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When Is a Splurge a Good Thing?

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Not, one could argue, when the Splurger is supposed to be pinching pennies to get through a ridiculously tight time.

That bit of logic notwithstanding, today I blew $400 out of my monthly diddle-it-away fund, reducing the balance to just over a thousand bucks. After the glasses and the clothes episodes, this might (one could argue), just might not represent the highest pinnacle of wisdom to which I have ever aspired.

But it’s not bothering me. Here’s why:

Today’s purchase is a new gas grill, a Weber Spirit E-210, which sells here, there, and everywhere for $399. It’s small—only two burners—but it comes highly recommended by reviewers on several sites.

I love my charcoal grill, which replaced the last gas grill. But…it’s just enough extra work to make me not want to fire it up for dinner. Even when I feel like hassling with it and then scrubbing charcoal dust out from under my fingernails, at this time of year it feels unsafe. During monsoon, a stiff wind can come up with no warning; the hardwood charcoal I favor shoots out hot sparks and cinders with the élan of a magnesium sparkler. In a stiff breeze, they blow into the shrubbery and trees, and frankly I’m concerned about starting a fire in these hot, dry conditions.

Meanwhile, cooking in the kitchen also creates a hassle. Every time I get that darn stove clean, I end up splattering more grease all over it. Last night I cooked a piece of steak and, craving a little enhancement, poured in a few drops of wine to deglaze the pan. Even though I’d turned the heat off under the pan, the wine and hot grease exploded all over the kitchen!

So with dinner congealing on the plate, I got to break out the de-greasers and scrub down the walls, counters, floor, and even the counter all the way across the kitchen from the stove. That was fun.

When I’m tired, which is most of the time, I just don’t feel like making another mess to have to clean up, like having to scrub a frying pan and at least one or two other pans if I make side dishes.

The result is, I’m not eating well. Sometimes I’m not eating at all. I just don’t want to be bothered with the mess.

Half the time I snack on cheese and crackers, often washed down with a beer or two. If I feel energetic enough to cook, it’ll be a pot of pasta, because I can prepare the pasta and a quick sauce in the same pan. As a result, despite not eating much, I’m getting even fatter than I was.

This isn’t healthy.

When I had the gas grill, I usually tossed meat and vegetables onto the grill to cook. All that had to be washed was a dinner plate, a glass, a knife, and a fork. The stove never needed to be scrubbed more than once a month, if that often. I ate well because it was easy to eat well.

Now I’m eating badly—when I eat at all—and I’m getting fatter and fatter.

You see where this is going? I regard that $400 as an investment in my health, not an extravagance. I have got to get back to eating properly!

This little grill, which actually cost a bit more than I planned, is just about the right size to cook one or two portions. The big charcoal grill can be reserved for when guests come over or when I have enough ambition to cook up something that tastes smokey and good.

I think I got a pretty good deal on it: commenters at Amazon revealed that the version sold at Home Depot comes with cast-iron grates; most Weber Spirit models have sheet metal grills, far less desirable. Went over to Lowe’s and found the Weber Spirit there, and sure enough, theirs had the chintzy grates. Lowe’s was having a sale on a larger, fancier model, but the $500 asking price was more than I could afford. On to Home Depot: yea verily, for the same price, their Weber Spirit 210 has nice, heavy cast-iron grates. Not only that, but the Depot will assemble the thing for free.

So I think this is a case where a splurge is not a splurge.

♦ Did I already have a charcoal grill? Yes. But because it’s charcoal and not gas, I use it less and less.
♦ Did I need a gas grill? Probably not, given that a perfectly fine charcoal grill is standing out there in the backyard.
♦ But really, do I need a gas grill? Sure, if I’m going to get back to eating healthy again. Or eating at all.

Cheese & crackers vs. meat and veggies? No contest. I really do think this is not a splurge but a wise move, in spite of the bad timing.

Have you ever had a splurge that was not a splurge? What did you not-a-splurge on?

