See Jane Get Rich

 Recap

In January, I made the decision to lend my parent Bum (who is no Bum!) $15k to pay off some credit card debt.  I believe that since I asked and accepted financial assistance from Bum for my 1L and 2L year for some living expenses I contributed to the debt.  But, the biggest culprit was my older sibling the Other Child who refuses to get a real world job and is going after his entrepreneurial dreams while Bum picks up the check.  I tried conditioning the loan on Bum cutting out the Other Child financially but Bum was having none of that so the $15k was a no-strings-attached unsecured interest free personal loan.

The only drawback to the loan was that I was not willing to wait around for my $15k to be repaid.  I wanted an aggressive repayment plan since Bum wasn’t willing to cut the Other Child out.  I lend the money this January.  I specified that I wanted my first payment of $5k on March 31, next $5k on June 31, and the next $5k on October 31 and oh maybe a nice little “gratuity” in December for being so so considerate. 

At the end of my post I asked my readers whether now that I have paid off the $15k in credit card debt, whether Bum will save the money to repay me or whether the increased cash flow means more money will end up going to the Other Child.   Guess what happened?  Bum is doing both.  Yes, both! 

Read the rest of this entry »

Destination:  Millionairehood

Departure: 2008 – Age 24 

Arrival: 2028 – Age 44

Speed: Aggressive.

 My blogging friend Don and I decided to buddy-up and join J. Money’s Millionaire’s Club.  It is an e-club for prospective millionaires.  The only requirement is that you make the committment and list the steps you will take to achieve your goal. Right now, since I haven’t landed a job yet I have no idea about my earning power but I am going to estimate conservatively and give myself 18 more years to achieve my goal.  I plan to become a millionaire by doing the following things:

1. Develop multiple income streams.
2. Diversify my career.   
3. Invest wisely for retirement.
4. Live below my means.
5. Give back to the community.  

Read the rest of this entry »

Okay, let’s break down why January 2010 was the most expensive month of my life. 

Read the rest of this entry »

December 2009

I finish all my exams and arrived home for my winter break.  The very next day, I start my holiday job at the big box retail store.  The Other Child (OC), my older sibling, was back at home because the OC quit a training program/job after six months and was about to launch an entrepreneurial effort.  The OC spend all its time at home researching and doing various things for this new business.  You know, the business that was going to be the one that succeeds.

 Bum my parent and I spoke again about the loan.  Bum was not going to cut off the Other Child completely as I desired before the OC’s business took off…which could be a number of years.  But, after having a $0 tuition bill for the last two semesters I would have to pay $9k in tuition for my final semester of law school.  That was going to hurt me financially.  But, I can’t stand by and do nothing while Bum struggled with credit card debt. 

I decided to help Bum out by giving a loan of $15,000 without any of the earlier conditions  for three reasons. 

Read the rest of this entry »

November 2009

I go home for Thanksgiving and my parent Bum and I have a face-to-face talk.  Bum wants a loan to pay off all the credit card debt.  By this time, Bum has estimated the figure to be about $15k and the interest rate are in the high teens but no specific figures are disclosed to me.  I get frustrated about the lack of disclosures provided to me as a prospective lender, but I realize that this was a great opportunity to get rid of the Other Child from Bum’s financial picture once and for all.  

 So, I go in for the (financial) kill:

My Offer to Bum

• (1) $15k loan with no interest rate with repayments according to an agreed schedule. 
• (2) Complete disclosure of all debts and interest rates with documentation.  
• (3) Sign a contract agreeing to the terms. 
• (4) Must completely and utterly stop financially supporting the Other Child. 
  • First violation: Loan will have a 5% interest rate and interest will be immediately due. 
  • Second violation: Interest will increase to 10% and the interest will be immediately due. 
  • Third violation: The loan is in official default and all money must be returned immediately. 
• (5) Every term except for #4 dealing with the Other Child is negotiable. 

Bum’s Response?

