News: Two Birthdays!

BudgetBlonde turns THREE today! What a fun journey this has been. Thank you so much to everyone who stops in to my little slice of the Internet. My life wouldn’t be the same without you, and I have some fun posts to share about the history of this little blog next week. *smooch!*

Also, my own birthday is Sunday! I’ll be 26, and I cannot tell you how fast the past year has gone by. There have many, many defining moments during the past year. I really feel like my 25th year was the year I really became an adult and whipped my finances into shape. I’ll be sharing some of my future plans in an upcoming post too. I have no doubt that my 26th year will also be one to remember.

Life Update

One of the best things about going home this past week was that it’s crawfish season. If you’ve never been to Louisiana, visit between May and June so that you can try some of these little critters!

Popular Posts That I Wrote For Others

A big thanks to those who hire me as a staff writer or welcome me as a guest poster! {virtual hug}

What Does It Feel Like To Be Totally Debt Free?

5 Places To Find Side Jobs

Posts I Enjoyed By Other Bloggers

I spent a lot of time with family this past week, so I am super behind on my blog reading. However, I really liked Girl Meets Debt’s post on Blog & Social Media Etiquette. Also, Anne came up with a really fun fort idea for a gift. Who doesn’t love a good fort? Lastly, someone get Joan a reality show. I don’t know why, but I’m obsessed with watching her pay off her 90k work of consumer debt.

Mentions

Thanks to Michelle and Kristina for mentioning me this past week!

Oh Yeah & While You’re Here, Let’s Stay In Touch!

If you want to connect on twitter, follow me @BudgetBlonde

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Have a great weekend, everyone!

Growing up, my parents worked extremely hard, and my siblings and I were very fortunate. However, that nice life we knew came to a very abrupt and unsetting end in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina completely devastated my family, my home, and my community.

Literally in one day, that storm blew in and washed away everything I once knew and cherished. Someday, I’ll tell you the story in more detail, but the important thing I want to convey is that we adapted.

We lost so much but we didn’t lose each other, and for that, I am grateful. My family lives in a new city now, and we’ve rebuilt our lives. The scars of that storm still remain and might always remain, but each year we get stronger.

Each year, we adapt just a little bit more.

When I moved to the Caribbean, I wrote a post about how freeing it was just 6 days into moving there. I wrote a little about Hurricane Katrina and how I finally felt relief from the pain and sadness that it caused. This is still true, but moving to Grenada had its own set of adaptations.

I had to learn to be patient and run on “island time.” I had to realize that medical school would make marriage much harder than it was before. I had to figure out how to be more frugal, exchange currency, drive on the left side of the road, and hang clothes on the line.

All of this took time, and sometimes, I didn’t handle it very well. Sometimes, I just wanted to go home. And sometimes, I loved it so much, I really, really wanted to stay.  It was all very confusing and most of the time, I grappled with these feelings on my own.

I find myself constantly adapting and moving through different phases the longer I live on the island.

Today, two years after moving to Grenada, I find some of these adaptations amusing. I’m visiting my family in Louisiana right now, and I’m especially struggling with the driving. Yesterday morning, I had to slam on the brakes because I pulled out of my driveway and looked the wrong way. I’m used to driving on the left side of the road now, so my brain is basically backwards.

Additionally, I find that my accent gets thicker the longer I visit family and friends in Louisiana. I’m also practically spoiled by all the central AC here. It didn’t take me long to soak in a hot bath (something we definitely don’t have in Grenada) and stroll through the outlet mall and take advantage of sales.

Obviously, some adaptations are easier to make than others.

Overall, I’m amazed when I look back at the past few years and think of all the changes I’ve made and then all the changes that happened to me.  I used to envy people that grew up and stayed in their hometowns, comfortable and happy with their families, whereas I was forced out of my hometown – a place that I loved – due to a bizarre and one in a lifetime event. Now, 8 years after the storm, I am comfortable and even happy with the twists and turns my life has taken.