Yakeziites in Action

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This morning I was pretty entertained to find that the ineffable Evan, my favorite conservative PF blogger at My Journey to Millions, created a lively stir with a provocative post, “Why Teachers Anger Me.” He got quite a rise out of Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, another of my fave PF bloggers, who replied with verve in a whole post at her own site. Both posts elicited a terrific series of reader comments—33 comments at BFS and 56 at Journey, for a healthy total of 89 responses between the two writers.

Both are members of the Yakezie Challenge. Evan has risen to the 55th slot in Wisebread’s Top 100, with a current Alexa ranking of 89,759, and BFS’s ranking of 85,392 puts her in the 49th place.

Not bad, folks! Keep up the good work.

Meanwhile, Financial Samurai, the instigator of the Yakezie Challenge, has risen to the 19th spot with an Alexa ranking of 40,237. His most recent post will will give you something to think about: he reflects on some startling figures about the ratio of elderly to teenage workers.

Quick Summer Break…and maybe many more

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Yarnell-Frog
The Yarnell Frog at the base of Yarnell Hill, where the road begins its steep two-lane climb up the rim.

Yesterday my friend KJG and I decided to pile our dogs in the car and drive up to Yarnell, the quaint old mining town and wide spot in the road that I covet as a weekend getaway. Perched on the edge of the Mogollon Rim, it’s up out of the Valley’s heat, which at this time of year becomes oppressive with monsoon humidity.

Naturally, we picked the only day of the summer when it decided to rain in the morning. But that was fine: we welcome rain. It cuts the heat.

When we got up there, we went straight to the shady, peaceful Shrine of St. Joseph, retreat center with a religious diorama sculptured into the granite boulders at the top end of the town’s most picturesque road. This provided a place to park so we could stretch our legs and walk the dogs through the adjacent residential area.

Interestingly, the house that I think is absolutely the prettiest little dwelling in town is for sale. Here it is in more halcyon times. Isn’t that the sweetest and best little stone cottage? Probably assembled and mortared, rock by rock, by some miner back in the late 1800s.

It’s abandoned and gone to seed now, but still standing. If I wanted it, it’s there for the asking. In today’s market, the bank or whoever owns it would probably give it away.

Before long we got rained on and had to run uphill to return to the car. Soaked to the skin, we started back down toward the main drag, passing the coveted cottage. A Salt River Project lineman was parked in front—we had waved at him as we were walking around and so stopped to say hello. A Wickenburg resident, he also coveted the little house as a weekend cabin.

I asked him what he thought of the electric service; he said it looked OK to him, probably safe. The panel was relatively new, he said, and the air conditioning system on the roof was new. He remarked that it was a gas pack.

There’s no natural gas service in Yarnell. “Gas” is trucked-in propane.

“So that means the thing runs on propane?” said I.

“Hm,” said he. “Propane’s pretty expensive.” You can tell a native Arizonan by his gift for understatement.

The cottage has only two bedrooms; one of them, KJG noted, is about large enough to accommodate a camper’s cot. I suppose a single person could convert it to a walk-in closet, though.

The big problem with the house, though—other than the fact that it is a house, a white elephant to be renovated, maintained, cleaned, and gardened—is a large structural crack running from the roofline down to the ground. Whoever installed electric service (no doubt as a retrofit) cut a small nook into the stonework near an opening to the low crawl space beneath the structure, evidently to accommodate an outdoor electrical outlet. Though they spanned the opening with a short steel lintel, evidently this did not suffice to bear the weight above it.

So whoever buys the little house will purchase not only a great deal of charm but an expensive repair job. Assuming a repair can be made at all.

Moving on, we dried out over hot coffee (surprisingly good!) and home-made sweets at the Cornerstone Bakery, a favorite of locals up on the main drag. Residents like to pass the time in the charmingly decorated old shop, where everyone knows the proprietors and the proprietors know everyone.  I had a peach strudel wrapped in what tasted like real puff pastry and KJG said her cinnamon roll was the best she’d ever tasted.

