Jana Says

Using illness as a productivity tool

October 12, 2012 by Jana 5 Comments

Last week, I was a victim. The victim of an inflamed trachea. And yes, it is as delightful as it sounds.

Besides talking like Joan Rivers for a week, I had a fever, pounding headache, and an exhaustion that meant I was sleeping about 15 hours a day. I missed a multitude of events I was looking forward to, including a Zumbathon for breast cancer awareness month and I’ve never been so glad to have queue of posts. It was a waste of week, which pisses me off.

With so many projects I want to start, work on, and/or finish, having a week where I do almost nothing makes me anxious. That feeling of slipping even farther behind is uncomfortable and I’m not good when I’m idle. I can’t even watch TV without doing something else (well, most TV. There are about 3 shows that get my undivided attention). In case I’m being vague, I cannot stand feeling unproductive. I like knowing that at the end of the day, I’ve accomplished all that was possible that day.

So when I’m sick and unable to do anything but sleep, I can’t really get much done. Or can’t I? Why did I allow myself to think that being sick is an excuse to do nothing but lay like a lump on my couch or bed? I mean, it’s not like I had some horrible illness like mono or pneumonia. I had a broken voice and a fever (in my defense, a fever renders me pretty motionless. I cannot handle a fever). This should not have rendered me completely helpless. For instance, during my waking hours, I could have:

Worked on my freelancing career. I have a ridiculous stack of books on my nightstand and on my Kindle app waiting to be read. I’m slowly working my way through them (I did just finish R.A. Dickey’s memoir and I’m currently reading Tony Danza’s book, I’d Like To Apologize to Every Teacher I’ve Ever Had. Don’t laugh at me. It’s actually quite good). But I could have read more, particularly some of the career and freelancing books I have waiting. Even though I wasn’t writing or networking, I could have been working on my career.
Organized my recipe binder. For Christmas, my well meaning mother-in-law bought me a subscription to Southern Living. While I don’t exactly fit the description of a southern anything, the recipes in the magazine are pretty good. So each month, I rip out the ones I want to try and throw them in my recipe binder. After two years of this, my binder is a disorganized mess. Being stuck on the couch was the perfect time to organize and sort the recipes, in addition to creating some menu plans that incorporate the recipes.
Caught up on blogs. I am desperately behind on my blog reading. The harder I try to get caught up, the worse it gets. Instead of doing nothing, I could have very easily brought my laptop into my bed and spent some time reading, commenting, tweeting and sharing on Facebook. I know I would have been entertained and I wouldn’t have felt so disconnected from my blogging peers and friends.
Uploaded music. I have a bunch of CDs that I need to upload into my iTunes. I’m particularly lazy and good at avoiding this project, mainly because it’s time consuming and annoying. But it needs to get done. I probably could have mustered the energy to collect what CDs I could find and sit on my couch and upload them. I could have done this while rewatching the entire series of Prison Break or one of the new to me series I’m dying to watch on Netflix.

Looking back on it, I am upset that I wasted so much time doing…well, nothing. I played PopWords, read Cracked for hours and stared blankly at whatever crap is on daytime TV. I know that it’s okay to give myself a break when I’m sick. But with time as a finite resource, I can’t stand the feeling that I’ve wasted some of it.

What do you do when you’re sick? Do you try to be productive or do you just wallow in it? Join the discussion on Facebook or comment below.

Investing basics, part 3

October 10, 2012 by Jana 1 Comment

This is the third post in the Investing Basics series, written by Jennifer from To My Girlfriends. I’m thrilled to have her guest posting here, particularly on this subject. It’s been quite informative!

Let’s talk about the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and the NASDAQ. It is important to know the difference between the three and also what they represent.

The S&P 500 is an index of the top 500 publicly traded companies. “The index does include a handful (15 as of May 8, 2012) of non-U.S. companies.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500) There is a committee that selects which companies are allowed into the 500. The S&P 500 is “representative of the industries in the United States economy.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S%26P_500) This is very simplistic. There are weightings of the different industries, but for our purposes we just need simplistic.

