get away, relax and go someplace I’ve never been before.
Look into moving – there are some things about our apartment that really bother me, so we’re going to look into finding another apartment that is a similar price range but has better amenities. It would be great if we could find a place that costs the same of less, but that might be wishful thinking in SF.
I have a lot of goals on my list this year, and I probably won't get them all checked off but if I can get most of them and make progress on the others I'll still be much better off than if I never made this list. I also like the accountability of having my goals on paper.
Vacation recap
I’m back in SF after an adventurous vacation. I was originally planning on spending 4 days in Canada visiting friends (with a budget of $400 for hotel, $150 for food and $75 for gas plus another $100 for spending money for a total of roughly $725) and a week with my family but a major snow storm changed all that. I was stranded in Canada for 3 extra days due to all of the flight delays, and had to rearrange my return flight so that I was still able to spend a week with my family.
While I enjoyed the extra time in Canada with my friends, it caused me to go over budget. The hotel came to $673, food was $135, gas was $122 and misc spending money was $100 (which was mostly spent on food) for a total of roughly $1,030. Most of the extra was due to the hotel, so I don’t think I did that bad and I was able to get a few Christmas gifts while I was in Canada.
The trip was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to go. We went to a hockey game (junior hokey league, not NHL), saw some light houses, lots of Bay’s and Coves, and ate their local lobster. I also got to finally eat a donair which isn’t readily available in the US for some strange reason. I might have gone $300 over budget, but it was worth it. I’ll just have to make up for it in January.
While I enjoyed the extra time in Canada with my friends, it caused me to go over budget. The hotel came to $673, food was $135, gas was $122 and misc spending money was $100 (which was mostly spent on food) for a total of roughly $1,030. Most of the extra was due to the hotel, so I don’t think I did that bad and I was able to get a few Christmas gifts while I was in Canada.
The trip was a lot of fun and I’m glad I was able to go. We went to a hockey game (junior hokey league, not NHL), saw some light houses, lots of Bay’s and Coves, and ate their local lobster. I also got to finally eat a donair which isn’t readily available in the US for some strange reason. I might have gone $300 over budget, but it was worth it. I’ll just have to make up for it in January.
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