In exactly 152 days, I’ll be headed to the airport to make my first international flight to kick off my study abroad experience in Italy. Besides my first international flight, it’ll be my first attempt at living by myself. I’m pumped for this adventure, it’s basically the only thing keeping me motivated for school right now! Although the trip has been in the works for close to 5 months now, I still have a ton of stuff to do – one of which is buy a plane ticket.

My Options

1 – Take the group flight over to Torino. The price is around $2000 round trip, with me coming back to the states on May 13th. BUT… the flight leaves from Chicago. That means I’d have to buy a separate ticket just to get there. The benefit of this flight though is that I’d be with a dozen other people headed to the same place.

2 – Take an independent flight. I’ve seen prices closer to $800-$1200 on sites like Priceline and Kayak, making this option extremely cheap compared to the group flight. I just have to make sure I arrive at the right time or I’ll miss the program pickup.

I’m 99% sure I’ll make my own arrangements, but I’m not committing to anything yet. A difference of $1,000 or more is a lot of money!

Is there any reason why the group flight makes more sense? If I buy my own ticket, when’s the best time to do it? I need to be in Torino by Spetember 2nd.
P.S – I participated in the 302nd Carnival of Personal Finance: Opening Day Edition over at Money Beagle. You can see my post, along with numerous others, at that link.

When I made the decision to commute to school instead of live on campus, my main reason was cost. Paying roughly $8,000 to live relatively close to home didn’t make financial sense. It made even less sense when I firmly committed to studying abroad. I’d rather borrow the money for study abroad next year. It was a small sacrifice, since I was never pumped to live in a dorm to begin with. I didn’t think that the commute would be much of a problem. Turns out I was naive.

My 2nd quarter exam week is wrapping up and after driving 29 miles one way for 6 months now, I’ve realized that I never, ever, want a long commute. Never. My trip takes 30 minutes and even that is annoying. I can’t imagine driving an hour or a kill-me-now 2 hour grind. I don’t know how those people do it. The driving itself isn’t the problem. It’s the lost time. The stress of dealing with idiots other drivers that creeps up on you. The general inconvenience.

The distance away from my school also curbed me from participating in any clubs or evening study sessions. Most meeting times were either way after my last class let out or hours before I needed to be on campus for class. For a few brief seconds, I once considered driving to campus for class, driving home, and then driving back to campus to attend what probably would have been a 20 minute meeting. HAHA. Saying I have dumb ideas sometimes is an understatement.

At this point, 30 minutes is my max drive. Unless the job pays ridiculously well. Then we’ll talk. Or if part of my actual job (see: driving on company time) requires travel.

What kind of commute time are you dealing with? Would you take a lower salary if it was less? How much more would you want if you had to drive longer?

Last week, I took a small vacation with some friends to Cedar Point and Marble Lake in Michigan. The trip required driving almost 700 miles and as you can guess, road trips can get pretty expensive if you don’t plan ahead. Here are some ways to make a trip as cheap as possible while still having a good time.

Split gas - This is a no brainer, but make sure everyone in the group is cool with splitting the cost of gasoline. You don’t want to volunteer to drive and have your friends assume you’re also okay with paying for all of the fuel. Many cars will even keep track of how many gallons you use, so calculating everyone’s share is easy.

Avoid fast food - Fast food is convenient and usually tastes good, but isn’t all that cheap. Instead, pack a cooler with plenty of beverages and snacks. Lunch meat and bread will allow you to completely avoid fast food.

Limit stops – Avoid stopping unless you really need to. Every break at a rest area will tempt you to spend money – usually on junk food from vending machines. Gas usage will also increase if you’re constantly getting on and off the highway.

Consider getting a GPS unit- GPS makes long distance driving so much easier. These days, any basic unit will have plenty of features for most people. No more trying to read a map while driving or hoping you don’t miss an exit. At the end of the trip, just tap “Go Home” and you know you’re on the (correct) way.

Use your connections - To really drive down the cost of traveling, see if you have a family member or friend who will let you stay with them for free. This won’t work in all situations, but when it does, you’ll save a ton.