The point is, adapting can be a good thing. In many ways, it’s required so life can go on.

So, when you want to save money and can’t fathom cutting off the cable, I’m telling you right now – You can adapt.

When you want to accept that new job but it’s halfway across the country, I promise you – you can adapt.

If your loved one just passed away, and you can’t fathom being in any more pain than you are right now, one day, perhaps far away from now, you will adapt.

If you want to be a stay at home mom but you have to cut your bills in half to do it, go ahead – why not just try to adapt?

If you think you could never live without a smart phone, try doing it for a month and watch how you adapt.

If you feel like you have to upgrade your home to one with more bedrooms, why not just adapt and get rid of things instead?

I really feel that if we all just gave ourselves some wiggle room, a bit of fresh air, a running start, a flying leap, or just a willingness to try something new or to change what we already have, we really could do anything.

I’m not saying it will be easy, but moving forward in our lives and our finances relies on one thing and one thing only – adapting.

So come on, who’s with me? Let’s make a change for the better.

Grenada/Life/Blog Update

The website got a little facelift – not a full fledged 8 hour surgery type facelift – just a little tweak here and there. You’ll notice you can access all of my social media buttons in the header now, and the tabs have been moved around a little. All in all, I hope it makes things easier to find, and I’ll be continuing to improve the site and clean things up over the next few weeks.

As far as a life update, I bought a last minute flight home, so tomorrow I will be boarding a plane to Louisiana for a few days while the hubby takes his second round of mid-terms. Sometimes, you just need a break, and flying home for a few days is well worth the unexpected expense. The longer I live on the island, the more frequently I feel the need to get off of it every now and then. (When I first got here, I stayed 10 months straight with no problems.) Today, I’m a Grenada veteran, and so I’m okay with giving up a little bit of island time for a little bit of family time.

Speaking of island time, my friend Kristi Schalow is a photographer, and we had some fun taking pictures on the beach. Thought it would be fun to share them! (She’ll be home taking pics in WI all summer for any locals over there!)

Anyway, I’m looking forward to going home, and I’ll still be posting regularly so you won’t even miss me.

Popular Posts That I Wrote For Others

A big thanks to those who hire me as a staff writer or welcome me as a guest poster! {virtual hug}

Careful Cents Guest Post: How To Get Your Blog Post Published On The Huffington Post

Go Girl Post: How To Get Your Finances In Order

Money Life & More Post: Why I Work Instead Of Watching TV

Moven Blog Guest Post: How Disorganization Is Costing You Money

Everything Finance Post: How to Avoid the Temptation to Spend

Posts I Enjoyed By Other Bloggers

Sarah is a new lifestyle blogger, and I enjoyed her post about losing 50 pounds and getting healthy.

In a fun twist, Grayson explains why he’d rather spend than save.

Mentions

Thanks to the PoPs and J$ for mentioning me this past week. I felt the blog love all the way over here in Grenada!

Oh, & While You’re Here, Let’s Stay In Touch!

If you want to connect on twitter, follow me @BudgetBlonde

If you want to connect on Pinterest, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Facebook, click here.

If you want to subscribe to Budget Blonde, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Google +, click here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

The following is a guest post. If you’ve ever considered being a full time freelancer, you’ll want to read this!

Freelancers come in all shapes and sizes, from fresh faced 20-somethings to established professionals looking for a change of pace. As NBC News recently reported, one third of U.S. workers have foregone the traditional job scene and now work with gigs and projects rather than jobs and careers. This is great as I’m a huge fan of freelancing, but an increase in freelancers has led to an increase in the number of people who are uninsured or underinsured with life insurance. This has to do a lot with misunderstandings about life insurance including cost and what you can actually do with a policy.

