what is the DIY jubilee? it is the latest, newest money and lifestyle related blog carnival!

why another blog carnival?!

’tis true, there are at least a dozen strong, regular personal finance related blog carnivals, festivals, and fiestas out there. recently, however, i was reflecting on how wouldn’t it be nice if there was a central ‘repository’ of useful, interesting, cool, and/or excellent blog articles that focused on money-saving Do-It-Yourself tales?

the closest blog carnivals i can think of that are not far from possessing this characteristic might be the festival of frugality (which i do regularly participate in, and will be hosting next week), and make it from scratch. however, the latter is heavy on cooking and recipes, while the former is a more general, all-encompassing celebration of frugal-related matters.

what i was looking for, was a very specialized resource/niche, a subset that might be found from the festival, while being a superset of the ‘make it from scratch’ — something ‘in between’, one might say.

what is the DIY jubilee ?!

especially during these times of recession, many of us are finding ways to cut back on our expenses. this might include taking action ourselves for tasks that we normally might have done by someone else, or creating something with our own hands (or machines, etc.) rather than buying it from someone else.

how have you been DIY-ing?

the idea is that the project was done with the primary motivation being to save money.  my hope is that the editions will be accessible and appealing to money-conscious readers first.  enjoying the DIY task (while allowed of course!) is secondary.

how about some inspiring examples?!

to get some ideas for the type of articles i (and hopefully other future hosts) would be looking for, i culled the following from the general blogosphere:

• DIY clothesline from (past) hobbies here at fwp
  
• Free Info on Home Repair at blueprint for prosperity
• how to make homemade mouthwash at christian finance blog
• do it yourself car repair at tight-fisted miser
• the personal financier used manual labor and paint to make an old bed new
• homemade winter gifts by sound money matters

let’s participate!

like what you have read? excited about the premise? looking forward to offering what you’ve got, and peeking into what others might have to share? then submit your DIY related blog post from the past few months to the Do-It-Yourself Jubilee !

submissions guidelines:

• posts should be 200 words or more
• one post per submitter per blog
• posts should have been submitted to or will be submitted to no more than 2 OTHER blog carnivals.
• you must have written your own post — that is to say, submitter is author.
• article is from no older than 2 months
• relevant submissions that others might enjoy or benefit from are welcome
• photos encouraged (especially if your post is a ‘how-to’)!

sample submissions categories:

• how-to’s
• stories
• crafts
• home decor
• home improvement
• accessories
• miscellany
• in the kitchen*
• gifts
• other home
• office
• clothing
• in the garage
• resources
• ..and more!

the first issue will be posted on 11/24. the deadline is the saturday night before, 11/22 midnight PST.

the jubilee will have its own site coming soon.

please give this post some link love to help announce this exciting new blog carnival! thanks, and happy “Doing it Yourself”!

questions, comments?  please let me know below* !

*leaving a comment will qualify you to enter the current book giveaway that ends this saturday!

a week or two ago, i noticed a discrepancy in my transactions history online of my ING direct checking account.  i had just received an e-mail notice that my september estatement was ready, so i was taking a look.  there was a recent entry for a payment of $5.30 at the bakery cafe close to my work.

this caught my eye because i knew immediately this was not right.  i had paid $4.30 there.

the cafe, like many other businesses, has a minimum amount the customer must spend in order to be able to pay with a debit or credit card.  their minimum was $5.  i did not have (enough) cash that day.  my purchases amounted only to $4.30 — .70 cents short!  the cashier let it go that time for me, saying the amount ‘was close enough’.

once logged into an ING direct’s account(s) online, one can easily dispute a transaction:

1. click on the details of a particular transaction
2. click on the link that says, “Click here to submit a request to investigate / dispute this transaction”
3. be presented with the “Electric Orange Card Signature-based Dispute Form” form, where you select the reason from a drop down menu (at least 12 options), fill in the ‘notes’ area, and click on ‘continue’.

at the bottom of the page was a note requesting that i should print out, sign, and then mail/fax in a copy of the dispute form.  i saved that to my desktop for the time being.

within 48 hours later, i received an e-mail back from ING direct.  apparently they had already resolved the discrepancy — and i hadn’t even printed out the form yet!  their e-mail looked like the following:

from electric orange electricorange@ingdirect.com
date Thu, Oct 9, 2008 at 5:10 AM
subject ING Direct - [..] BAKERY CAFE

Dear [..],

We have credited your Electric Orange for $1.00 in response to your dispute notice.  We closed the dispute as resolved in your favor and no further action is required on your part.