Plan, but not too much – My friends and I planned our trip pretty well, but not everything was perfect. We knew that pop would be way more expensive in Michigan, so we bought some in Ohio. But we underestimated how much gas we would use for the trip. Life goes on.

Prius owners and hypermilers, you’re not going to want to hear this. You should probably consider leaving now or at least scrolling down to avoid this post…

I drive a Ford Explorer. It’s a mid-size SUV, weighing about 4,200 pounds. For comparison, a Honda Civic weighs about 2,200 pounds. I get roughly 17 miles per gallon in mixed (city/highway) driving.

But I still like my SUV.

That probably sounds odd from someone who writes a personal finance blog. I won’t pretend that SUVs are good for one’s finances (or the environment). They’re not. Even with that admission, I still feel confident that I’d buy another SUV, if I was in the market for a new vehicle – and could afford it!

Humor me, if you will, while I try to justify my choice of automobile.

1. The Room!

The front seats are ridiculously comfortable. There’s so much space! I have plenty of head and leg room, with no need for compromising. Although I’ve never ridden in them, I imagine the back row of seats is plenty comfortable. At least, none of my passengers have ever complained.

While my SUV “only” seats five, it can also hold my friends’ book bags, gym bags, and all other types of bags. So if we ever want to go anywhere together, it’s nice to have the space for all of our stuff.

2. The Utility!

I don’t tow a boat every weekend, but I do occasionally go biking with friends and we were once able to fit three bikes (and three people) inside my Explorer. I also needed to carry some supplies for a science project last year and there’s no way they would have fit in a typical sedan. I also use 4 wheel drive in the winter and it’s definitely an advantage.

3. The View!

I can see everything! I’ve driven a friend’s Chevy Cavalier and I’m not a fan. For one, I felt like I was sitting just a few inches above the road. Then, I had trouble seeing out the back and the sides. And my knees were up to the steering wheel.

4. The Safety!

Yes, I know large vehicles take longer to stop and aren’t awesome at quick maneuvers. But in an actual collision, I’d prefer to be in the bigger vehicle. You aren’t going to catch me in a Smart For Two when Chevy Tahoes are being driven by distracted soccer moms. The rollover issue is something I’m not too concerned about. Mainly because most rollovers occur because the driver did something stupid: turned too quickly, over corrected, or didn’t slow down for the curve. I can prevent all of those by driving responsibly. I can’t, however, do anything to stop another driver from t-boning me.

About Those Environmental Costs…
It’s not that I hate the environment. I don’t. The pictures from the BP oil spill are horrible. But for now at least, I enjoy my SUV. If it makes those of you who are shaking your head right now at my gas guzzling tendencies feel any better, I will be paying out the ass for gasoline in just a week or so. Oh, did I forget to mention that my dad has paid for all of my gasoline during high school?

I’m not making my case any stronger, am I? Here I am telling everyone how awesome my SUV is while I don’t have to pay any of the costs. How very American of me… Don’t worry, as a graduation present of sorts I’m guessing, my father has informed me that he’ll no longer be footing the bill after Sunday.

Anyway, gas is expensive. In my area, it’s currently hovering around $2.42 a gallon and I’m filling up once a week. So I’m looking at an expense of about $150-$200 every month. That’s a decent chunk of change and I’m no doubt paying for the privilege of owning a big vehicle.

I’ve talked a few times about why an emergency fund is important. And I’ve talked about how awesome ING Direct is as a place to keep your emergency cash – and I swear it’s not because of the sweet bonuses they hand out. Honest.

However, I’ve never had the need to actually use the e-fund. In fact, I hadn’t really funded it that much. I know, outrageous. Here I am preaching and then not practicing it. But hear me out – I wasn’t working from February to April so I had an income of about zero. Now that I’m working for The Fed, I’m saving $150 from each and every weekly paycheck I receive.

The benefits of it have already showed up. I got my oil changed the other day. During the courtesy check, the mechanic noticed that my passenger side sway link bar is toast – it’s not attached to my vehicle. At all.

The repair isn’t very expensive – about $60 bucks for parts and labor, so I’m planning to get it done it done within the next few days. Even better, I have the cash sitting in my emergency fund. Then when I get paid, I’m going to refill the account with $210 – $150 for the normal contribution and $60 to replace what was spent.

