It’s My One Month Anniversary!

It’s SeeJaneGetRich.com’s one month anniversary!  I started blogging on September 30^th and that means today I have been blogging for one whole month.  A humble thank you to all for welcoming me so warmly to the PF blogging community.  Thank you to everyone who takes the time to read my blog and comment on my musings.  So, here goes a Big Thank You to (in alphabetical order)…. 

BodyC

You get the honor of being my first spammer.  After getting over the initial shock of, “wow, how the heck did a spammer find me?!”  I just decided to embrace your comment since you did say I was “da best!”   But, no link love for you.

Beach Girls Budget Blog

Thanks for adding me to your blogroll! 

 CreditKarma

Thanks for coming by and letting me know that you still exist.  I actually  couldn’t get access to your site for some reason until very recently. 

Fabulously Broke

Thanks for your awesome comments!

 Financial Samurai

Thanks for coming by and commenting. 

 JoshMaxwell

I think you are my first RSS reader.  Thanks for subscribing to my feeds and for commenting!

Juice Fairy

Thanks for coming by and commenting! 

Money Reasons

Don, thank you for your continuing encouragement and support.  I enjoy reading your blog because it presents personal finance from a family perspective.  I love the tweaks and design changes you have made to it as well.   Thanks also for including me in your blogroll. 

Retire By 35

Thanks for coming by.  I can’t wait to see you progress towards your goals. 

 Thrifty Little Blog

Thanks for coming by and commenting.  You got some mean renovation skills! 

 Tom Humes

Thanks for your wonderful comment!

Women Personal Finance Bloggers Rock!

I have repeatedly turned to WiseBread’s List of Personal Finance Blogs by Women to find new personal finance blogs to read.  But, occassionally I find that some of the links are inactive or broken. 

This is understandable since the list was posted on August 5, 2008. While I wait for WiseBread to come out with an up to date list of personal finance bogs by women I am providing the list of blogs with links that work and that are active. The blog is considered active if there was a post for the month of October.  I am leaving out non-personal blogs such as blogs hosted by newspapers and other businesses.  Ggoing through all the blogs took quite a lot of time but I had fun reading about personal finance from various perspectives.  Please let me know if there is a blog out there on WiseBread’s list that’s not here but may have moved to its own domain name or changed its name and such other things.  Are there any other blogs that should be on this list?   

Also, I am trying to get a list of new personal finance blogs started by women in 2009.  It can be very hard starting and keeping any blog going and I want to be sure to find and support other new personal finance blogs by women.  So, share away!

• Almost Frugal

• The Baglady
• Barbara Stanny
• Beach Girl’s Budget Blog
• Being Frugal
• Being Money Smart
• Blogging Away Debt
• BlogHer
• Brunette on a Budget
• Brown Eyed Girl and Money
• BostonGals

• Chief Family Officer
• Counting My Pennis

• Debt Marathon
• Digerati Life
• Distilled Rose
• Debt Hater
• Don’t Mess with Taxes
• Dog Ate my Finances

  
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I've so much to look forward to on graduation!

Come May and June when high school, college, grad school and professional school graduates will march into the graduation arena to receive their diplomas to the sounds of Pomp and Circumstance with their family and friends watching.  Accompanying this celebratory mood will be fear, anxiety and uncertainty similar to the class before them. 

Joblessness among young adults 16-24 is much more severe and the unemployment rate continues its steady upward climb.  This will likely lead to what Business Week calls “the scarring of a generation” that will create a Lost Generation—a disillusioned generation that will forever be affected by the remnants of the recession.

 ”…employers are likely to suffer from the scarring of a generation. The freshness and vitality young people bring to the workplace is missing. Tomorrow’s would-be star employees are on the sidelines, deprived of experience and losing motivation.”

  According to Business Week, The Great Recession is expected to impact young people in the following manner:

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Trick or Boo-rito!  Ever been to a Chipotle on Halloween night?  If so, you would see a line of burritos, tacos, salads etc… and any other Chipotle products.  Chipotle, since 1993, has been doing Boo-rito Day on Halloween.  The premise is this:  if you dress up like a Chipotle product on Halloween then you get a free burrito, taco, bowl or salad. 

I have heard of this before and I thought, “This is swell, but who wants to go through the trouble of dressing up as a burrito!”  Apparently, not much more than tinfoil is expected for this Boo-rito Day.  Which is very good news.  My friend recently mentioned this to me and we immediately made plans to go together.  We plan to wrap ourselves in tinfoil and hit Chipotle.  And you know, we’re going to go to more than one!