Thanks,

Nicole
ING Direct
Customer: [..]
Subject: ING Direct - [..] BAKERY CAFE

i was taken aback.  oh!  i guess i don’t need to print out that paperwork after all — it’s been taken care of!  and sure enough, upon logging back into my ING direct account online, i was credited the $1.00.

perhaps it was because it was ‘only’ $1.00.  perhaps if it was say, $50, they would have waited for the printout to be mailed to them before taking action and wrapping things up.  or perhaps they had called the business to inquire, and the cafe had let the $1 go, claiming responsibility for the discrepancy.  or perhaps the mistake was on the bank’s part?  it could have been a host of other things.

regardless, it was resolved within two days.  i was impressed and pleased.

thanks ING direct, for your prompt service, and for having made that dispute as simple, painless, and straightforward as possible for me!

* * *

earn a $25 bonus just for opening up an ingdirect online account!  (must be an initial deposit of at least $250.)  please use the links below:

• the orange savings referral link!
• the orange checking referral link!
  

if you encounter any problems with the links, please contact me, and i can easily give you another.  thanks!

in a blog post recently at living almost large, the author questioned what happens in life after debt?

“I noticed a lot of people are very focused on getting out of debt.  They are “gazelle” intense and snowball or snowflake their debt out of their lives.  But what happens “after debt”?

When people become debt free does their lives change?  Are they able to revert back to their free spending ways or has their habits changed?  If their habits have changed and they have been used to budgeting, is it easy to flip into the mindset of saving?”

this intrigued me, and made me question my own plans.  i realized i didn’t yet have a concrete plan. i decided i didn’t need to wait until i finished paying off my debt in order to think about what i would do afterwards with the money i was using towards debt.  in fact, it may behoove me to consider this as soon as possible.

after some thought, i came up with various questions i believe we might be able to ask ourselves in order to plan for our lives after debt.

when will it be ‘post-debt’ ?

i hope to be out of debt by at the latest, end of 2010: april 2009 for my now $7700 personal and consumer loans, and the remaining college loans leisurely throughout 2009-10. by this point, i will more officially be able to help the SO with the mortgage payments. aside from the mortgage, i will consider myself debt-free when i am done paying off the personal and consumer loans.

what will be the status of my savings by ‘post-debt’?

• hopefully, my emergency funds will be somewhere between $2100 (if it gets dipped into, monthly deposits get smaller, etc.), to $5000+.
• my retirement accounts will hopefully still exist, despite the latest economic downturns.. if things look up over the next year and a half, then i may have at least $25,000-35,000.
• there is also the 529 college savings account.  i anticipate somewhere between 1500-2500 within the next year or two depending on the economy, and how much i continue contributing monthly.
• the SO and i may continue chipping in casually, slowly but surely, into our ‘japan fund’. by then hopefully we will already have gone to japan, but we may start over to save for another trip to say, scotland. it is difficult to say what we may save a fun fund for, aside from travel or recreation. the fund is to be used for something that will entertain both of us.

what do i believe i’d like to do when ‘post-debt’ begins?

after snowballing my way out of all my debts, i would like to do the following in order:

1. finish building up my emergency fund for 3-6 months’ worth
2. maximize contributions on my IRAs
3. increase amount i contribute to mortgage, utilities, and food payments from 1000 (now) to 2500
4. go over plans with SO on how we might pay house off sooner than later (30 year to 15 year mortgage?)
5. adopt 2 puppies

what do i need to do now to make those goals happen?

1. confirm my cash flow is assigned the best jobs in order to fulfill my plans as soon as possible
   1. bring down my current ira contributions to either 0 or 3% (employer match) only
   2. bring down contribution of 529 to minimum allowed
   3. ensure i am only paying minimum towards college loans
   4. ensure i am paying what i need to pay monthly in order to be consumer debt-free by april 2009
   5. include little brother payments in snowball plan
2. continue finding ways to cut back
3. continue snowballing and snowflaking
4. continue minimizing expenses
5. focus intensely on my financial goals lest i falter
6. keep up with the news in order that i may be aware of economic conditions
7. research and learn more about my various IRA options (roth versus traditional)
8. research and learn more about mortgages and how they work
9. research and learn more about investing in general

what immediate action steps should i jot down to refer to for quick reference the day of/after i am ‘post-debt’?

1. send the money i was using towards snowballing towards emergency fund
   increase amount towards IRA to minimum i need to max it out
2. re-evaluate academic plans, and increase amount towards 529 appropriately
3. send the difference of money i was using in #1 and now #2 towards mortgage and other house expenses
4. fund general brokerage accounts
5. fund fun funds
6. set aside money for donating to charity/tithing (international campaign for tibet, other)

in you’re broke because you want to be, larry winget wrote a great quote about plans:

“Broke happens when you don’t have a plan.”

i certainly do not want or plan to return to being ‘broke’.

with a plan, i feel as though i have more purpose.  there are goals beyond merely paying off my debt.  after debt reduction, i have wealth building to look forward to.  when in doubt, i can refer back to my plan here to remind myself where i am headed.

what about you?

do you have a plan?

have you considered these questions as well?

any questions i’ve forgotten?