Filed under: Cards, Debt, Tax

Lately the water-cooler discussion at work has been surrounding who the ultimate beneficiary of my rebate check will be. Knowing I am obsessed with technology, most of my co-workers assumed that I would take my $1,200 and head straight to Ideal Purchase in search of a larger TV. Others assumed I might pick up a batch of video games or an iPhone. In reality I used my rebate check for a much simpler and exciting purpose, and no, it wasn’t blown on quarter wings at Buffalo Wild Wings.

My wife and I spent our stimulus package on debt. Yep; unsexy, non-shiny, can’t-unwrap-it-debt. Of course we got there in part from spending on things like gifts, the occasional vacation and things you can unwrap as well as a super-fun MRI last year so getting there was fun anyway. From our actual tax return and our stimulus check we’ve knocked a nice chunk out of our credit card debt, even paying off one card in an attempt to snowball our way to wealth. The decision to pay down a credit card rather than pick up scrapbooking and electronic items was easier than at least I thought it would be.

Just as my fellow blogger Lita Epstein found that making an extra payment to her mortgage translated into savings above and beyond the initial payment, I know that knocking a grand off of my credit card debt no matter my current interest rate will save me even more in the months to come. This payment is part of our effort to be out of credit card debt by the end of the year. After that we can begin looking at our student loans!

I know this isn’t the most exciting use for the stimulus package, but It was the best use for us and made the most financial sense. Have you received your stimulus check yet? What are you using it for; Fun, debt reduction, starting an emergency fund, hookers?

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Filed under: Fun, Web services, Social Software

Believe us when we say that we know you’re sick of hearing about Twitter, but there’s a good reason it’s one of Download Squad’s favorite toys. We often find out about new software on Twitter before it gets blogged anywhere else, and the readers reap all the benefits. And did we mention that some people’s Twitter streams are flat-out hilarious? Favrd, a new service from Dean Allen, will help you find some of the best. It keeps track of which posts people are marking as favorites, so you only have to read the good stuff.

Dean also uses a mysterious algorithm to filter out “webcock,” a term he coined to describe “online-marketing, web-strategy, killer-startup cheerleaders/water-carriers.” This is sure to offend some people, but it keeps the focus of Favrd on people who use Twitter to entertain. To put it another way, a way that probably wouldn’t make it past Dean’s algorithm, Favrd is crowdsourcing comedy, and everybody wins.

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Filed under: Internet, Web services, Social Software, web 2.0

Desktop social networking client Sociagami has added two features that were noticeably absent from earlier builds: Twitter integration and support for updating your status from the application. When we first looked at Sociagami a few months ago, the software provided an attractive (but RAM-heavy) tool for interacting with your Facebook and MySpace contacts. You could see all of the latest status updaes in one place, navigate through your friend list in a slick browser, or view the latest pics uploaded by your contacts.

But without the capability to update your own status, Sociagami wasn’t nearly as useful as other desktop social networking tools like Digsby. The latest version includes a handy status update tool that lets you post to Facebook, MySpace, and Twitter simultaneously. If you only want to update one service, just uncheck two of the boxes.

The new Twitter client works pretty much exactly as you’d expect. You get a list of current messages from your contacts in one window, and you can sift through your contact list in the browser. One thing that sets Sociagami apart from Digsby is the fact that you can see all of your latest Twitter, MySpace, and Facebook messages in a single window.

But while Digsby already has a reputation as a RAM-heavy application, at least that utility also gives you email notification alerts and an instant messenger application, two features that Sociagami lacks. Still, we’re happy to report that Sociagami continues to get a bit better with each release, so we’re not ready to give up on this application just yet.

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Filed under: Borrowing, Debt, Real Estate

Ok. So it’s been a while. Actually it’s been a very long time. I know most of you didn’t even realize that I was gone, but I know for a FACT that a couple of you missed me.

I fell into a hole. Not a rut…a hole; and it was a huge one. I had pretty much given up and had decided to just move on. The bills piled up and we began falling behind. Fell behind on the mortgage, fell behind on the utilities. It was perhaps the furthest I had fell. Don’t mistake, I’m still not back on my feet. I am close though. Very close.