Strung mid-town along route 89A are clusters of antique shops, galleries, and gift stores. I happened to know that the next-door Yarnell Emporium carries some interesting hand-designed T-shirts, among many other things. Although my clothes were no longer soaked thr0ugh, I craved a dry shirt and so steered us in that direction. On the way, though, we were waylaid by Behind the Door, a sweet little consignment gallery occupying an old house. Proprietor Carrie Brandenburg carries everything from original oils, acrylics, and watercolors to hippy-dippy bead jewelry of the kind I make myself.

There are some pretty interesting pieces in this store, among them a clever found-art sculpture, a lamp (of sorts) fashioned from old bicycle handlebars. Being the sort with a taste for the near-representational, I enjoyed the only slightly abstract  pictured images here, of pueblos and more recent Southwestern architecture. Click on the photo for a larger view.

We weren’t in the market for big-ticket items, though—or even for mid-ticket items. However, there was no chance either of us could get out of there without at least one of the attractively priced artsy-craftsy jewelry pieces. I picked up these; I couldn’t have made them myself for the amount the crafter asked, and they’re ideal for casual everyday wear.

YarnellJewelry
YarnellEmporium

KJG was in the market for yard art a cut or two or three above the painted plaster campesino slumbering beneath his umbrella in the shade of a saguaro. So she was delighted when we made our way to Yarnell Emporium, which among many other things specializes in some very entertaining and often charming outdoor decor. Just now owner Ed Williams is carrying a lot of metal designs.

I coveted the sunflowers:

KJG, having raised goats at one point in her misspent youth, was drawn to this little guy:

Frugality being the better part of valor, he’s not peeking out from under the shrubbery in her yard this morning. Alas. Inside the shop we spotted a monumental cast bell hung in a circular frame, very Asian in appearance. That was more like what she had in mind. At $500+, the price was pretty good compared to what you’d pay for it in a design shop or at an artist’s foundry in the city. She took it under advisement and is considering how it might fit in her and DH’s carefully landscaped backyard.

We hit it off with the sales rep, who had no one else to socialize with. Kathleen proved to be a discreet but effective shopper’s assistant. Before long we’d stocked up on hats, shirts, skirts…oh my! KJG found a wide-brimmed hat that looked terrific on her; so taken by it was she that she bought another one for her mother. The shop has a nice collection of broomstick skirts, a fashion long out of date but one that I happen to yearn for because it nicely disguises certain unstylish curves on my body. Fabric colors, which appear to be custom-dyed, are too gorgeous:

The little jacket on the right has turquoise-lined plackets that, when you have it on, open out like a shawl. The effect is surprisingly elegant—it’ll be perfect for church as well as for teaching this winter. Got the whole outfit for 30 percent off.

In the course of chatting, Kathleen unveiled a small revelation: the Emporium’s proprietor, Ed Williams, renovated an upstairs apartment and is renting it to the tourists.

“That so?” said we.

“So!” said she.

Since no other customers were braving the rain, she kindly gave us a tour. What we found was an amazing little gem, a beautifully decorated one-bedroom apartment hidden away on the second floor of the rustic store Ed has built on the ground floor. It has, among other things, a luxuriant leather sofa, a beautifully decorated bedroom, and a full kitchen with brand-new, top-of-the-line appliances. Rustic, this is not. And one of the things you should know about Yarnell: it occupies one of the most spectacular venues you can imagine. Step out on the apartment’s balcony, and you have a view of mountains and wide-open spaces in all directions.

Apparently he only wants about $70 night for this place.

Well. Hallelujah sisters and brothers! I might be able to afford that, especially if the Landlord will allow me to bring Cassie the Corgi. May not manage it during this financially nightmarish summer, but I certainly could do it after classes start. And if my scheme for next summer works, I probably could go up there a couple of times a month.

You could rent a lot of $70 rooms for what it would cost to buy that stone cottage in Yarnell.

§ § § §

We learned something else from the locals: The ranch my ex- and I used to own with a bunch of his law partners is now being operated as a bed and breakfast. Nothing would do, of course, but what we had to drive up there and see what was what. That exploration led to an interesting adventure, which I’ll soon tell you about in a new Entrpreneurs post.

