Yes, I Am Cheap

I'm getting right to the point this time. My brother's best friend needs to sell some investment property in another state fast (he needs the cash). So he's willing to sell it to me for his purchase price and the cost of fixing up the place. It would be about $25K (he purchased it as a foreclosure from the bank during the height of the recession so he got a steal). He already has a tenant in the house that receives assistance (she has terminal cancer) on the rent so 75% of the rental income is guaranteed as long as she lives there. The problem as you might know is that I'm not sitting on $25K.

It's the price of a car but I'm not willing to take on that loan from a bank. I've done the math and the house will pay back the $25K in almost 4 years assuming an 80% occupancy rate. After that it's an income producer or possibly when the housing market recovers some I would be able to sell it for a decent profit.

Here are my options:

1. Take a 401K loan.


2. Purchase the home 50-50 with my mom (mommy wants retirement income that's not SS related)


3. Use a mixture of borrowed 401K money and borrowed money from mom


4. Walk away

I know that there will be additional expenses including maintenance, insurance and taxes which I've factored into the repayment period. I still think that it's a decent opportunity but I also know that I should be focusing on paying off my bills. I'm seriously torn on what to do here. I need to make a decision pretty quickly (within a week) so I can't sit on this fence too long before it's sold out from under me. What to do?

Has it really been a full year since the country has been locked in to the healthcare debate? It seems like it's been forever and at the same time, it seems like we seriously began talking about this only yesterday. Well, yesterday our President signed what has been called the most sweeping reform of healthcare since Medicaid was established. I'm beyond the hype, sterotypes, hatemongering and vitriol that I've seen others display recently. While I could care less what people think about this legislation, I'm really interested in how it will affect me. Let's explore.

First let's start with my stats. I'm 31, single, employed make under 88K (we'll see why I used that number later) and get my healthcare through my employer for which I pay nothing (don't be jealous). My family doesn't have a history of any persistent medical conditions (grandma lived to be 92 and her 94 year old twin sister is still trucking along beautifully). I don't have any major illnesses but I have torn my Achilles which bothers me from time to time and I was in a car accident so I go to the chiropractor on average 4 times a year to get straightened out. Oh, and I wear glasses.

With this new change I can keep my plan or I can buy insurance through exchanges beginning in 2014. The government estimates that if I keep my plan, insurance costs will go up over 10% which my employer will pass on to me. What does that mean for me? I might have to pay a coinsurance fee which I don't pay now, or I might have to pay higher deductibles when I go to the doctor.
I lose.

Because my family of four (well officially I'm a family on one, but whatever) makes less than 250K I won't have to pay a higher Medicare payroll tax but if your family does get ready to dish out more money starting in 2014. If my hypothetical family of four made 88K or less, then I could buy insurance from the government on a sliding scale. Because I'm a family of one, I'd pay the full amount. In that case, I'm not moving from my employer's plan.
No change.

Since I'm keeping my plan, within 6 months my job has to remove lifetime limits on coverages and can't cancel my policy if I get sick. My job also has to people with "kids" that would have fallen out of coverage stay on their parents' policy until the "kid" gets to age 26 - if the parent wants. Lucky break. I remember going to the local clinics from ages 18 to 22. Try getting a wisdom tooth pulled when you're in college with no insurance.
No change.

This one pisses me off. Starting in 2013, flexible spending accounts (remember my post on that) will have some serious limits! The max that I can sock away will be $2,500 AND I can't use the money for over the counter stuff. I use this right now specifically for OTC medications and of course to reduce y tax load. I'm really ticked about this.
I lose.

But, I guess it won't all be bad. There's a provision in the bill to have all chain restaurants list calorie counts of their food where you can see it. We already passed that law in New York. Would you like to know the result? After 6 months, average calorie consumption actually increased! In order to avoid having to post calories, some small chain restaurants here changed the names of individual locations so that they would not be considered part of a chain anymore. Slick!

Would you like to know how this bill affects you? The New York Times has a pretty good interactive tool that you should check out. It doesn't cover everything but it's a decent start.

Line up your sweet tooth today for some freebies. Starbucks is giving away a free baked good of your choice when you purchase a beverage. All you have to do is bring in a coupon that you print off of Starbucks' website or pull it up on your mobile device and show the cashier. The offer goes from 5:00am - 10:30am.


Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream stores across the country will be doling out free ice cream cones until 8pm tonight! No coupon needed — just head in for a free cone.