One of the things you may hear about or read about is an S&P 500 Index fund. What that means is that the fund is attempting to mimic the returns of the S&P by having the same stocks in their portfolio. There are a lot of brokerage firms that offer an S&P index fund.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average or the Dow is quoted all the time in regards to the market. “It is an index that shows how 30 large publicly-owned companies based in the United States have traded during a standard trading session in the stock market.^[1]^” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average)

The Dow Jones Industrial Average has very little resemblance to the Industrial in its name. It was originally founded to measure the performance of heavy industry in America. Now it is the go-to index to gauge how the stock market is doing even though it only follows 30 stocks, albeit large companies in their industries. When I want to know how the market is REALLY doing I check the S&P 500 ticker. The DJIA ticker is a good indicator of the stock market movements but 30 companies do not make a market, in my humble opinion.

The NASDAQ is also an indices like the S&P and the Dow. Like both of them, the NASDAQ “is a statistical measure of a portion of the market.” (http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/03/072403.asp#axzz28COYuRP2) As with the S&P, you can have a mutual fund that tracks the NASDAQ.

All of this is very confusing to most people. I have found one of the best places for no-nonsense definitions is here: http://budgeting.about.com/od/budget_definitions/a/The-S-and-p-500-Nasdaq-Dow-Jones-market-index.htm I know I am inserting a lot of links today, but that is because I am not as eloquent as a writer in defining the indexes. I don’t want to give you the wrong information. Besides, why re-invent the wheel.

I hope this brings a little more clarity to some more of those mysterious acronyms and words you hear bandied about.

Please, just write what you know

October 8, 2012 by Jana 14 Comments

You know the expression “write what you know”? I think it exists for a reason.

When you write what you know, you give the theoretical a real life application. It makes the information seem real and relatable rather than artificial and contrived. It gives your writing a tone of understanding and knowledge that can’t be acquired simply from reading a book or a news article. It makes me want to keep coming back and, even if I disagree with what you say or do, I have an appreciation for what you’re writing.

It’s a special kind of writer that can do research and write realistically about topics she knows nothing about (for instance, Jodi Picoult. I don’t know how that woman does it but she is good). Most of us can’t do that. Most of us have to write about our experiences and our knowledge because, well…that’s all we have.

I will tell you, though, that nothing makes me click away or not return to a website faster than the author or authors trying to dispense advice on topics they clearly know nothing about. With so many aspects of life to write about, why bother with stuff you don’t have a clue about? However, if that’s what you’re interested in and that’s what you like and you feel compelled to write about it, why not just turn the topics on their heads and present information in a different light?

For instance:

If you have never had kids, don’t tell me how to save money on kids’ clothes or how to keep them occupied for cheap or how to host an inexpensive birthday party. While I get what you’re trying to do, it’s a whole different experience when you’re actually a parent. And no, babysitting your nephew for a weekend does not count. It would be helpful to me, as a reader, to know what you’ve learned about money from your friends who are parents. Or how your parents handling of money affected you.
If you’ve never dealt with a hostile or unfriendly workplace, don’t tell me how to handle a boss who’s a bully or an obnoxious co-worker. What you would do if you ever encountered that is completely different than actually encountering that situation. Instead, talk to me about what your ideal workplace looks like or how you’ve become a better employee by working in a nurturing environment.
If you’ve never been in debt, don’t tell me what I should and shouldn’t be doing to get out of debt. And don’t tell me you understand what I’m going through. You don’t. You’d be more helpful if you told me what you’ve gained by living a debt free life. Do it without condescension, though. Because if you’re condescending, that would make me hate you more.
If you don’t cook, don’t write about saving money at the grocery store or cooking from scratch. How do you know? Instead, think about how your mealtime habits could present useful information. In fact, you know what would benefit your readers? Writing about how you go out to eat every day without going bankrupt.
If you’ve never planned a wedding, don’t tell me how to do it “on the cheap” (one of the many expressions I abhor). Don’t give me details on how to score a sweet deal on a dress or flowers or location. Instead, tell me why you don’t want to spend a lot of money on your wedding or other ways to use that money instead of on a fancy wedding.
If you’ve never dealt with financial or actual infidelity, don’t give me tips on what to do next or how to spot it. Just like the bad boss or workplace, what you’d actually do is entirely different than what you think you’d do. I have no positive suggestions for this one except just leave it alone. Don’t even broach the subject.