Read the rest of this entry »

September    

In September, I was talking to Bum about money when Bum just happen to mention Bum has some money on Bum’s credit card that needs to be paid off.

Wait.  Hold up.  Did you just say credit card debt?  Whaaaaaatttttt?

I was blown away.  Bum is not someone I would think of when I think of the stereotypical person with credit card debt.  Bum doesn’t go shopping that much.  Bum eats out once in a while.  Bum’s biggest purchase most recently was a new hybrid paid in full through a HELOC.   Bum makes very good money.  But, Bum has two children who was still relying on Bum for help. 

So, my next question was: What exactly is all this credit card debt from, Bum?

Read the rest of this entry »

Jane the Way-Below-Average-Blogger:  There is so much going on in my life and I only get to share with you 5% or 10% of it. And sometimes I think, hey, I should like share way lot more stuff, ya know?  But, personal things aren’t “personal financy” enough and are just so super b-o-r-i-n-g!

Ideal the  See Jane Get Rich Blog Reader: I think a lot of bloggers share personal stuff like the daily growth of their chia pet, conversations with friends other people can’t see and hobbies like people watching.  I find these quite interesting.  You could join them, you know. 

Jane:  Ha, ha, ha haaaaa!  Oh, you were serious?  Um, ok.  I dunno ‘bout that.  Well, here is something “personal financy.”  I gave my first dinner party where I cooked and people actually liked what I made.  I was so insanely nervous about that dinner party. 

Ideal: You had a dinner party and you didn’t invite me! 

Jane:  Really, Ideal.  Let’s not get ahead of ourselves here.  You are really a figment of my imagination. 

Ideal:  I am as real as they come!  Anyway, what did you make?

Jane:  You should’ve been there.  I made Salmon with fresh dill, lime juice and olive oil with a side of asparagus wrapped in prosciutto.  I made a fantabulous spinach salad with crumbled goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted slivered almonds and walnuts, dried cranberry and fresh grapes.  Served it with white wine and had assorted sweets for dessert. 

Ideal: That sounds like one tasty meal.   

Jane: Now, I am on this big cooking spree because I fancy myself a mini-Martha Stewart.  Um, without all the insider trading.  White collar crime is so 2002. 

Ideal: Well, this could be a really nice post about your first dinner party and how you did it the frugal way.  How much did you spend?

Jane:  I don’t want to share that!  And no, I am not going to post about this!  I overspent because I had no clue about the portions.  I over-shopped.  I got too much wine, too much goat cheese…well, too much of everything.  I am so not gonna tell them that I spent like $50 on a dinner for 4 people!  This is one post that is so not going to happen.  They’ll never know. 

Now, Ideal, it has been fun but I have more important things to do like measuring the hourly growth of my chia pet and watching unsuspecting people who walk by my window.

In my last post, I pointed out that I made a difficult yet strategic decision.  The difficult decision was between two externship choices.  Internship 1 was a regulatory externship where I would get to do legal work.  Internship #2 was also with a regulatory body but the internship would not be legal but it would be more related to my Master’s degree.   I was hoping to do both internships but I was told that I could do only one because to do both would be a conflict of interest. 

I had to make a decision about which internship to go with.  If I am only thinking about the short-term then the best choice would be internship #1 because it is a legal internship that would relate to the kind of courses I am taking right now.  Internship #1 is a highly desirable experience for a law student.   Internship #2 offeres regulatory work which isn’t strictly legal.  It also offered a smaller department to work in and a director who seemed eager to mentor incoming externs. 

I chose internship #2 and here’s why. 

 Mentoring – I felt that internship #2 had a director who was more focused on mentoring.  As a recipient of really good mentoring from many of my current and former mentors I strongly believe in it.  I need to have an ally or a “true fan” on my corner.   Having a mentor can smooth the road to attaining many goals.   I need to be very careful about that crucial “first job” of my career and I can see myself being part of this organization and growing within in it.    My director knows that I turned down a very sweet legal offer for the chance to work with her.  Coming in to an organization with a favorable impression is golden. 