Even though the repair was inexpensive this time and I can easily cover it with my regular paycheck, it feels good knowing that my emergency fund is in place for things like this. Next time, which hopefully isn’t for a long long time, the expense could be larger.

Still hustlin’ along to reach $1000 in emergency savings…

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but just in case you weren’t aware – I’m a runner. No, not a sprinter. That’s for pansies. Just kidding. Kind of. I run long distances. During all my junior high and high school years, I’ve been a member of the cross country team. In HS, races are 3.1 miles (5K). Day-to-day runs were in the neighborhood of 4-8 miles.

What’s this have to do with personal finance you ask? Well, I want people to be aware that it’s possible to exercise without breaking the bank. Many sports and forms of exercise are a constant drain on one’s finances. Golf requires clubs to be bought. Gyms have membership fees. Baseball needs bats and gloves.

Running however, in my opinion, is a much cheaper (if not frugal) sport to “play”.

To start running, you need:

• a pair of decent running shoes
• a plan

The shoes don’t need to be ridiculously expensive. I require motion control shoes because my feet naturally roll in, which can lead to injuries. They usually cost about $80-$100. If you’re more genetically gifted, you should be fine in a cheaper neutral running shoe. Thanks to the Internet, you can usually fine deals from stores like Zappos.com and Runningwarehouse.com

Other than shoes, you honestly don’t need to buy anything else.

The following is a list of things that are nice, but by no means necessary:

Digital watch – You will probably want to pick up one of these once you start increasing distances and want to measure your (hopeful) decrease in time. Also useful for races.

Moisture-wicking tops/bottoms/socks (Nike Dri-FIT, Under Armour, etc.) – I read a lot of articles on the Internet that say moisture-wicking clothes are a necessity, but I disagree. I own a few shirts made from these materials and it is no doubt nice to have, especially on long runs (about 6+ miles or an hour). However, I run most of the time wearing plain cotton t-shirts and they are only bothersome are extremely hot and humid days.

Sunglasses – Glare is annoying anytime, but more so when running. However, it’s not unbearable. Only purchase nice running sunglasses once you know you’re serious. The Oakley brand is popular with many runners, but they do come at pretty steep cost.

Hydration packs – These devices allow you to carry water on your body so you always have liquids available. But, few runners will need to drink anything while running unless they’re pushing past an hour to hour and a half. Save this for when you’re marathon training.

Protein gels – Some swear by them, but these aren’t a magical run fast pill. Best during serious training – after hard workouts to maximize recovery.

Heart rate monitor - Great for stat junkies, but definitely an unneeded luxury for beginners.

All of these are optional and you likely won’t even understand why more experienced runners purchase them – until you become experienced yourself, of course.

The Plan

There are numerous running schedules available online. A popular one for beginning runners is the Couch to 5k program. It sounds just like what it is – it gets you from the couch to running 5 thousand kilometers. It does this in about 2 months and provides a very gradual guide.

If you’re not much for structure, you can make up your workouts as you go. Be careful though, many new and enthusiastic runners have dived into the deep end and tried to run 10 miles on their first day. Take it slow. Just like with personal finance, success will come with time.

Running is one of the best forms of exercise around – it’s healthy and fun to do. You’ll most likely even recoup what you do spend in the form of health and social benefits.

Rusty Car by dandeluca on Flickr.

There are lot of theories on what’s the best way for a new driver to get a car. Some think the parents should pay for it all while others prefer a 50/50 split. Still others think the best way is for the child to save up all the money himself. I’ll admit I’m not sure which is the best policy. But I explain how my own came to be in my possession.

My state is the home of the 4-H program. If you haven’t heard of this before, I’d encourage you to check out the Wikipedia entry here. Basically, it’s a youth organization that for me, always had an agricultural center. Through this program and participating county fairs, you purchase and raise animals (dairy feeders, steers, pigs, goats, turkeys). At the end of the fair, you sell the animal through an auction style market.