An exception to some of these: if you are a seasoned industry veteran (ex., wedding planner, therapist, HR rep, financial planner. etc), then feel free to write away. You have insider knowledge that could benefit readers from all sides.

There are plenty of ways to discuss financial evergreen and popular topics without a) sounding cliché; b) sounding like a know-it-all asshole when in fact you know nothing about the topic; and c) being boring. If you want to write about those aspects of personal finance, great. Fabulous! Just make sure that you’re drawing on what you know and your experiences in order to make it as authentic (and as useful) to your readers as possible.

Because that? Is good writing.

I carry one and it’s for protection

October 5, 2012 by Jana 8 Comments

My friends at Ready For Zero recently asked the question “how many credit cards are too many”? They got some excellent responses from some bloggers I immensely respect, and they all made valid points. I think I agreed with every one of them. But the question, and the responses, got me thinking about my own credit card use (or lack thereof) and why.

Before we paid off our credit card debt, I had no problem using credit cards—store and regular—for any and everything. I would use them to buy groceries, clothes, gas, restaurants…pretty much any expense that wasn’t a bill. And I really didn’t care about paying them off each month. I just figured credit card debt was something that everyone had so my situation wasn’t that much different. Besides, as long as the minimum payments were made each month, I was in good shape.

At least that’s what I thought.

I did know that I needed to get my balances down to zero, if only because I hated how long my list of monthly expenses was (side note: this is something I still do. I hand write a list of all the bills I have due in a given month. I also make a second list noting which payments come out of which check. This lets me know how much money I have left for other, nonessential expenses as well as being able to plan for some bigger ones like dog grooming and my daughter’s birthday. It’s dysfunctional but it works for me). The concept of not owing anyone my entire paycheck didn’t occur to me until years later, when my daughter was born and we were so broke from our debt that we could barely afford to eat. But, at the time, eliminating my credit card debt seemed like a pointless endeavor. Mainly because I relied on them for everything.

I could go on and list all the reasons this was a bad idea. And maybe I’ll do that sometime. I know that I didn’t have the skills or the discipline to live on a budget and then there was the whole need to keep up with my friends. And the only way to do that was on credit. And for me, living on credit meant using the approximately 10 cards that were in my wallet.

That is a shitload of credit cards. No one needs that many. Especially not all in one place and at one time. Because that just takes you down a road that you probably don’t need to go. Having been down that road, I will tell you that it’s a pain in the ass. There’s all kinds of mixed up signs, it’s dark, twisty, and it takes what seems like a lifetime to get to the first exit. So just stay off of it.

Since I’ve recovered from my credit card debt, I’ve learned that I can’t be trusted with a credit card. I’ll spend too much, I won’t pay it off in full, and it’ll get ugly very quickly. However…I need to keep a credit card in my wallet at all times. I don’t like to do it but it’s necessary. And, on more than one occasion, it’s come in handy. Like at FinCon.

For FinCon, I paid for the hotel using my PayPal debit card and I knew I had more than enough money in there for the hotel and any food/drink/transportation incidentals. I booked my shuttle home from the Philly airport using it and had planned on using it for the shuttle from the hotel to the Denver airport. Great plan, right? Well, I thought so, too, until the hotel stole $200 from me. You see, the hotel charged a $50 per night “security deposit” that they don’t tell you about up front (seriously, almost everyone was shocked by this). This put a huge kink in my plans. Particularly the plan to get home.

Fortunately, I had a credit card in my wallet and was able to secure transportation home (oh, I had left my regular debit card in my house on purpose. I will not do that again). Not that I would have minded being stuck in Denver for a few extra days until my $200 was refunded and I didn’t have to use the credit card but a) I didn’t have anywhere to stay and b) my family would have been pissed. So, I used the credit card (for the record, it’s paid off).