Password Security: Riffs on a neat idea

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Here’s a clever idea from Adam Pash, seen on LifeHacker: To create a hard-to-hack password you can remember, simply move your fingers over one key to the right on the keyboard and type in your preferred dictionary word.

Since anything posted on Lifehacker by now no doubt has been seen by every malicious hacker on the planet, it makes sense to create some refinements on that.

For example, you could move your fingers up or down a row, too, or repeat the password in different iterations. Suppose your password is your dog’s name, Rover. Because hitting the shift key is more work than you can bear, you spell it rover.

Using Adam’s lifehack, you get tpbrt. Type the same sequence with your fingers one key to the right in the top row of alphabetical characters, and you get 49f34. Or move your fingers to a different position in the top row—say, two keys to the right instead of one—and you get 6-h56.

If you combine these two sequences to make a single string of characters, you’d get a difficult-to-parse password, something like tpbrt49f34 or tpbrt6-h56.

To enhance security further, you could add an arbitrary character between the two iterations of Rover’s jumbled name: tpbrt]49f34.

Easy on the memory and relatively hassle-free.

Worth Bookmarking…

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Exploring the Internet for new-to-me sites dealing with things monetary, I recently came across a number of interesting blogs. Check these out:

Carpe Diem, by Mark J. Perry, an economics and finance professor at the University of Michigan’s Flint campus. Lots of interesting material pops up here, some of it raw data or close to it, but usually things that seem to have some meaning. Recently, for example:

Median Sales Prices of Existing Homes, January 2008 to June 2010
California Mortgage Defaults, 2009Q1 to 2010Q2,  and, intriguingly,
ASA Staffing Index 24% above Same Wk. Last Year

Econbrowser, by economics Professor James D. Hamilton at UC San Diego and public affairs and economics professor Menzie Chinn of the University of Wisconsin, Madision.

China Land Prices
Fighting Deflation
A Specter Is Haunting America

Marginal Revolution, by George Mason University economics professors Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok.

The History and Future of Private Space Exploration
Jimmy Stewart Is Dead
Gender Parity in Schooling around the World

Would you like to share leads to thoughtful and interesting sites that are outside the PF bloggers’ niche, or outside the niche your own blog occupies? Please let us know in the comments below!

Tomorrow it’s off to the high country for a daylong break from summer’s cabin fever. Back Saturday!

CLICK! Why didn’t I think of this one before?

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LightBulb

Ever have one of those “CLICK” moments, when the light switch snaps on and the brain floods with Insight? They always seem to occur belatedly.

It recently dawned on me, as I was thinking of something other than how I’m going to get by during these summers of unpaid work, that an obvious source of summer funding is sitting right out there in plain view.

For a retired state employee to collect the many thousands of dollars owed for unused sick leave (“RASL”), she or he has to be taking a drawdown from accrued retirement savings—i.e., from the state pension fund or from the 403(b), whichever plan applies—over the three-year period in which the RASL money is paid out. By the time my job terminated, I’d never heard a straight story about how much or how little that drawdown had to be. So, in the absence of any credible facts, I decided to make it $500 a month—amounting to a $389 net.

That was more than I wanted to take out, given the goal of waiting till the stock market recovers some of the $180,000 lost from my savings, but not anything like 4 percent of total retirement savings. So…what the heck.

Time has passed. In that interim, I learned that the drawdown can be anything. Even, say, one dollar a month. That revelation was made by a guy at Fidelity not long before the end of spring semester. Since I didn’t think I could get by on Social Security and bankbook savings alone during the three months summer of full unemployment, I decided to delay cutting the drawdown until September, when a little teaching pay will start dribbling in again. Good thing—without the $389/month net drawdown, by now I’d be deep into the emergency fund. With it, I’m still in the black and, barring another unexpected repair bill, should stay that way until pay starts again in the fall.

But the black ink flows by dint of penny-pinching. And you know what? I’m tired of it. I was pinching pennies through the spring semester, so tightening the belt over the summer means real Scrooge tactics. As I write this, it’s 85 in my study and 90 degrees in the kitchen; the power bill for this month still may break the piggybank. Over at La Maya’s house, whence I just came, it’s cool and comfortable indoors. It really would be nice if my house could be so cool that the dog and I can breathe without panting. And it would be mighty nice not to have a $300 repair bill represent a minor catastrophe.