I was able to buy a car through the selling of these 4-H “projects”. There are other projects that deal with other fields of agriculture like soil quality and crop growing along with science and civics. I took dairy feeders (what most people would call cows) and pigs during my 4-H career. At first glance, this might seem like I was just earning all this money by myself. But that’s not the case. You have to remember that:

Caring for livestock is not cheap. You have to buy the animal, feed it, shelter it, and transport it. All of this costs money. My dad covered most of these expenses. In later years, I was responbile for buying the animal. If my dad had not covered these costs, then 4-H would not have been nearly as financially lucrative as it was for me. But it was lucrative in another way…

It taught me that sometimes you have to do stuff you don’t want to.

I was never huge fan of 4-H. There were meetings to go to. I had to feed my animals. I had to walk my animals. Pulling a 400 pound dairy feeder around my yard was not fun. I never really wanted to play the role of farmer. The months of work were rewarded by one week of fair. But it was pretty much the only option I had to make enough money to buy a car someday. So I joined and participated for four years. After those four years, I quit because I didn’t want to do it anymore and I figured I had enough money for a semi-decent automobile.

Looking back now though, I realize my dad was a reward-child-for-hard-work genius. It was made clear in my family that if you didn’t participate in 4-H (or figure out another way of earning money), you would not be receiving a car as a gift. This motivated me during the few years I participated. Now I wish I would have continued with the program until at least the beginning of high school. I could have accumulated much more in savings and possibly even purchased a nicer car.

I sure didn’t realize the benefits of this type of system at the time. But I really think it did a great job of teaching me that “Stuff” requires work and thanks to my dad’s help, my work really paid off. I’d encourage you to try this type of deal with your parents. Maybe they could match your earnings from a part time job up to a certain amount. It might just be the motivation you need.

This post was inspired by a classmate of mine who just doesn’t get “it”.

OK, so everyone agrees that changing your car’s engine oil is a good idea. People however don’t agree on who should do it. Some get all smug about it and scream “I CHANGE MY OWN OIL and NOW I’M A MAN!”. Others just take their car to the local Jiffy Lube or wherever, pay 20 bucks, and get it done.

I fall into the 2nd group. And people at school (actually just the one person mentioned above) give me shit about it every time I mention I need an oil change (Note to self: stop mentioning it!) The conversation goes something like this:

Me: Oh yeah, I need to get an oil change soon.

Douche: Oh really? You can get a good deal on the oil at [some random store].

Me: Good to know, but I’ll probably just make an appointment at the local oil change shop.

Douche: OMG. Why the hell would you do that? You’re not a man unless you do it yourself, you know that right?

Me: Um…no, I did not. I actually thought I was a man because I had a penis but maybe I was wrong.

Douche: Whatever, I can’t believe you’re such a pussy and don’t change your own oil.

It pisses me off because he assumes that I don’t know how to change my oil and acts like he’s the fucking inventor of the automobile.

Neither of those two things is true.

Here are the reasons why I don’t change my own oil:

1. It’s a pain in the ass. I’m sorry, but driving/idling to get the oil warmed up,  jacking the car up, unscrewing a bunch of shit, cleaning up the oil spill that’s bound to happen, and putting everything back together is not my idea of a good time.

2. Winter. In Ohio, it’s cold for like 4 months out of the year. I’m almost guaranteed to need an oil change at some point in the cold weather. I’m sure as hell am not going to sit under my car for an extended period of time when it’s snowing.

3. It doesn’t save time. I can schedule an appointment and be in and out of the lube shop in 30 minutes. Compare that to doing it myself where I would have to:

• Change clothes
• Go buy the oil
• Unscrew shit
• Wait for the oil to drain, just like I do at the shop
• Clean up any spills
• Clean up myself
• Oh, and dispose of the oil myself!

The last one is ironic, because guess where I would probably take the oil. Yeah, that’s right, the Midas shop 15 minutes from my house!

So that is why I don’t change my own oil. It’s not because I don’t know how. It’s because I choose not to. I know it’s not hard, I even watched a video showing the steps here.

After I watched it, I said “f**k that” and now I’m calling Midas as soon as I hit the save button on this post.

If you’d like a different perspective, one from someone who does change his own oil and isn’t a douche, check this out.