No Job, No Benefits

Not having a “traditional” job means that freelancers often go without the perks that go along with working 40 hours a week, Monday – Friday. The major one, for this article’s sake, is life insurance. Now, life insurance policies that you’d get through an employer are usually going to be group policies which aren’t nearly as good as an individual policy, but you don’t look a gift phone in the touchscreen (eh?). That being said, freelancers don’t even have this option which means they’re paying out of pocket for any maladies, and if the worst happens, then your family has nothing to live on.

It’s Cheaper than You Think

For some reason, people think that an individual life insurance policy amounts to hundreds of dollars a month and thousands of dollars a year, but this is rarely the case. In fact, if you’re looking at the average age of freelancers you’ll find that most are between 20 – 40 years of age. In my experience, if you’re in your 20s and of average health, and you’re looking for decent coverage, you can expect to get a monthly rate for about $25 – $50. The same person, aged 30 – 40, can expect to pay about $50-$75 a month for a policy with good coverage. This is often much cheaper than people were expecting to pay, and my advice is to go through an independent broker rather than any single company. This way the broker can shop around and find the best plan and rate rather than being limited.

It Was the Best of Times, It was the Worst of Times

Freelancers can relate to this quote better than almost any other profession I can think of. One month you could be working 80+ hours a week on multiple projects and you’re raking in the dough. Next month comes along and all of a sudden you’ve got time to kill but no money coming in either. If you get too many of the latter, your funds can run out quickly, and all of a sudden you’re scrambling for cash. While it’s not optimum, some policies have the option of selling. The payout won’t be as great as if it had paid out naturally, but it will help you stay afloat until you get back on your feet.

Be Wary of Cut Rate Policies

The prices quoted above are for decent coverage, and you could certainly find much cheaper options out there, but be careful about trying to save too much money every month. Just like everything else in life, you get what you pay for when it comes to life insurance. Cut rate policies can be very difficult to collect benefits from, and the coverage is rarely anything substantial.

It’s important to know what kind of income you want to leave your beneficiaries if you should die and to find a policy that works with you. It’s best to throw anything you think you know out the window when you start shopping for life insurance because my bet is that you’ll be surprised when you find out how affordable it really can be – even on a freelancing budget.

If you’re a freelancer, what has been your experience with life insurance? Is it something you have, don’t have, want to have, or do you not even think about it?

Liran Hirschkorn is an independent life insurance broker and the founder of ChooseTerm.com. He is able to work with the best life insurance companies and is trying to dispel the myths and misunderstandings around life insurance to make it more accessible.

Photo Credit: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Grenada/Life Update

There’s not much new to report on this front. I have just a few days of work left before I get a few days off, and I’m looking forward to it! I’ve also been working extremely hard to try to amp up my side hustle income, and slowly but surely it’s increasing. The record I really want to break is making more from my side hustles than from my current job. I was about $700 shy of that in April, and it’s the closest I’ve ever gotten so maybe May or June will be the month for me!

Popular Posts That I Wrote For Others

I am continually thankful to those who hire me as a staff writer for their sites or welcome me as a guest poster.

When Is It Okay To Splurge In Medical School?

The Joneses Are Broke

How Living in the Caribbean Taught Me About Frugality

Investing: Know When To Hold Them & When To Fold Them

Posts I Enjoyed By Other Bloggers

MMD explained Ponzi Schemes in a way all of us can understand.

I liked Chris’ guest post on John’s blog talking about how he and his wife split (You’ll have to read it to see what he means!)

It was fun to see how many PF bloggers are introverts on CF’s recent post. (Psst. I’m one too!)

DC had a great no-nonsense post about finding customers for your service business, and he was kind enough to link to yours truly. Thanks, DC!

Tonya’s blog just turned 1. So did Jake’s! And my 3 year blog anniversary is in just a few days.

Lastly, the PoPs want to know if they can get rich just by sharing their stuff. I’m guessing they can. The PoPs are pretty smart folks.

Hey, While You’re Here, Let’s Stay In Touch

If you want to connect on twitter, follow me @BudgetBlonde

If you want to connect on Pinterest, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Facebook, click here.

If you want to subscribe to Budget Blonde, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Google +, click here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

It’s not complicated, but it definitely takes a bit of organization on my part to keep track of where everything is going and most importantly, what currency I should be using!

I know a few people were wondering why I was saving up a big lump sum to pay towards my student loans at the end of the year instead of paying extra towards them every month to cut down on interest. Well, all those answers revolve around how we handle our finances here on the island, so let’s get to it!

First things first, I really resisted having a bank account here just because of the logistics. It was fine for us to just use our U.S. accounts with fee-free debit cards at first, but it only worked because I was part time and my paychecks were small enough to be cashed to cover a few expenses down here. However, when I went full time a year ago and my income increased, it was no longer safe to have the cash in my possession, so I opened up an international bank account.

The account is actually a U.S. savings account. I was able to choose whether or not I wanted a Grenada checking, a Grenada savings, a U.S. checking, or a U.S. savings account. I didn’t want the extra debit card since I use the envelope system, so I opted for a U.S. savings account.

For my full time job, I get paid in U.S. dollars, and it is direct deposited here in Grenada in U.S. dollars. It is not possible to have it direct deposited to the U.S. for tax reasons, so if I want to send money to my bank in the U.S., I have to wire it, which costs me around $50-$100 USD in fees each time.

These fees are the reason why I’m not paying my extra student loan payments from Grenada, because I lose money every time. I’d rather take it out all at once and pay one fee rather than several fees throughout the year. I pay 12.5% tax to Grenada out of my full time income, and I report it on my U.S. income tax reports, so everything is clearly documented, although it was a little confusing to figure out at first.

As far what currency I use, every month when I get paid, I go to the bank and take out U.S. dollars to pay for my rent and my car. Then I take out Eastern Caribbean Dollars and break that into envelopes to pay for groceries, utilities, gas, date money, etc. I am trying to save around $800 USD every month from my paycheck, and I leave that in the bank here to be transferred back to the U.S. at a later time.

Honestly, I thought that having an international bank account would be a challenge, but it was more the idea of it that was challenging than the actual reality. I haven’t had any major problems here, and the bank is a short walk from my work so it’s very convenient. I always have access to my U.S. accounts with my debit cards, and all of my income from this blog and my staff writing jobs goes into my PayPal account and then my U.S. account so that’s what I use to fund my IRA and make my minimum student loan payments.

It sounds confusing, but after almost 2.5 years of living in Grenada, I actually have a little system down, and it works really well for us! I know that we lose a few dollars here and there in exchange fees for our regular day-to-day expenses, but that’s the price we pay for living in such a pretty place.

Have you ever had to open an international bank account? How do you get access to your money when you travel internationally?

Photo Credit: FreeDitigalPhotos.net

In case you haven’t read the deets, basically this company wants to train and send one man and one woman, preferably a married couple, on a trip to the planet and back.

The trip will take 16 months, and the couple will be in a small living space the entire time. (Basically they won’t be jumping out on Mars and eating marshmallows.)

The couple would be trained very well to endure such conditions, and the selection process would be extremely rigorous.

So, I ask you, friends, how much money would it take for you to go?

Let’s weigh the pros and cons.

Pros:

1. You would get to be like Lewis and Clark, making history and seeing something no one else will get to see.

2. You would be one of the very few people on the planet to see the Earth from outer space.

3. You will be able to collect valuable data, making it possible to propel science forward.

4. You would get to experience this with your spouse.

5. If you make it back, you will likely be able to live a life of leisure, giving talks at college graduations and shaking the hands of presidents.

Cons:

1. Let’s be honest. Does anyone really want to spend 16 months in a small space capsule with their spouse? I mean, I love the hubs. Really, I do. But, that’s a long time!

2. According to the articles I read, you would be exposed to a lot of radiation, so you can’t go if you want to get pregnant one day, and it might make you very sick.