I bumped into my first Rita's by accident one Saturday. I was driving down a main thoroughfare on Long Island when I passed by a location with a long line outside. Now, I don't know about you, but any restaurant that is not TGI Friday's, Applebees or the like with a long line in the hot sun calls to me like a siren's song. I stopped and lucky boyfriend and I joined the line. At the end we encountered Italian ices with real fruit pieces and creamy custards. I've been hooked ever since. Unfortunately my Rita's closed so I have to go to another part of Long Island to get my fix but I'm willing to travel this weekend.

To celebrate Spring, Rita's is giving away one free regular sized Italian Ice on Saturday, March from from noon to 10 p.m. This is cause for celebration!

By now you should have received a multitude of letters from your various credit cards or bank accounts. These letters should detail major changes that are taking effect soon as a result of the CARD act. They could include things such as overdraft fees, what will be paid, interest rate changes and fee schedule changes. Don't just toss those things aside! Pay close attention to the changes and how they might affect you.

One of the changes that I noticed on my Chase account is a fee for charges that end up pulling money from my overdraft protection. I'm also going to be charged a fee for their points program. You know what is going to happen to that account? Say bye bye. There's no sense in keeping it at this point. I've already changed by direct deposit at work to one account and will head on over to Chase during my lunch break to close that account.

In the meanwhile I've shopped around for another account. I'm going to shock myself by saying this, but after reading all the fine print, Capital One seems to offer the next best deal. You could not pay me to open an account at Bank of America. I'd be setting myself up for a fall. From their horrible customer service alone I wouldn't open an account there. The Capital One account isn't going to be convenient for me since there's no Capital One bank near my home, but there is one right around the corner from my job. I'll just put my emergency money in there and continue to add a small amount from direct deposit to keep the account with no fees.

And be sure to pay attention to the fine print. I actually bought a magnifying class to be able to read some of the stuff they send. You almost need a law degree these days to understand things.

I don't have a will. When I tell people that one of two things typically happen. They either a) look at me with the "you should know better" eyes or say B) "well I don't have one either". Wills can be confusing but I took the confusion out of my life a few years ago when I specifically decided to not have a will. Before you start judging me let me explain why I decided to take the path that I did.

1. My debt far outweighs my assets. I'm talking about the debt you see here as well as the debts linked to my business. I am in a HUGE puddle of debt and the money in my bank accounts wouldn't begin to chip away at it. After my funeral the creditors can fight their share of the $0.25 and lint left in my pockets.


2. I don't have kids or dependents. I don't have to worry about who gets the kids or if I have to pay for college or anything after I'm gone so why bother?


3. I'm not married. This means that there's no spouse to get anything if I'm not here. Creditors can't go after anyone else for my debt since I never cosign for anything with anyone or ask anyone to cosign for me. If I'm single and die with my debts, they have to die with me since see #4.


4. I don't have any assets. I have some clothes that I guess you could sell for pennies on the dollar. I plan to be buried in my Calvin Klein dress and that's the most expensive thing I own so that's that. I don't have any furniture, jewelry, or real estate. Oh, I do own a car now since I paid that loan off so if someone wants to take that to pay my debts have fun! It's more trouble than it's worth and losing value every single day. My potential beneficiaries don't want it.


5. With all that said, I do have life insurance that more than covers my funeral costs, debts and any taxes that will be due when I die (thought you escaped that when you died didn't you? Wrong.) Each one has a beneficiary that knows what the money is for. If they want to mess it up, I won't be here to witness it, so good luck.


6. My bank accounts, 401K and bonds all have designated beneficiaries. All they need is a death certificate and they can have a party with my measly money.

Now, just because I am one of the rare people who fall into this category doesn't mean that it applies to you or that you should slack off. Look above at everything that I have listed. If the opposite of at least 1 of the above applies to you then you will need a will.

If you have kids, especially minor children you will need a will. You might be thinking that if you die your spouse will get the kids. Well, what happens if you both die and the kids live? The state will have the power to decide what happens to your children and you never want that to happen.

If you have any assets including real estate, the state will have the power to decide who gets what. People that you might not want anywhere near your great grandmother's favorite brooch will have the ability to get things that you might not want them to have. Even worse, if you die with no immediate relatives, the state can keep your money. That thought alone would keep me up at night.

If you have a revocable living trust you might still need a will to cover assets that are not included in the trust. It's just another way to cover your ass..ets.

I know that the thought of a will is very intimidating but it doesn't have to be! You might not even need an attorney. Check you local office supply store for pre-written wills that you can fill in and file with the state or for software that will do the same thing. The time to think about a will is not when you're sick, but when you're healthy enough to know exactly what you'd like to be done when you're no longer here.