Because I don’t use credit cards, I don’t care about rewards and other “perks” of using credit. It just doesn’t interest me. At one point, I entertained the thought of automating my bills with a credit card but I’ve opted to just use the debit card for that instead. I’m not saying that these are bad options; I’m just saying that they’re not for me.

So, to answer the initial question, I have to say that for me, one credit card is enough. It’s for emergencies only and that’s fine. I know myself and my habits and I also know that I can’t handle another 5 years of paying off credit card debt.

Stop wishing and just do

October 3, 2012 by Jana 5 Comments

When I decided to quit my (very) stable full-time job, it was not done on a whim. The decision involved a series of very calculated steps, thoughts, plans, and sacrifices. I had to make sure that my choice would not affect my daughter in any way (read: not impact the ability to provide her with any of her needs) and that the people I needed in my corner were, in fact, in my corner. And I’ve been very fortunate because, although it’s not very lucrative at this point, it feels good to wake up every day and know that everything I do puts me one step closer towards achieving the goals I’ve set for myself. As I’ve said before, I’d rather fail at something I love than succeed at something I hate.

Because, if I’m being honest, that’s the kind of example I want to set for my daughter.

But there’s been an unintended side effect to my choice. When I tell some of my friends that I did quit and that I am pursuing my dream of being a writer, this is the comment I get:

“I wish I could do that.”

I loathe that statement. And I loathe that statement for a number of reasons, of which I will share the top 2 (because if I shared all of them, this would be an insanely long post and I don’t want to bore you). The first reason it bothers me is that it implies that my husband and I are rolling in cash and that my income was insignificant. I can assure you that is not the case at all. While we’re doing fine financially at this point, it’s because we’ve sacrificed and compromised on certain things. We’ve learned how to balance wants and needs, and we know how to live on a budget. Also, we’re not keeping up with the Joneses kind of people and we’ve worked our asses off to pay off our debt. All of this affords us many more options. Like giving up my income.

The second reason it bothers me is that it shows a hugely defeatist attitude. It demonstrates that the person saying it has decided that it’s better to forgo a passion and live a life of unhappiness and obligation rather than doing something that makes him or her happy. Please don’t misunderstand. There is nothing wrong with working full-time and maintaining your passion as a hobby (I have a friend who does this and she is wildly successful at her passion, and she is one of the happiest people I have ever met. Ever). But when someone makes a statement like “I wish I could do that”, that tells me that person wishes for a lot more.

And I get that. Because for a long time, I would say the same thing when I would learn of someone quitting their full-time job in favor of something more exciting or more aligned with his or her long-term goals. It made me horribly jealous and angry and sad. And then I would retreat into my thoughts and remind myself of all the reasons I could never, ever do that. For instance, I thought I wasn’t good enough. Or smart enough. Or creative enough. Or original enough. Or any form of good enough to get even the slightest bit of recognition. Not only that, I felt like if I wasn’t following the traditional path I was told to, I would be ostracized by both family and friends.

But then I realized what an absolute ass I was being. Oh, all the negative self-talk is still there and I fight against it daily, but I also figured out that I have something that many of my wistful friends don’t have: determination. I am determined to make whatever I’m doing successful. I don’t want to wish I could do that (whatever “that” may be); I want to know I can do that. If anything is going to beat me, it’s not going to be the fact that I didn’t try.

And it needs to be the same for you. If you have a dream or a wish or even moderately lofty goal, go for it. Do whatever you need to do to make it happen. If you have a dream of being a singer, find an open mic night or audition for local theater. If you want to be a painter or photographer and have your own art show, research how do to that. If you want to write a book, do it. If you want to open a bakery, why not start a small catering business. Whatever your dream may be, there’s a way to accomplish it without sacrificing everything. And if you want it bad enough, you’ll find a way.

Remember that it’s okay to start small. As long as you’re persistent and keep at it, good things will happen, even if you have to redefine what “good things” may mean. And if your plans don’t work out, that’s okay, too. You’ll still have the story to tell about the time you went after your dream.

Because sometimes? The story is the best part.