If you can back remember far enough , we’d decided to sell our home. Seemed like the ideal thing to do at the time. A lot of things have changed though. Well, this day they changed even more.

About a month ago we decided to get caught up. After all, it’s easier to keep up than it is to play catch up. We decided to keep the house, but were going to need help. We decided to move out of the home and into the in-laws home. During this time we would keep making our mortgage payments, keep in mind that we were already behind almost two months. We temporarily suspended our utilities so that we could catch up. This would give us a lot of extra income to catch up and help get ahead.

You might notice I stated, “almost two months” behind. Well as of last week we hit that second month. Not something I’m particularly proud of, but it’s reality now. When it comes down to living, some things take priority. You might be thinking, “What takes priority over your house?” Life. Life does. You can’t pay bills if you don’t work. You can’t work if you don’t have gas. Children have to eat. Hell, I have to eat. It would start off just taking a few bucks for gas. Then a few more for food. Then a bill came due, next thing you know it’s gone. I know your going to call it bad money management. Please don’t…I know I’m not the only one to ever go through this problem.

So I called up the mortgage company. Told them we were having problems with our current payment and also pointed out that our rate was supposed to go up at the end of this year. I was brutally honest with the guy. I had no shame. I’m past the point of having shame. Was I looking for a handout? No, just help…thats all. After 45 minutes of conversation, we came to a number. This number lifted a load off my chest. I write about this now, and it’s not even a guarantee, but it’s a sign they’re going to work with us. The number was signifigantly lower than our current mortgage payment. Currently we pay about $840 a month, they are trying to lower it to $630 a month for three years. After these three years it will revert back to the old amount.

It’s a begin. If this deal goes through, we’re still going to stay at the in-laws house until we get caught up. We think it’s the right thing to do.

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Filed under: Budgets, Debt, Saving, Simplification

Open any cookbook published before, say, 1965. The recipes all make mention of how to make the dish inexpensively, using inexpensive cuts of meat, and canned vegetables because they were cheaper than fresh. The idea of “Thrift” was alive and well, and the idea that a housewife should look for ways to stretch the family budget was lauded as a virtue.

We snicker at such old-fashioned values this day, even as we hold dear the nostalgia for a “simpler” time. Sometime in the last few generations, the fiscal conservatism our grandparents practiced as a matter of course went out the window with the rotary phones. A provocative article in Canada’s Financial Post asks what happened?

Laurie Campbell, executive director of Credit Canada, has a simple answer for what happened to thrift: “It became old fashioned, sadly,” she told the Post. Credit counselors don’t see much thrift and when they do it tends to be from older people., she said. For young people, “it’s not cool to be thrifty,” Campbell said in the article. “To be honest, I don’t think they know the meaning of the word thrift.”

And that’s in Canada. You have to presume that here in the States, it’s even worse. Since 2005, savings rates for both countries have dipped into the negative. The last time that happened was during the Great Depression — when people simply didn’t have jobs. These days, we’ve no such good excuse.

At least two generations have come of age with access to credit cards and the omnipresent American mantra of “Shop ‘Til You Drop.” It’s the rare individual who is able to keep their desire for immediate gratification in check, and that’s been great for an economy largely fueled by consumer spending.

Alas, our spendthrift ways are coming home to roost. You could view the current global credit crisis as the hideous end result of our playing fast and loose with money. When it all shakes out, frugality could make a comeback as a great American characteristic.

What do you think? Is thrift the new black?

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Filed under: Banks, Budgets, Debt, The Dolans, Bankruptcy

Ken and Daria Dolan, America’s First Family of Personal Finance, answer your money questions each Friday.

Dear Ken and Daria,

We have $45,000 in credit card debt and my husband just lost his job. What do we do?

Lori

Ken and Daria Dolan have the tools and advice you need to get out - and stay out - of debt. Learn more at Dolans.com.

Click here to ask Ken and Daria your question.

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