3. You could die. Unfortunately, as with most space missions, this one is not guaranteed to work.

4. The food is likely not very good, and I don’t care to comment on the waste disposal situation. You’ll have to read about that for yourself!

5. You will probably be unable to blog or use Twitter in outer space, and for me, I think that’s a deal breaker.

I should mention that no one has really commented on whether or not these astronauts will get paid. I wonder if they even will or if it will be like winning the Triwizard Cup (a la Harry Potter) with the reward being eternal glory.

How much would it take for you to even consider applying for a mission like this? Or, would you never even think about it because of your job/kids/grandkids/future?

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons

Amid countless messages from the hubs who was trying to explain physics to me, I also found a few gems, and I was reminded of how long I’ve been playing this game of sure-why-not-lets-have-two-jobs.

When I was in college, I worked at a scrapbook store for the awesome rate of $8 an hour. I thought this was was pretty cool, especially because I could buy a bunch of scrapbooking supplies for a discounted rate (which I later sold on Craigslist once I gave up scrapbooking.) But, it was nothing compared to the killing I made at $15 per ballet class I taught. Today, I look back and see how much prep work I had to do to actually teach that dance class, and I realize that my per-hour rate was pretty low.

I found this e-mail that I sent to one of my professors, which I thought was kind of interesting. I apparently had to make up a quiz but was too busy working to actually take it:

Hey Professor – I wanted to speak with you after the test and tell you that I had work today, and I have work tomorrow right after school and still will not have an opportunity to take the quiz until Monday. I am fully prepared for it. I just do not have many 20 minute time slots available because I have two jobs. I certainly hope that I can take it on Monday, and that it will be fine with you.

Did you like that language? I “certainly hope!” A little pushy, no?

Just when I was beating myself up for never taking a break, like ever, I also came across this e-mail, which was a part of my scholarship application to a study abroad program at Cambridge.

Studying abroad would be a pivotal and integral moment in my college career and something I have wanted to experience for a very long time.  The only way I can attend the Cambridge program is to fund myself. Anticipating that I wanted to attend a summer program, I have been diligently saving money. I have two part time jobs in addition to going to school full time. Still, I am not sure that my savings and current paychecks will be enough to cover the whole cost of the program. I am willing to do anything to have the opportunity to go to Cambridge. Thus, I sincerely appreciate your consideration for a scholarship to the Cambridge Program and give you my assurance that I would truly benefit from it and would give every best effort to make it a memorable and meaningful experience.

This e-mail actually enabled me to go to Cambridge, and I’m forever grateful to the study abroad program at my alma mater, William and Mary, for funding one of the greatest experiences of my life. With two scholarships combined, one from the Study Abroad office and one from a William and Mary alumni, I received $5,000 to take two English classes at Cambridge during the summer after my Junior year of college.

That’s me punting down the River Cam:

And rowing a boat like a boss:

Its funny; today – 5 years later – I’m still running home from my 9-5 to log online and finish up my freelancing duties. I don’t have to do this, just like I didn’t exactly have work two jobs in college. In fact, there were many times when my mom encouraged me to do my schoolwork and to stop working so I wouldn’t be so stressed out.

Yet, it’s just the way I am. I like to stay busy. I like to work. I like to create opportunities to do cool things. I like to make an income for myself so I don’t have to ask for things. It’s just me.

Like I said in the title of this post, sometimes having two jobs pays off. It gives you a safety net if the first one falls through. It gives you some extra income so you can travel and pay off debt. Sometimes, it also shows others that you are a responsible 20 year old and worth giving the opportunity for a once in a lifetime experience.

Do you have two jobs? If so, what do you do, and how do you balance your time? Also, if you liked this post, please subscribe to read the latest!

On second thought, we’re probably all at work by the time this post publishes, so just make it a point to dance when you get home, ’cause it’s the weekend, baby!

And what a week it was!

Big News

BudgetBlonde made its little way onto the Huffington Post on Wednesday. Crazy! Check it out by clicking here. I’m really excited about this, and I hope I can continue to contribute to the money section over there.