Okay, so here’s what you need to do…  

• Dress up as something vaguely resembling a Chipotle burrito, burrito bol, taco or salad etc…
• Visit your closest Chipotle between 6pm-10pm (or whatever is the closing time in your area). 
• Enjoy your free burrito, taco, bol or salad!

Sandwich Platter

 

My Free Sandwiches

If there is an upside to being a student then its your access to free things in general and especially free meals.  Colleges are full of programs for students and food is a sure way to lure them in.  Generally, I have one and sometimes two free meals a week but due to so many programs going on at my school this week I’ve been having a free bonanza. 

The downside of the free meals is that a lot of these programs take up your time.  Your time is the most valuable thing you have in law school.  In the beginning of the semester, I may go to a program because of the free food but in October I am much more careful with my time and in November I cut out events almost completely.  There were several things this week I needed to go to that came with free food or other items.  Here are a list of free things that I got this week.  I’ve estimated the cost of the item if I were to go out and get it on my own based on the quality and quantity. 

Free Coffee & Mug from Green Mountain Coffee introducing their product to students.  Time: 5 minutes  Estimate: $5

1st Free Meal - Tuesday – Sandwiches, Salad & soda  I had to attend an event about the application process for a program that I will be participating in.  Time: 30 minutes Estimate: $ 8

2nd Free Meal - Tuesday - Two Slices of Pizza Attended a program about financial regulatory work.  Something else I am applying for next semester.  Time: 30 minutes  Estimate: $6

3rd Free Meal – Thursday - Two Slices of Pizza, 4 cookies & soda  Went to hear an ACLU lawyer speak.  I was really starving and and didn’t want to pay for food.  Time: 45 minutes Estimate: $8

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How Sexy is My Budget?

Budget $1,000 

Fixed                                       $815   

• Rent & Utilities
  • Rent:                   $750
  • Internet:            $25
  • Electric:             $25
• Car Insurance         $0
• Cell Phone                  $15 

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I took out $50 for my month’s expenses and right now with 11 more days to go I have in my wallet a grand total of $5 bucks.  Where did it all go?  Maybe it was time to take that big drastic step I knew would come one day. 

Jane: Forgive me, personal finance blogging community, for I have sinned.   I confess to you Gentle Reader, to all the Great Personal Finance Bloggers, and to you Almighty Personal Finance God that it has been a long time since I have kept a budget.

Personal Finance Father:  (attempts to hide shock and surprise) Daughter, do not fear. (takes a deep breath) How long has it been since you failed to keep a budget?

Jane: Oh, Personal Finance Father, I actually never kept a budget! (looks down with guilt) I have heard of these budgets but they seemed to be like some kind of fantastic myth for people with orderly finances, but never something that could accommodate my wild, unpredictable law school finances.  Read the rest of this entry »

Think I'll just keep my money in here

• Magazine subscriptions

Why pay for magazine subscriptions when you can just go to the library and read a magazine?   

• TV/Cable

I get all my entertainment from the internet and I don’t waste as much time by getting hooked on rather predictable t.v. shows with stereotypical characters filled with advertisements that make me want things I don’t need.  

• Manicures/Pedicures

I have to say I have been very tempted to get a manicure but shelling out $15-$30 for my nails would be such a huge waste of money.  I am not paying for it.   Read the rest of this entry »

If you think as a student I am cocooned from the recession you couldn’t be further from the truth.  The recession has cost me my first job as a lawyer. 

In law school those who want to go into large law firm private practice follow the time honored playbook (1)  take out all sorts of loans to pay for law school at a decent school, (2) bust your butt to get in the top of your class, (3) get an offer from a big law firm for a summer job after your 2nd year.  The offer for a summer job basically guarantees you a job and a starting first year salary of $160K.

I skipped the first step by refusing to take out loans.  But, I did bust my butt so I could do well academically.  Step 2: Check.  I did get an offer to work as a summer associate at a large prestigious law firm with offices all over the US and internationally after my first year and after my second year.    Step 3: Check. 

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According to Experian.com, the average credit score in America is 693.   Are you better than average? 

After searching far and wide I am not aware of any websites that will offer you a free estimate of your credit score unless you sign up for something else.  A lot of forums referenced creditkarma.com, but alas creditkarma is no more.  What is the next best thing?  You can find free tools like “What’s Your Credit Range?” tool to get a free estimate of the range you fall under. I know my credit score so I am going to put my information into this tool to see how accurate it is.

The “What’s Your Credit Range?” calculator works by computing your response to 10 questions.  To use the calculator you need to provide the following information: Read the rest of this entry »