Reader Mailbag: Kitchens and Careers
Welcome to this week’s Reader Mailbag!
A note: I get enough questions to do two or three mailbags a week. I’ve considered putting a second Mailbag on Thursdays. Would this be of interest to you guys?
I recall a few months ago you were thinking seriously about cutting out all or most meat from your diet? Where did you get to with this? What was it inspired by? (I seem to remember there was a book that started you thinking about this?)
- Eve
In late 2008 to early 2009, I had a bit of a health scare that prompted me to start exercising more and eating better, a trend I followed during most of 2009. However, during the final crunch for my book, my diet and exercise regimens both went downhill. Now that the book is done, I’m putting both back into place.
I found a lot of inspiration from various books when I got started with this regimen. Two really stood out from the pack: In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (which I actually reviewed here a while back) and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver.
My current plan is the “vegetarian until 6 PM” plan, which bascially means eating vegetarian for breakfast, lunch, and any daytime snacks, then eating a normal dinner.
Your post on Framework and distractions reminded me of an idea I’d heard of – a media fast. To drown out the noise of life and listen to ourselves and what we value rather than media outlets. No tv, no non fiction books, no music with words, no magazines. I’ve been meaning to try it soon for mental health reasons, but it also seems like a very frugal way to spend quality time. Here is a post on it from another blog.
- Amanda
I used to do “media fasts” somewhat regularly in college through the mid-2000s. I would allow myself books, but I wouldn’t watch any television, listen to the radio, read magazines, or use the internet in any fashion. I’ve done many week-long sessions of this, with one session lasting a month.
The biggest thing I noticed is how much the advertising shocks you when you stop doing this. Ads are everywhere, even in the content we read and listen to. It’s amazing how much content is there simply for the purpose of selling you stuff. Once you see it, it becomes hard to trust a lot of the messgaes out there.
I’d love to do it again, but at this point it would require a full-on vacation from The Simple Dollar, which is difficult. With my previous work, I could still easily do my job while doing a media fast, but that’s much harder when you’re basically writing for and managing a media property.
I am currently employed, but at about 1/2 the amount I was making a year and a half ago. I was making $72,000 – which helped me pay off all credit card debt, but I got laid off in Aug. 2008. I was unemployed for about three months and then found another job making around $35,000. My only debt right now is my mortgage – around $32,000 and my school loans – around $68,000 (and also about $300 in credit card purchases from Christmas, but that will be paid off within the month.) I have depleted the majority of my savings – mostly through making purchases that I probably could’ve lived without when I first got laid off, but needless to say I have about $500 in savings right now. That’s some background so here’s where my question begins, I have been making extra payments on my mortgage – my current payment is $300 a month (the joys of small town rural life) and I’ve been paying $65 extra a week – about $260 a month. I am employed in a state job and it looks like there’s a better than average chance that with the economy I could get laid off again this summer. Should I stop making the extra payments on my mortgage (currently 7.5%) and put all of that in to savings (at maybe 1.5% interest at ING), or should I keep making the extra payments until I can no longer make them? I am currently able to put about $200-300 into savings every month.
- Sandy
I would stop the extra mortgage payments (for now) and channel the difference into personal savings for a while.
The big reason for this move is that you need an adequate emergency fund, especially given your current financial situation. An unexpected event, like a car repair or a lost job, can really derail your fairly stable situation, causing you to have to dip into the debt pool to stay above water, and that can become a downward sprial.
How much should you have? I’d suggest having enough in your account to cover three months’ worth of living expenses. Since you’re fairly confident that you’ll be laid off again this summer, I’d probably keep going beyond three months.
So, I would just channel the extra mortgage payment purely into your savings for now so that you don’t have to rely on debt if you’re laid off.
I graduated last December and was blessed to get a job in my new field that began in January. My loans come due in July but I will apply for loan forgiveness with my new job and that will leave me with about $8000 principle. What I am wondering is if it is better for me to just pay it off or make a few months payment because of my credit rating. I use two credit cards monthly but pay my balance in full and I don’t have a car payment or a mortgage. I pay bills to my family where I live but my name is not on any of the utilities. I used to live in my own place so I did have bills in my name several years ago but I have no plans to change my current living situation. I am asking because of a previous post I read where a couple saw their insurance rate increase and their credit rating decrease because they had their bills paid.
- Andy
If you have credit cards and pay the balance in full each month, you’re doing what you need to do to maintain a good credit rating. Thus, I wouldn’t worry about maintaining that rating and instead would focus on getting yourself in the best position.
The advice about maintaining a good credit rating was directed towards people that had absolutely no lines of credit for a period of seven years, at which point their credit report was blank. If you’re paying off your credit card in full each month, this doesn’t apply to you. Even just leaving the card open would suffice.
I don’t know the exact ins and outs of your situation, but debt freedom is certainly a strong path to take in any situation. If you have the financial resources to pay the whole debt off, I’d do so.
I’m a 26-year-old woman working as a part-time music teacher in a local public school district. I’m extremely lucky, because my school district is paying for my master’s degree in full! I will graduate in May from a private university with my master’s in school counseling, with zero student loan debt. However, there is a clause in my teacher’s contract that states that I must stay in my current school district for one year after finishing my degree, or else I will need to pay back half of my tuition. In other words, if I leave my job next year to pursue my career in school counseling, I will owe $24,000 (my entire degree costs my district $48,000). My question is, should I stay one more year to eliminate my debt? Or should I take on the debt, knowing that I could potentially earn $45,000 in a new job? Is it ever smart to have debt? Other information: I currently have $3,000 left on a car loan, but other than that I have zero debt to my name. No credit card debt, no other tuition debt, nothing. I enjoy reading your website, and look forward to your feedback. Thanks so much!<br ...