I mentioned in my last post that I needed to get in the game.   By getting an externship I am on the sidelines watching the game closely.  My goal now is to make a move from the sidelines to the actual field and get in the game.  In other words, I need to land a job here. 

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I got my credit card bill today that had my final law school tuition payment.  Ironically, after I wrote my nice big check I came across Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School.  It is no surprise that the supply of lawyers have exceeded the number of legal jobs available and it has only gotten worse with the recession.  With the advent of the recession, law firms are fundamentally changing the way they do business.  It is safe to say that some, if not all, of the changes will stick around for the long haul.  There is a renewed conversation online about the perils of the legal profession since the main stream media (in the form of NY Times) has started writing about the troubles of the legal profession most recently in No Longer Their Golden Ticket.    Sarah Waldeck of Concurring Opinions in her post Who Should (And Shouldn’t) Go to Law School, advocates for students to be careful about their decision to pursue a law degree.  In fact, she advises current pre-law students to only pursue a degree if they meet three narrow circumstances.

Only go to law school next year if (1) you have always dreamed of being a lawyer; or (2) you are accepted by a very prestigious institution; or (3) you are offered a full scholarship.

Dream I don’t know about “always” dreaming about being a lawyer.  I wanted to be a lawyer towards the end of middle school.  I was never the argumentative kid everyone said should go to law school.  So, I wouldn’t meet #1. 

Prestige I go to a pretty good law school.  It is not an ivy league school, so, I would fail to meet #2 since I don’t attend a “very prestigious” law school. 

Full Scholarship No, full scholarship here.  I attend a private law school and that costs a lot of money.  They don’t just give out full scholarships to anyone.  I was able to bring the cost of attendance down with a school fellowship plus multiple outside scholarships.  The highest outside scholarship being $10,000 and the lowest scholarship amount being $500. 

Did I make a terrible mistake by going to law school? Read the rest of this entry »

Financial Goals for Spring 2010

1. Make my 2010 Roth IRA Contribution
2. Roll over 401(k) from my holiday job to a Roth or transfer it to my brokerage
3. Find more affordable car insurance before February 11
4. Obtain a credit report from one of the three agencies
5. Budget/Keep track of my expenses
6. Diversify my investments

 Come February, I will be covered by Geico.  The gecco offered me an unbeatable rate for liability insurance for my 1997 Honda Civic with 150k miles on it.  I never had full insurance coverage on a car.  This was a terrible decision for my first car since I wrecked it within 3 months of getting it but since I am a more experienced driver the libility-only mode of coverage has worked well for me.  Also, since I live in DC, I have alternative options for transportation.  I live near two bus stops and while the metro is not very close it is a doable 15-20 minute walk. 

Before 

Nationwide Insurance

• 6 Month Premium = $241.36
• Per month: $40.22

After

Geico  

• 6 Month Premium = $138.80
• Per month: $23.13

Total Savings:

• Per month: $17.09
• Per year: $205.12

I have been with Nationwide ever since I started driving.  We’ve been together for a long time but its now time to move onto greener pastures.  So, why the big savings?  It wasn’t all about Geico’s “15 minites or more could save you 15% on your auto insurance,” rather “Not having your paret paying for your car insurance can substantially lower your insurance premiums.”  The payment I made with Geico recently is the first time that I paid for car insurance because my parent has been paying my insurance all these years.  When someone else is paying for it you take it for granted and don’t compare shop as you would with your own money.  I didn’t notice the amount since I had no reason to.  I didn’t even find out what my actual insurance was until I called Nationwide to find out my monthly rate so I could do some comparison shopping.  I am glad that I took the time to compare my rate and make the switch.  I only wish I had done it sooner.   

How fabulous is my car insurance makeover?  Do you always compare shop?  What about when you were younger and you were using your parent’s money?