His Hers Money

So as you may have read previously in this space, Hers and I will be heading to Jamaica in less than two weeks for a much-needed vacation. Neither of us has been there before and we are very much looking forward to. In order to be able to relax more we decided to go the all-inclusive route and will be staying at Sandals.

The price is most definitely not cheap. However, if we do it right and do not go adding on extras once we are there then I think it is reasonable. We get 3 meals a day and all drinks included while at the resort. Our plan is to mostly just relax on the beach or by the pool for the majority of our time there. This is not one of those vacations where we have a strict schedule of things to see. We just want to sit and enjoy each others’ company.

Now about those extras. Sandals offers everything from guided island tours, horseback riding, dinner ON the beach, and in-room massages. These are all great and obviously we would love to do them all. However, that is where most people make the mistake. They think “We’re on vacation, we should enjoy ourselves and do whatever we want!” The problem is that usually this is where they will pull out the plastic to pay for it as these were unplanned expenses on the trip. If you have things that you absolutely MUST do while on vacation make sure to budget for those expenses so that the month after you get back there is not a huge charge on your credit card that you can’t remember what it was for.

Once we return from our trip I’ll share with everybody how well we were able to limit our expenses.

As you had read before, we had set up a Smartypig account recently. I like the idea of it. I think the extra money from retail stores is really great for when you already have a specific item already in mind. However, if you change your mind or an emergency comes up, then you are stuck as the funds are not liquid.

Smartypig has stated that at some point they are going to allow you to EFT the funds back into the account from which you originally funded from. This was not the case when I went to close my account on 15 May. I was planning on getting Amazon gift cards as there is a speaker set that I’ve been saving for there. The process was easy and I was notified that any extra funds left over from the gift card purchase (they only allowed $25 increments) would be funded into an electronic Smartypig gift card that I could put towards my other savings goal.  That’s a nice feature.

My big complaint is that it supposedly will take 7-10 business days to get me a gift card! If they are indeed partnered with these companies, it should only take 1-2 business days to get the card in the mail to me. As of now I have not received the card. Now granted, we moved and the mail is forwarding so I will check the postmark when it comes but it’s disappointing.

In the future I’ll be forgoing Smartypig and just creating sub-accounts with ING. It will be slightly less return but it’s worth it for less headaches in using my money.

Like so many other people now I have received my stimulus check. Unlike Hers, I apparently don’t make too much money in the eyes of the government and got the full $600. Also unlike Hers, I plan on actually going out and using that money to have some fun!

You see, I have another large financial windfall that just finally came in as well. Ninety percent or so of that is going straight towards my credit card debt and will pay off between 65-70% of it. With some other additional income that I’ll be receiving from now through July, I will pay off my credit cards completely! That will leave me less than $8,000 in debt with just under $5,000 on my car loan, which we are seriously considering selling and living with one car.

This is also the first year that I’m planning on fully funding a Roth IRA or doing any real retirement investing. So Hers has obviously gotten me on the straight and narrow path towards financial independence. It’s great that we’re going on this journey together and I can’t wait to see where it ends up. I’m sure we’ll have a big post up soon as we’re about to go ahead and combine the checking accounts and bills, which obviously is a big step and also a pain in the rear.

So back to this extra check from the government. What am I doing with it? I’m going to Atlantic City and playing poker, blackjack, and any other game that I feel like at the time with a buddy who’s moving away very shortly! If I come back with money still in my pocket, then it will go straight into the emergency fund. I’m guessing that there are many PF bloggers out there who shudder at the thought of just ‘throwing’ that money away. I consider it entertainment with a great friend.

I’m actually a pretty decent poker player. Hers doesn’t like me playing that often and I respect her wishes, realizing I was risking too much when I had as much debt as I did. I just want to point out that poker is a game of skill and I actually made an extra $12,000 (yes I claimed it on my taxes) in 2006 from playing online. In the future I will discuss how people that like to play poker can do so without risking debt and going broke through what is called bankroll management. It’s sound money advice that I think most of you will get the idea behind right away.