Narrow Bridge » Spending

Get Free Music Online

Eric — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 15:53:57 +0000

Over the years, the way we listen to music has changed dramatically. I remember my first Sony Walkman cassette tape player. I used to rock out to the Ninja Turtles soundtrack and Michael Jackson’s album Bad. While my tastes have evolved little, my method for listening to music has. (If you can’t pick up on sarcasm on the internet: that was sarcasm.)

My first CD was the Top Gun soundtrack. I still listen to the song “Danger Zone” when I am on a plane taking off. It makes me feel like a BAMF. I rarely buy CDs anymore. I just pre-ordered the new Linkin Park album, but for the most part, I have gone digital.

I got my first MP3 player in high school. It held a whopping 32mb, or about 5 songs. I learned about the incredible potential of music that does not skip when on a bike or running. I changed my five songs regularly, but it was not until I got my first iPod in college that my music collection began to expand.

In my college days, I used questionably legal methods to amass a collection of nearly 40gb of songs. My tens of thousands of songs could play for weeks without repeating once. I have still never listened to a big number of them. I keep my 60gb iPod full of songs.

Now, we are in a new age. There are two great online resources that I use for listening to music. These work on smart phones as well, but I use the PC based version. Those sites are Pandora and Grooveshark.

Pandora is the best resource I have found to discover new music. Pandora lets you create custom radio stations based on songs you like. I have found dozens of new artists and songs from Pandora. If you reach a song you don’t like, you can just click skip. You can only skip up to five songs at a time, but it is rarely a problem for me, as the site picks great songs consistently.

Grooveshark is the next generation of music, in my opinion. On the site, you can find virtually any popular song and create a music library for free. The site is ad supported, which you can remove for $3 per month (or a handy user script). I am amazed by the ability to start and stop any song I can imagine for free instantly.

How do you listen to music? Do you buy from iTunes? Do you get old fashioned CDs? Are you one of the proud and true that still keeps a vinyl record collection? Are you web based? Is there a better site that I have not seen yet? Please share in the comments.

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Make a Bills Calendar to See What Owns You

Eric — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:31:28 +0000

In Fight Club, Tyler Durden famously said that “the things you own end up owning you.” I have written about how hard you have to work for your possessions once before, but I decided to take it a step further and find out how much time I have to work every month to pay bills.

It turns out that I spend nearly 75% of my time at work for recurring bills, including rent, student loans, and utilities. That means only about ten hours every week are for the things I like to do, such as eating and entertainment.

Click to See Full Size

You can also build a calendar like this. I have put together a free spreadsheet on Google Docs to help you figure out how much of your paycheck goes to fixed bills. From that spreadsheet, I created a second Google Calendar that I used to input the work days per month. It turns out that my biggest fixed expenses are taxes, rent, and student loan payments.

This was an eye opening exercise. Take a run through and let me know how it goes in the comments.

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Spending on Vanity

Eric — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 14:58:47 +0000

I am loyal to my hair guy. I have been going to Fred for about 13 years. When I started going to Fred, my parents were still paying for my haircuts. He is at a professional salon that is much more expensive than some of the discount hair options.

I know I could go spend about $10 less at a place like Fantastic Sam’s or Great Clips. Floyd’s is more expensive. I get a haircut every five to six weeks these days, so I could save about $90 per year if I went to a cheap place to get my hair cut.

However, there are some places in life it is worth spending extra. When I bought my glasses, I spent hundreds more than I had to spend because I wanted the best looking frames. After all, the first thing someone sees when they look at me is my face. The same goes for my hair. I don’t want to look like a schlep.

Some people make their appearance a priority, and others do not. I do not care about spending a ton on my clothes, as I try to be practical and I don’t care much about trends. But I do care about how I look. Some level of vanity is a good thing, as long as it does not go too far. Just look at the definition of vanity:

van·i·ty: excessive pride in one’s appearance, qualities, abilities, achievements, etc.; character or quality of being vain; conceit

Do you honestly know anyone who does not care in the least bit what they look like? Even hippies, with their dreadlocks and tie dye, are trying to fit into a mold of some sort. Those “goth” and “emo” kids are fitting into a subset of vanity.