Remember, if you need content for your blog, you can always hire me. Writing is my passion, and I’d love to write for your site too!

The Bloggers Below Rocked My Socks

Pauline shared her Laptop Dilemma. I can totally relate. I wrote on the tiniest little thing for the longest time, until I saved up all my pennies and bought myself a Macbook Pro. I’ve never looked back! I hope it lasts 10 years, for real!

I love that John’s wife jumped in and shared her own post on Things That Make Me Pull My Hair Out. It’s always fun when the spouses of bloggers take over their blogs. Way to go Mrs. Frugal Rules! I hope it stops snowing over there!

Sometimes, personal finance bloggers are actually for financing brand new cars. After reading CashRebel’s post, I tend to agree with him on that one!

Janine is off to NYC and she’s sharing all the deets complete with checklists and charts. Swoon! Y’all know I love charts!

Lindsey has a hysterical stock photo caption contest going on. I totally hope I win!

Grenada Update

Today marks the halfway point of the hubs’ most difficult term in med school. We just have to keep chugging along until June 28 when he is finally finished with this monster. I am taking about two weeks off at the end of the month, and I plan on enjoying the sunshine as much as possible.

Oh, and pictures definitely speak 1,000 words. I totally forgot to pack a knife in our lunch box this week, so we used a tongue depressor instead. Don’t worry, it was clean. #lifeofamedschoolwife

Also, Let’s Stay In Touch

If you miss me in between posts (don’t lie, you know you do!) I’m constantly lurking on the following social media sites:

If you want to connect on twitter, follow me @BudgetBlonde

If you want to connect on Pinterest, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Facebook, click here.

If you want to subscribe to Budget Blonde, click here.

If you want to follow Budget Blonde on Google +, click here.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

We spent an entire day there back in our college days. By a whole day, I mean that we got there early and walked around the grounds until fireworks went off at 11:00 p.m. Then we dashed off to the train station to try to catch the last train to Paris where our hotel was. (Seriously, we ran. We were so worried we’d have to set up camp outside the Versailles gates, haha.)

So yes, Versailles was absolutely stunning, but not once did I ever think, “Gosh, I’d love to live here!” I remember looking at the mansion with my historian’s mind, taking in every detail, crystal, and fabric. It was incredible, but I definitely did not want to jump in Marie Antoinette’s shoes or have the pressure of ruling such a large, imposing place.

Needless to say, when I read in the news about billionaire David Siegel’s massive house that they’re calling “Versailles,” it kind of made me sick. For those not in the know, he’s building a 90,000 square foot house (which they’re upgrading from their 10,000 sq. foot home), and if he is able to fund it to completion, it will be the biggest house in America.

His wife, when asked why the house was so big, said that once they put in everything that they wanted, that’s just what it turned out to be.

I think this Versailles imposter is exactly what we need to be campaigning against. Sure, people are allowed to do whatever they want with their money, but Siegel has admitted in numerous press interviews that he’s started and stopped building the house due to his rocky timeshare business, which got creamed in the economic downturn. He’s even tried to sell the home for the bargain price of $75 million in the past. He’s obviously having trouble giving up the idea that his home with be the place for extravagant parties, a la The Sound of Music.

Even if I could afford a house like this, I would never build one. I’d be way too worried about building up a strong emergency fund, making sure all my investments were sound, and making sure I could actually afford life insurance to cover such large expenses in the event of an emergency (and if that sentence just made you worried about not having life insurance, just check out these FAQ’s about life insurance before you buy your own.)

So, let’s recap:

Do I want to have my own Versailles? No.

But, do I want to be invited to a party at the mini Versailles? Kind of.

But only for the wine. You know I can’t turn down good wine.

Should I just get off my high horse and stop being so critical of the billionaire? Or, do you also think it’s nuts that he’s trying to build a 90,000 square foot house? Please weigh in.

Photo Credit: Flickr Creative Commons