Archive for March, 2008

Garbage as an artform?

Published on March 29, 2008 in Buying Stuff. 2 Comments

I am currently working on a post regarding so-called “green” living, and I came across the name of photographer Chris Jordan. He has an interesting series entitled “Intolerable Beauty: Portraits of American Mass Consumption“

Quoted from his website regarding the series:

Exploring around our country’s shipping ports and industrial yards, where the accumulated detritus of our consumption is exposed to view like eroded layers in the Grand Canyon, I find evidence of a slow-motion apocalypse in progress. I am appalled by these scenes, and yet also drawn into them with awe and fascination. The immense scale of our consumption can appear desolate, macabre, oddly comical and ironic, and even darkly beautiful; for me its consistent feature is a staggering complexity.

The pervasiveness of our consumerism holds a seductive kind of mob mentality. Collectively we are committing a vast and unsustainable act of taking, but we each are anonymous and no one is in charge or accountable for the consequences. I fear that in this process we are doing irreparable harm to our planet and to our individual spirits.

As an American consumer myself, I am in no position to finger wag; but I do know that when we reflect on a difficult question in the absence of an answer, our attention can turn inward, and in that space may exist the possibility of some evolution of thought or action. So my hope is that these photographs can serve as portals to a kind of cultural self-inquiry. It may not be the most comfortable terrain, but I have heard it said that in risking self-awareness, at least we know that we are awake.

Some of the photos in the series, such as the one below, are simply amazing to look at. To think about the amount of waste that is produced every year is something most people, including myself, never think about.

200803291854.jpg

Our society is built on consumption and throwaway goods. I am not going to point fingers, since I enjoying buying new gadgets as much as most people do. But I want everyone to consider cost versus value when making purchases. Instead of buying cheap clothing that will wear out quickly, spend the money on high quality items that will last years. Instead of buying cheap electronics with the intention to buy something better later on, save up for what you really want and buy that instead. That way you only pay once, which saves you money, you get the cool stuff that you really want, and you consume less materials in the end. Consider upgrade cycles and whether you really need to give in to buying the latest and greatest. Cell phones are a good example. Every time you take a free upgrade to another crappy cell phone (why do you think they’re free?) you are contributing to waste. And you lock yourself into another contract with your cellphone company.

I know I am slowly changing my views on what I buy and how I value those things. This is another example that buying less is good for both your wallet and the environment. I hope to follow up with more posts like this, but until then take a look at Chris Jordan’s website to see the rest of the photos. He has a few other really cool galleries to check out in addition to the one mentioned. Enjoy!

Losing Steam

Published on March 26, 2008 in Money Managemenet. 0 Comments

For the past few weeks my posts have been slowing down. I have reached a point where my finances have become automated and I am thinking about them less. I am still just as interested in paying off debt, but there is only so much you can do within reason. Being frugal is not one of my strong points, so that’s not an area I actively try to work on. And with so much debt to still pay off it’s tough to think about the future.

I try to keep up with other personal finance authors in blogosphere, but to be honest I feel like I’m reading the same thing over and over again. So it has been tough for me to come up with something that I feel is meaningful and worth the time to post.

I do have some ideas for future posts. I would like to do a write-up on the basics of retirement accounts. In particular I will be talking about asset allocation and how to pick funds. I also need to write up book reviews on a few books that I have read recently. If anyone has other suggestions, please add a comment to this post, or shoot me an email with a request. I would love the opportunity to help out, so please help me get some ideas!

What will you do with your tax rebate?

Published on March 19, 2008 in Taxes. 0 Comments

On the topic of tax rebates, I’m curious what people are planning on doing with their rebate checks that they get. Of course my wife and I are planning on using ours to pay down our credit card debt, although taking a vacation did cross the mind.

So what does everyone plan on doing with their checks when they get them? Save? Spend? Donate to charity? I know I have a few readers, please chime in!