We all care what we look like, and we have to decide where to spend our money. For me, having a good, clean appearance is important for my professional life and it is something I value in my social life.

What do you think? What do you spend on haircuts? Is it worth money just to keep up appearances? Please say your thoughts in the comments.

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The Value of Generics: They are the Same Thing!

Eric — Thu, 27 May 2010 04:00:01 +0000

I have addressed this before, but I could not help share this great image post from Mint.com and Wallstats.

Also, a quick thanks to Free From Broke for including me in this week’s Yakezei Carnival.

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Where My Money Goes

Eric — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 19:37:09 +0000

I have been on Mint.com for about 2 years and 9 months. In that time, I have built up a pretty good history of where my money goes. It makes me wonder how much money (and stuff) I might have in my bank accounts had I not been a student at a private school. This is where my money has gone for the last 1003 days of my life.

It is a little shocking to see how big of a slice of the pie the $51,000 I have paid for education (tuition, books, student loans) is compared to everything else. Buying a car (fully paid off) is another big cost. The big cost of rent did not surprise me, but the $9,000 on food did a bit. The uncategorized are “Cash and ATM” and I did not input them in Mint.

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Use Firefox to Save Money

Eric — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 17:47:50 +0000

If you are like most savvy web users with any common sense, you probably use the most recent version of Mozilla Firefox (or Google Chrome) for your web browsing. Firefox has the ability to be expanded through “add ons,” which are extensions that give the browser new functionality.

MakeUseOf.com’s Evan recently wrote a post outlining some great extensions that can save you money on sites like Amazon.com and eBay.

He specifically talks about Ookong, an add on that helps you time your Amazon purchase, InvisibleHand, a silent shopper that finds you cheaper deals around the Internet before you click purchase on popular sites, and Myibay Auction Sniper for eBay, a tool that helps you make eBay bids at the last second to get the best possible price.

Be sure to check out the original post at MakeUseOfand download any of those add ons if they sound useful for your online shopping habits. Just beware that adding too many extensions can slow your browser down, so only add what you would really use.

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Would A 20% Tax Make You Give Up Candy and Soft Drinks?

Eric — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 01:35:56 +0000

In my home state, the government is looking at different ways to fix immense budget issues. Included in the proposals are a proposal to tax candy and pop (a.k.a. soda or soft drinks).

NACS Online had this to say:

DENVER – Colorado has begun to look into eliminating or suspending $19 million in tax breaks after the governor told lawmakers the state budget needed another $50 million cut, the Associated Press reports.

On the table is taxing candy and soft drinks, which currently are exempt from a state tax. Also being considered are taxing Internet sales and reviving a state sales tax on software.

With the recession continuing, Gov. Bill Ritter urged the legislature to uncover solution to balancing the state budget. “We are living in a new economic reality, and it will take all of us working together as stubborn stewards of taxpayer dollars to adjust, adapt and succeed,” he said.

Marc Braunstein testified that adding tax to Internet sales would seriously harm his Internet advertising site, ShopAtHome. “The revenue won’t be there, but the job loss will be there,” he said.

But Democratic committee members were unsympathetic to Internet retailers, saying they should get into another business if it’s based on their customers avoiding sales tax payment.

Colorado has already slashed $2.1 billion from the state budget over the last 18 months and the state faces an additional $1 billion deficit in next year’s fiscal budget, which starts July 1.

But the question is not really about the budget, it is about the consumer. People in Colorado have made high profile comments. Some support the idea for the potential health benefits for children. Others loathe the thought of new taxes. But would I give up the Sprite I take to lunch every day if it cost 20% more?

I don’t think I would, but there are more price sensitive people out there who would quickly cut off the candy and pop from their diet for a price increase.

What would you do? Please give your thoughts in the comments.

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Blippy: Twitter Meets Mint.com

Eric — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:47:00 +0000

We have all heard of social media, social networking websites, and budgeting software website. One company took those ideas and created an interesting mash-up called Blippy.

Blippy allows you to link up your credit card or online profiles at sites like iTunes, Amazon.com, or Netflix to create a purchase feed. The feed shows the community or your friends what you have been spending your money on.

What I Like:

The site gives you community support and a little external pressure to follow your spending goals. If you are trying to cut back, and tell your friends, they can catch you red handed buying DVDs or wasting money at the mall.

The feed function can be a useful supplement to using sites like Mint.com or Thrive.

What I Don’t Like:

If you like your privacy, this is not for you. If you make a stop at Victoria’s Secret to buy a present for your wife/girlfriend, they might be able to see it ahead of time.

If it sounds like something you would like, visit Blippy to sign up for free. You can sign up easily using Facebook Connect or the Twitter API in just a few clicks if you want to connect your accounts.

[Via Credit Karma Blog]

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Fight Club Finances: The Things You Own End Up Owning You

Eric — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:38:21 +0000

I will never forget the image of Tyler Durden telling the mystery hero in Fight Club that, “The things you own end up owning you.” That line still rings true with many of us, and one blogger came up with a system to actually quantify how much your things own you.

Matt at Steadfast Finances had this to say about his stuff to work ratio:

Just to show that all personal finance bloggers aren’t a pristine model of financial responsibility all of their lives, the graphic below represents how my personal finances looked using what I call the “How your stuff owns you calendar?” method when I was fresh out of grad school, making ~$60,000 a year, and leveraged up to my eyeballs.

He then gives a very blunt look at where his money goes, and it is eye opening at the very least:

If you want to figure out how to make your own “The Things You Own End Up Owning You” calendar, head over to Matt’s post and follow the great tutorial.

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Budgeting to Save Money is Like Excercise to Lose Weight

Eric — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 19:51:26 +0000

If you want to lose weight, there are two important parts of the puzzle: eat better and exercise. Those two areas combine to have a big impact, but one is much more important. It is easier to skip the burger than swim laps for two hours to burn it off. To make a big difference, you need to control the input, not the output.

The same logic can be applied to finance. Budgeting, the exercise of personal finance, can make a big difference. Going from no budget to watching your expenses can save you a lot of money. However, as some financial bloggers point out, it is important to go for the big kills rather than a nickel here and a dime there. Cutting your rent, insurance, and cable/Internet bills can save big over the course of a year. Even more important, though, is income.

If you can save $10 per month by asking your cable company to lower your bill, that is $120 per year, not too shabby. But if you can get a raise of $100 per month, that is $1200 per year, which is a bigger impact.

What we see here is that controlling your income can have a bigger impact than controlling your expenses. Easier said than done, right? WRONG. There are two major methods to increasing your income. 1. You get a raise or increase income from what you are doing already. 2. You create a new source of income.

I have created new sources of income from a few places over the last year. The most successful has been eHow, where I have made over $1,000 in the last 18 month. If I did more there or added another supplement, I can have that grow by more. It only took a few hours to get started on making that $1,000, why can’t you do it.

Getting a raise is also possible, even in today’s economy. If you are worth it, your company will pay you more to stick around. I got a raise of nearly 20% in the same time period my group laid off about 15 people. If I can do it, you can do it. Just work hard and be the best at your job. Sometimes that takes time and careful negotiation, but it is possible.

Ramit over at I Will Teach You to Be Rich is kicking off a series on earning more income, and it is worth a read. I know there are silent readers out there, please come out of the shadows and let us know if you have secondary income streams in the comments. Any residual income? If not, tell us in the comments too. As a community, I am sure we can come up with some good ideas.

Budgeting to Save Money is Like Excercise to Lose Weight is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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