So. What we have here is 12 months of drawdown, of which 9 months are redundant. When I cut the drawdown to $1 a month in September and leave it that way until May, what will happen is $4,500  of tax-deferred savings won’t be spent. It’s money that I originally figured would have to be spent, so in a way we could regard it as usable dollars. The plan here is to draw a buck a month during the academic year and $500 a month ($389 net) in the summer.

What if instead I drew enough down in the summer to create a net of $1,000 a month? That would require a gross withdrawal from the 403(b) of $1,300 a month.

I’m already going to withdraw $500/month in the summer of 2011. To make it $1,300, I would have to take out an additional $800/month.

$800 x 3 = $,2400

But over the nine months of 2010–11 that I take effectively nothing out of the GDU retirement account, $4,500 of “spent” money will not get spent.

$4,500 – $2,400 = $2,100 to the good

In other words, although I won’t preserve all of that $4,500 saved by cutting the drawdown to $1, I’ll still be $2,100 further ahead than I would be if I continue the present $500/month drawdown until all the RASL payments are disbursed in February 2012.

Meanwhile, during the summer months, the $1,000 net drawdown added to the $975 net Social Security payment would yield $1,975 a month to live on.

That’s $575 less than came in while I was teaching three sections, but still one heckuva lot better than the $1,364 I’m trying to get by on now, during the costliest season of the year.

$ 1975 – 1240  nondiscretionary expenses – 800 discretionary costs = –$65

Not great, but better than I’m doing now.

Of course, the only reason I’m getting by this summer is that last semester the $389 net drawdown plus the $1,574/month net teaching pay added to the Social Security left a little money in the checking account at the end of each month. Enough had accrued over four months of frugal living to almost support me while nothing but Social Security and the piddling drawdown comes in over the summer. However, I’d only be running $65 in the red, or $195 for the entire summer. It’s very likely that $195 will be left over at the end of nine months, even with the drawdown cut to a dollar a month.

How likely is it?

By the time the spring semester ended, I was about $2,500 in the black. Subtract $389 a month from that: $2,500 – ($389 · 4) = $944. Prorate that amount over the 2011 summer months to get about $315 a month. In fact, by $2011, there should be twice that much, because the monthly accrual will have occurred over two semesters, rather than this year’s single semester of earnings. $315 x 2 = $630 a month in savings for summer survival.

$  630  left from living frugally over 9 months
+1,000  summertime net drawdown
+   975 net Social Security
$2,605 net summer funding
– 1240 nondiscretionary expenses
–  800 discretionary expenses
$565 theoretically left each month

How can I count the ways I doubt that? Nevertheless, even if this estimate is two or three times too generous, I could afford to run the air conditioning! And without having to try to keep discretionary expenses to $500!!

Matter of fact, with $565 a month left over, I could afford to go someplace to get out of this unholy heat for awhile! In theory, that would amount to $1,695 of summer vacation money. Holy mackerel! That would put me up in Santa Fe for almost a week!

Assuming I take my shopping cart and sleep under a freeway overpass…

Speaking of the scheme to cut the $800/month discretionary budget to $500 over the summer, that one didn’t work. The $300 air-conditioning repair pushed the June-July expenses for that budget cycle, which ended yesterday, right back up to $800. In fact, I spent about $12 more than $800.

It could have come out of monthly diddle-it-away savings. However,

a) that comes under the heading of robbing Peter to pay Paul; and
b) I’m trying to revive that savings account, which was much impoverished by the clothing spree and the glasses fling. It will take another three months to recover from those spending frenzies.

So, I decided to cover the AC repair bill with cash flow. {sigh}

Pretty clearly, it’s unrealistic to think I can cover discretionary expenses on $5o0 a month. Most months I don’t spend $800, but on average since January I’ve come in only $42 under budget. To get day-to-day costs down to $500 a month, I’d have to stop eating.

And it must be said: not living like an anchorite would make a 112-degree day a lot more tolerable.