Tax Refund Schedule

Published on March 19, 2008 in Taxes. 0 Comments

Five Cent Nickel has found and posted the IRS’s tax rebate schedule. I’m a little disappointed they’re not sending payments out until May, but I guess they have to wait until after April 15th to start.

Goal Reached: Car paid off!

Published on March 15, 2008 in Debt and Goals. 0 Comments

Thanks to a generous refund from Uncle Sam and the debt snowball, my wife and I have paid off our next major debt. At the beginning of the year the car loan had a balance of almost $6,000 and our goal was to have it paid off by August. So paying it off in March is awesome. It now looks like having my personal credit card paid off by the end of the year should be completely doable, assuming nothing major happens in our financial life (knock on wood!)

Getting rid of this debt really makes me a believer in Dave Ramsey’s debt snowball method. Not having to make a car payment anymore is a huge motivator to keep going, and a sign that we’re doing things right. We will now be putting over $1k a month on the credit cards, so even with its high balance and higher interest rate there will be a noticeable change in the balance every month. I am looking forward to watching the rest of our debt melt away over the next year. Now I need to get back to tracking our net worth to see where we’re at.

Getting new music on the cheap

Published on March 3, 2008 in Saving Money. 1 Comment

First, I know many people will point out sites like The Pirate Bay as a source of “cheap” music, but this post is for those of us that don’t mind paying for music. I have been downloading music for the past few years (legally of course!), but nothing beats the quality of a CD.

One of the worst places to buy music is through the iTunes music store. At 99 cents a piece, music can get really expensive quickly. One example, about a year ago I purchased the John Mellencamp iTunes essentials for about $25, which was 25 of his top hits. One year later I decided to purchase the ‘Words and Music” greatest hits collection on sale from the BMG music service, for only $8, which included shipping fees. This album has 35 tracks, which included almost all of the iTunes essentials and then some. On top of that, I now have a CD quality copy of the music, as well as the liner notes and the physical backup CD. My CD is also free of the DRM restrictions of the iTunes version.

Obviously BMG is a place I like to buy CD’s from. The initial deal is pretty good, allowing you to get 12 CD’s for about $50, working out to under $5 a CD. BMG has a great selection of music if you like older stuff. Most of the new music are considered “premium titles” and don’t qualify for sales. The DVD Talk forums have a thread that posts the newest sales codes, so if you are a BMG member that is the place to go for deals. About once a month you can find either a buy 1 get 4 free sale code or a buy 5 and get 55% off and free shipping code. Either of those are a great way to get CD’s on the cheap.

A recent sale at BMG had box sets for under $10 for most sets. I picked up the John Coltrane Quartet’s complete recordings, and 8 CD set, for only $12. That also included free shipping. Another code, courtesy of DVD talk, added four free CD’s with free shipping. So if you are smart about your purchases and timing, you can get some great deals.

Another place I like to look for albums is the local music store, which sells used CD’s. Almost all CD’s are under $10, which is what you’d pay at the iTunes music store. Again, the difference is that now you have a CD quality copy versus the iTunes version, which typically comes with low bit-rate and DRM protection. A few months ago I found the Godzilla soundtrack, which has one of my favorite Rage Against The Machine songs (No Shelter), for only $1.99. It also has songs from bands like Ben Folds Five and The Wallflowers. The biggest downside to buying used is trying to find what you’re looking for. You have to be willing to look around if what you want is not very popular, and be willing to wait if it’s not available. Newer CD’s can be difficult to find, but not impossible. Many people buy new albums and decide they don’t like them, so they sell it back before the resale value goes down.

Those are the two main ways I get new music. I have been considering buying used albums off Amazon, but unlike the local record store I can’t physically inspect the disc for scratches before I buy. Supposedly the Amazon mp3 download service is good too, and is free of DRM restrictions. But I have yet to try it since I can usually find higher quality CD’s for the same price or less. The big upside of download services such as iTunes and Amazon is their huge library, as well as being able to download a single song versus having to buy the entire album. There are many more places to get music that I haven’t tried, but if I ever find more good ones I’ll be sure to add them here. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment!