1. No, everyone is NOT doing it.

2. Because it will, eventually, catch up with you.

3. You find greater happiness from little things – especially when you’re not trying to one-up what you did yesterday.

4. Financially stretched = emotionally stressed.

5. The Jones’ are about to run out of money. Why keep up with them?

6. Hey – did you hear? There’s a recession out there. It isn’t cool to spend money you don’t have anymore.

7. Once you take control, you can spend on the things you enjoy and, since you can afford them, you’ll enjoy them even more.

8. Savings give you options. Who doesn’t like having choices?

9. It’s kind of fun to have a bank account with more digits before the decimal point than after it.

10.  If you spend less when you make more, you can spend more when you make less.

More than two years ago I posted Your Problem Isn’t Starbucks, emphasizing the importance of Saving Strategy # 5: Major on the major, minor on the minor.  Working with Ode Magazine, I created a video further illustrating the importance of the strategy. I think you’ll find it simultaneously liberating and motivational.  Am I right?

I just finished reading 15 most hated fees at CNNMoney.com.  Included on their list are many you’ve heard before such as:

• baggage fees
• termination fees charged by cell phone companies if you cancel before your contract ends.

Neither of those fees bug me, however.

You: Why not?

Because they’re not hidden.

You: Meaning?

I know about them well in advance and choose whether to pay them.

You: Why would you ever choose to pay a fee?

I typically don’t.  But I have done so.

You: When? Why?

Baggage Fees

For example, I usually don’t check a bag when I travel for business.  Most of my trips are short enough that I can fit everything in a carry-on. (I have always traveled light, even before advent of baggage fees).  But I once had an 11-day business trip.  Carrying everything in one small bag wasn’t in the cards, so I checked my one bag.

You: So you paid the fee.

Yes, which was no big deal. When I shopped air fare, I knew that the airline I selected charged the fee and, even with it, would prove to be the least expensive option with a reasonable itinerary.  Next month, I am traveling with my entire family and we’ll pay baggage fees on that flight too. So what?  It’s as though the airfare was a bit more expensive, but I included the fee when I determined this was the best option.  Why do people complain about fees disclosed in advance?

Termination Fees

You:  What about cell phone termination fee charges? Those are annoying.

I don’t pay those.

You: Why not?

Because, as you said, they’re annoying.

You: How do you avoid them?

Easy, I just fulfill the contract. Then, if I’m in the mood for a change, I switch carriers.  The carrier can’t increase my rate during the contract term and I can’t quit without a paying them a fee. Seems perfectly reasonable to me.  A contract is a contract. No one forces you to sign it.

Yet there are some other charges we allegedly hate, according to the article, including:

Low/No Activity Fees

I would never pay a fee for not charging enough on my credit card.  Wow – that would annoy me.

You:  Is it fair?

Yes.  But I wouldn’t pay it – I would cancel the card.  More likely, however, is that I would never face that fee in the first place.

You: Why not?

Because I have two credit cards and I  use them both. If I had another credit card and wasn’t using it, I would cancel it, even if I didn’t face the prospect of the fee.

Frequent Flier Mile Fees

I don’t recall ever having to pay to pay to use my frequent flier miles, but I’m pretty sure I’d be annoyed by anything advertised as free that wound up not being so.  This would be especially true if the deal changed over time, which it appears is the case with US Airways.

Annuity Fees

I don’t pay these. I’m not a big fan of annuities for non-retirees anyway so no annuity fees for me.

Credit Card Rewards Reinstatement Fees

Easily avoid: pay your bill on time. You shouldn’t need a reward to do so – basic financial responsibility.  This fee is reasonable.

Closing an IRA Fees

Paying to close an IRA is an evil fee in most cases.

You: How could this not be an evil fee?

I can see it being fair if you open your account on Monday and close it on Friday. The financial services firm is taking a big hit on you there. But, short of that highly improbable scenario, this is not a reasonable fee.  You can still avoid the impact of it, however, as the article suggests, by negotiating for the company to which you are moving your assets to pay the fee to get your business.

You: But -

Not moving your money but instead cashing out your IRA to buy a car you obviously can’t afford? I have no sympathy – you are hereby deemed fee-worthy.

Mutual Fund Marketing On You Fee

The 12b-1 fees charged by many mutual funds do nothing to help existing shareholders.  Such fees are a concept that have passed their time. Yet they, too, are well disclosed. Don’t like them? Choose different funds.  See? Now I even have homework.

Want more? Here are my 10 stupid and careless ways to waste money, Ten Ways to Save Money While Ruining Your Life, and my Top 10 Most Annoying Ways to Lose A Little Money.

What fees do you deem worthy and absurd?

One of my relatives recently was charged a substantial fee for rolling his 401(k) plan out to an IRA.  In my opinion, that’s total nonsense, even if it’s disclosed.  It’s the equivalent of an “account closing fee.” Can you imagine?

You: I’d like to close my account.

Bank: I see you have $100 in your account so sorry, you can’t.

You: Excuse me?

Bank: We charge $100 to close accounts here.

You: That’s ridiculous.

Bank: It’s our policy.

You: So if I keep it open or if I leave it here, it’s the same for me, isn’t it?

Bank: Yes.

You: I’ll keep it open until you change your policy.

Bank: Very well then.

It’s as though you can’t win – you can only delay the inevitable.

You: It feels awful.

I agree. Jeremy at Taking Charge (a blog affiliated with creditcards.com) wrote of his experience trying to handle basic financial transactions and the onslaught of fees.  It’s an enjoyable read and not just because I’m quoted.  I give a couple of tips to avoid the headaches, including not dealing with banks for the types of transactions he was undergoing.

Rather than trying to get out of fees, choose vendors that don’t charge them in the first place.

What do you do to avoid silly fees?

The sign says “Pay nothing until 2012!”

You: Seems to be good to be true.

And, therefore, it probably is.

You: I knew that.  But why, again?  I mean for, ah, my friend . . .  could you explain it again?  She didn’t think it was a bad idea.

I’d be happy to help your friend.  Tell her to read Why a ’same as cash’ deal is NOT the same as paying with cash

The post you are now reading is my 400th post at the Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck blog.

You: Is that a lot?

It is to me.

You: Do you like blogging?

Do you like vegetables?

You: Usually, but not always.

Blogging is like eating vegetables.  Blogging today is more enjoyable than unusual, however, since, it’s my first post with the new blog re-design.  What do you think?  Please let me know in the comments field.

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This week’s carnival of personal finance, hosted by Money Crashers, features many excellent reads including my recent post about how the First time home buyer tax credit may actually expire. Another great piece, written by Patrick at CashMoneyLife, discusses The Early Adopters Tax.  Patrick describes his decision to delay purchases, particularly those made by Apple (iPod, iPhone), and the hardware savings which result from his choices.  No doubt, early adopters, particularly those in technology, pay a steep price for buying first generation products, as manufacturer runs are short and the resulting costs passed on to consumers are high.

Doubt me?

Just think about how much your first laptop cost.  How many (significantly more powerful) laptops could buy today for the same amount of money? For me, the answer is about five.

Of course, delaying unnecessary purchases can save you money in an number of circumstances.  Several months ago, I brought my car to a free safety inspection and was told of a myriad of recommended repairs and services.  Nothing was super time sensitive but, given my intention to drive my car until it drops, it’s age (8 yrs), and current mileage (about 90K), routine maintenance is a good investment.  Nonetheless, I’ve been waiting for the right time to get the work done.  Yesterday, I received the best coupon by email I’ve ever received from the place I get most of my repairs done – 20% off so long as it’s done this week (they must have a slow period).  So I shuffled a few things around on my schedule and I’ll save a big chunk of money in the process.  Furthermore, the routine maintenance should delay the amount of time it will take before I have to, one day, swallow the pill and replace this car.  In the meantime, I’m doing everything I can keep the car in good shape at the lowest possible ownership cost.

What purchases have you delayed, but ultimately made, in which your waiting saved you some money?

You have to love the lesson Matt from Taking Charge shares in his Blogger wakes corporate giant, helps secure long-sought refund.  It’s my favorite article from this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance, hosted by Studenomics.  My article, Welcome to the fourth quarter: Five suggested tasks before New Year’s, was also featured.

In Matt’s brief article, he reminds us that the same old ways of dealing with big company buracracies often no longer work.  Although Matt is a blogger who may have more distribution channels for his unresolved problems than the otherwise normal people who do not spend countless hours sharing their views with whomever might read them, anyone can reach out to a blogger or other media source for assistance.

It’s easy to believe that the customer service 800 number is your only option. In my opinion, it should be only your first. However, if you receive unsatisfactory service after a polite but firm explanation of your rational case, move on.

This applies not only in Matt’s failure to receive a refund but also when trying to negotiate a lower credit card bill, or as my brother has perfected, receiving compensation from airlines for their mishaps.

Remember, the old rules don’t apply.  Often, in unexpected situations.

Saturday night, just before bed, I felt like something was in  my eye. I couldn’t get it out so I went to bed, hoping it was nothing. Long story short, it kept me up several hours the last two nights (although the daytime hours of Sunday weren’t too bad).  Still, had Sunday been a workday, I would have seen my eye doctor – it just didn’t seem bad enough to warrant an emergency room visit.

Still, I got an appointment first thing this morning. Upon seeing my eye, now red enough to anger a bull, the eye doctor immediately says, “You know we have someone on call all weekend, right?”

A failure to think out of the box can occur in just about every part of your life.  Make sure you look for it.

You: You’re watching pre-season basketball?

No.  Honestly, I might even watch golf first.

You: What’s wrong with watching golf?

I find it more boring than the prospect of playing it.

You: Wow.  So what’s with the “fourth quarter” reference then?

I’m talking about the fourth quarter of the year, which begins today.  For better or worse, many companies – especially those which are publicly traded – tend to focus on a time period of three months.

You: Why is that?

Typically, corporate earnings must be reported on that basis.  While much has been written  about how quarterly reporting leads to short-term thinking at the expense a of proper long-term outlook, such criticisms typically don’t provide an alternative frequency for managing goals.  While I agree that three months is often way too short to judge an entire company’s progress, Beyond Paycheck to Paycheck is a personal finance blog (and book).  When it comes to personal finances, three months IS long enough to assess your progress towards your goals.

New Year’s Day is exactly three months away.  You have an entire quarter of 2009 remaining.  That’s enough time to make a sizable difference in what your financial situation looks like when you once again make those resolutions.  Here are some suggestions for what you can easily accomplish between now and then (if you’ve already done some of these things, congrats – less to do!):

• Q4 Task  # 1: Start saving. If you’ve already started saving, try to save some more.   Either way, remember: Save early, save often.

• Q4 Task # 2: Begin paying down your debt. But do it with a strategy.  The most important rule of debt management is to Get rid of expensive debt first.

• Q4 Task # 3: Decrease your income tax refund. If you consistently receive a sizable income tax refund, stop the madness. A refund does not represent the government giving you money. Instead, a refund is the government giving you your money back because you allowed them to take too much all year long.  A tax refund is not a savings program.

• Q4 Task # 4: Take advantage of your match. I’ve yet to meet a more compelling retirement planning opportunity than the 401(k) match.  The only reason you might not be taking advantage of the match is because you lack a fundamental understanding of how it works. Change that, first by reading An employer-match is not a corporate dating service. Then do something about it.

• Q4 Task # 5: Make sure you and your family are protected. This could mean insurance. it might also mean passing on insurance.  The most important rule of insurance: don’t risk a lot for a little.  Second most important, don’t pay to protect what you can easily afford to lose.

Just five little things to do to really begin to get your personal finances in order.  None of them will take very long nor require much money.  Just a small investment of both and you’re on your way.  It doesn’t have to be today or tomorrow, but give yourself a deadline.  There’s a quarter of this year left – plenty of time to take the lead in life’s “game” of personal finance.

You: Wait a second. This is a personal finance blog. Why are you weighing in on health care reform?

First, I’m not actually weigh in on what plan should be followed.  Rather, I am reporting some observations about our behavior. Second, health care reform is very much a financial planning topic.

You: How so?

In several ways. Here are just a few:

• The largest issue concerning health care reform is health insurance. While the debate about health insurance is both variable and plentiful (e.g., its affordability, administration, even its very existence), health insurance remains the number one issue of health care reform.  Long time readers know that insurance is a cornerstone personal financial planning topic.

• Health care reform is extremely likely to cause changes in what we pay for medical services.  This is both a cash-flow issue (changes in co-pays, deductibles, and premiums) and a tax issue (since surtaxes, to help pay for reform, and penalties, to ensure compliance, are under discussion). Again, cash-flow and tax are major components to sound financial planning.

• Changes to flexible spending plans (like the elimination of their use for non-prescription medicines) are also under consideration.  This gets at benefit planning, yet another key financial planning topic.

I could certainly go on.

You: I get the point.  Health care reform will definitely affect most people’s finances.

Right.

You: So you’ve explained how health care reform is a personal finance topic, but not why are people so rude when discussing health care reform.

As was reported in Friends Don’t Let Friends Bring Up Health Care, a wonderful article first appearing in The Wall Street Journal earlier this week, causes for overtly rude behavior include the Internet and our role models.

You: The Internet?  Why?

As the article reports and you may have observed, people write things online they would never say to a person’s face.

You: Did you see the town hall meetings on TV?

I sure did and point taken.  Now multiply it by a million and you have some idea of the scale of rudeness permeating sites like Facebook (supposedly, and quite ironically only connecting you with friends), and Twitter.

You: Is it really a problem?

I think so.  I do my best to stay apolitical except among my closest friends and family.  I don’t participate in political discussions with people I don’t know, let alone potential clients or supporters.  But not everyone else checks themselves in that way.  (Not to say my approach is better, but it has its merits.). Have you ever hid someone’s comments on Facebook or stopped following someone on Twitter because of their relentless one-sided presentation of their opinions?   I have – and not just those I’ve disagreed with!

Other reasons for the rude behavior, in my opinion, include:

• Health care reform is going to affect our pocketbooks, no matter the final outcome. Most people must very work hard for their money and want it choose how to spend it.  No matter which course is taken, we will cede some control of our money as a result of health care reform.  (We may also cede greater control of our medical care, but I don’t get the sense we’re as upset about that possibility as the possibility of losing more control of our money).  Feeling like one is losing control can often lead to rude behavior.

• Health care reform is really complicated. Health care reform touches nearly every part of the government and our personal affairs.  It simply cannot be addressed adequately in a four minute cable news interview, let alone a sound bite on the 6PM news.  Yet the media’s desire to give us what we want (quick one-liners we can both repeat to our friends and help us convince ourselves we actually understand the true complexity) leads an endless sea of frustration.  After all, every sound bite can be countered with another.  True philosophical conversations around health care reform are much harder than they were about responding to the attacks on 9/11 or Pearl Harbor (though there were critics of our action following both of those events as well).  Things seemed easier to understand, no matter which side of the issue you were on.  When people are more confused yet feel forced to take an opinion, they are more likely to become rude when challenged.

• Most people don’t like uncertainty and we have a lot of that already.  Due to the economic meltdown and related rise in unemployment, there was growing unease well before the health care reform debate really got going. Now we’re forming opinions during a time when we’re a bit less unsettled than we were a couple of years ago.  At best, it’s a bit uncomfortable  At worst, it’s stressful. People are more likely to be rude when they’re stressed.

You’ve just read Pandora’s box. Feel free to open your can of worms and place your comment below.  Bonus points if you can keep it civil.

I had one heck of a long weekend over the Labor Day holiday.

You: What did you do?

Being that the weekend represents the unofficial end of summer –

You: Why is that?

First, because school starts right afterward. Second, because it’s already getting cool here in New Hampshire.

You: Seriously?

Seriously. On a bike ride early yesterday morning I actually thought “I’d be a bit more comfortable with gloves on right now.”

The weather was gorgeous over the past weekend, and we were thrilled to stay around town.

Friday Night

Last Friday night I took my daughter for a walk after dinner and wound up across the street in the neighbor’s yard for a nice chat.  After my wife got the girls down to bed and I mowed the lawn, my wife and I just chilled in the house.

Total Friday Night Spending: $0

Saturday

On Saturday morning my wife got up wicked early.

You: Wicked?

It’s New England for “very.”  Anyway, she got up with the sun to go on a run.  I fed the kids until she got back and then left to play “basketball” (from about 7:30 until 9.)

You: Why is basketball in quotes?

Basketball is a game played by basketball players. “Basketball” is the game I play.

After hoops, I met my wife and girls at the playground, which being across the street from the farmer’s market my family attended while I was playing basketball—

You: You mean “basketball.”

Point taken. Anyway, the playground was beaming with activity. Not surprisingly, we ran into several people we knew.

We got back to the house for lunch. Soon after, my brother arrived for a visit from Connecticut.  When my youngest daughter woke up from a nap, we all went to the beach.  There’s almost nothing better in the world than watching little kids play on the beach. Bonus: with my brother there, I was actually able to abdicate child-care responsibilities for about 10 minutes and go for a swim in the ocean.

You: Why only ten minutes?

It’s New Hampshire; the water’s cold!

You: Oh, right.  Probably wicked cold.

Nice use of the word “wicked.”  On the way back to the house from the beach, we decided to get some pizza from a local place we order from periodically. Great stuff!  After woofing down the pizza and getting the girls down, we all hung out talking and catching up.  A good time.

Recap of Saturday and Saturday night activities: Run (wife), basketball (self), playground, visit from family, beach, pizza dinner

Total Saturday/Saturday Night Spending: $28 (pizza)

Sunday

After breakfast on Sunday, walked downtown.  Well, my brother, my wife, and I walked.  The baby was in the stroller and the 4-year old was on her bicycle.  On the way, my brother noticed that her tires seemed to be flat.  A quick squeeze verified there was almost no air in either of her tires.  So we redirected our walk over to the gas station to get air (my pump broke a while ago).  I was slightly outraged to learn that both of the two nearby gas stations charged $0.75 for air.

You: There was a charge for air?

Yes.

You: And you paid for it?

Yes.

You: How can you possibly give saving advice if you’re paying for air.

Um.

You: Stuck?

Kind of.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but what was I supposed to do?

You: Couldn’t blow air into these tires, I suppose?

No.

You: Okay, you’re off the hook for now, but if this becomes a habit, we’re going to have to talk.

Fair enough.  Anyway, we went downtown to a park down by the river –

You: Isn’t that something Chris Farley said?

In fact, yes.  But I suspect this is a slightly nicer area.

You: Hope so.

Anyway, we hung out at this nice park for a bit and walked back home for lunch.

While the baby napped, the rest of us hung out in the backyard, enjoying the fresh air and pleasant company.  After my brother left and the baby awoke, we decided we’d go downtown to a restaurant where we could eat outside by the water.

You: Sounds nice.

It is. I love eating outside.  Since summer is ending, there are very few more left to do this. We had a great meal.  Then we went home, got the kids off to bed and relaxed, just my wife and I.

Recap of Sunday and Sunday Night Activities: Walk downtown, enjoy riverside park, hang out with family, enjoy outside air (not to mention swingset), delicious dinner by the water

Total Sunday/Sunday Nigh Spending: $7

You: How does all of that cost only $7? You went out to dinner!

Nothing else besides dinner on that list costs money.  As to dinner, I had some frequent dining points.

You: What the heck are those?

My town is so cool that many of the independent restaurants joined forces and created a loyalty program.  Over the four years I’ve been here, I’ve accumulated some points and decided to cash some of them in.  (By the way, the $7 was a nice tip, showing you that the restaurant wasn’t too expensive in the first place.)

Monday

Monday was more of the same.  We went on a hike we’d never done before with the girls, this one by the harbor.  Then we came home for lunch and the baby’s nap. Late afternoon was spent teaching the four year old how to shoot hoops (on a 5’ hoop) and how to hit a softball with a baseball bat.  She’s not bad at either!  My wife made a great dinner and we talked about how fun the weekend was,

Recap of Monday and Monday Night Activities: Hike, teaching my daughter two new sports, hanging out with my wife at night, delicious home-cooked meal

Total cost for Monday: $0.

Weekend Summary

It was never a specific objective to spend so little money this weekend. I will confess I did have a goal of wanting to stay close to home, as I had traveled recently.

When people wonder how it is that others can have a good time without spending a ton of money, I wonder how it is that they ever came to believe doing so would even be remotely difficult.

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Can you copy any of these ideas?  Add your own?  Who’s crazy – me or the people who can’t figure this out?

Before any new readers think I’m some uber frugal guy, here’s an article that includes five ways I am utterly fiscally irresponsible