How to Craigslist Like a Champ

Okay, confessional time. I have been borderline OBSESSED with Craigslist the past couple of weeks since finding this beautiful vintage chair at an insane price...AND it was delivered to me!! I've since become determined to get all of the other pieces of furniture I need to get myself organized for free or cheap...

Here are a few guidelines for achieving maximum Craigslist success:

1. Set your goals. Right now mine is to spend no more than $20 on anything and ideally get good stuff for free.
2. Scope the stash. Don't jump on the first things you see. Craigslist changes all the time and if you see something you dig but it's not in the right condition you want or within your price range, chances are sometime later this week something might pop up that IS.
3. Coordinate your transportation. Part of the catch of Craigslist is people just want someone else to come and take their bulky, ungainly crap so they don't have to worry about breaking it down or moving it, themselves. If you have a truck or some other kind of cargo-toting vehicle or are able to rent or borrow one easily, Craigslist can be a goldmine for you! 
4. Don't pay much attention to things like mattresses, pillows, cribs, etc. If you think it's possible you could be REALLY into one of these things, go and check it out before you make a real commitment to it and decide if you're willing to get the cleaning necessary or do the hard work to strip and refinish a piece of furniture for your baby.
5. Not seeing what you want? Put up a post ASKING for it. No lie, this is how my husband got his upright piano that was in great working condition for FREE!

For the most part, Craigslist is full of normal people that just want to share their stuff for free or a bit of extra cash. Just for general safety though I do recommend having one or more other people with you for a pick up or delivery just in case. I haven't encountered any problems yet the way I've worked with it!

Have you ever gotten anything from Craigslist? What was the experience like? Do you have any tips for using it awesomely? Let me know in the comments!

Keep rockin', 

Jenn

The Not-So-Scary Guide to Starting a Budget

BUDGET.

Yeesh, even the word just makes my skin itch. I'm not a huge fan of putting limits on myself but my pathetic savings and hefty credit consolidation loan are both results of my butterfingers on my credit cards so it's something I always need to fight. Being aware of and planning around our money is really a necessary part of our financial lives for us to keep moving ahead and meeting our goals. And knowing we have enough of it to keep the lights on...oops.

Here's something I've found that helps me cope with it all better. When I am able to really formulate a WHY, a very specific, relevant-to-me why, is when I am most focused and motivated to mind my money. Vantage's Not Your Mama's Account (NYMA) has a feaure that can help get this process started for you!

Step 1) Use NYMA's tagging feature for a month to really start to see where your money is going. This was terrifying for me. I spent about $200 shopping last month...no WONDER I was scrambling to scrap together our utility payments, geez!!

Step 2) Analyze that. I went to Target HOW many times?? I drank HOW many energy drinks?? I spent HOW much money on eating out vs. getting any kind of groceries?! Find some patterns like "whoa, I could have an extra $80 this month if I just NEVER went to McDonalds..." and start compiling trends. You may be shocked to find that you could actually pool HUNDREDS of dollars a month by cutting some crap out.

Step 3) Figure out what expenses you MUST have each month and total them up. First, is there anything you should cut out or could cut down, such as electricity use or even the amount you spend on groceries? If so, make it happen. Cut your cable, get a cheaper phone plan or clip some coupons before you get regular weekly groceries.

Step 4) Set some goals. If you could save $80 a month by not eating fast food then in 3 months you could feasibly use that money to buy a plane ticket somewhere awesome, make a big dent in paying down a credit card or start a responsible little savings account! Recently it's become important to me to start building up a modest "emergency fund" because we've never really had one and just getting started by committing to set aside $50 a month is what I was advised to do. It was empowering to hear that savings AREN'T built by ANYONE in just a day and that everyone who has a savings has it because of little bits collected over time. That may seem like a "well duh.." kinda point but for me, $50 each month can seem sorta tiny in the scope of the savings I wish would just APPEAR for us and certainly WAY more beneficial immediately if put toward shoes or eating out. It's a constant battle that really requires a big change in mindset.

If you're thinking about things like a budget and minding your money, chances are you kinda HAVE to right now. But it doesn't have to be horrible and it really is just a bunch of skills that we need to develop to keep living better and better, whether we are ever just swimming in money or not.

What are some of your secrets to making sure your money ends up in the right places and not just in drive thrus or shopping malls? Let me know in the comments!

Keep rockin',

Jenn

Living Young & Free Show Episode 056: Cheap De-stressing, Conscious Spending & Gone Phishing

Lee in Alabama shares how to de-stress without spending money, Jenn from St. Louis looks at ways to be more conscious about your spending and Matt from Indiana covers the warning signs of phishing scams.

You can also download all of the episodes as a podcast from iTunes and you can watch all previous shows!

The Y&F St. Louis Team

Fun in February Facebook Photo Contest Starts TODAY!

Between Groundhog Day, the Superbowl, Lincoln's Birthday, Valentine's Day, President's Day, Mardi Gras and whatever-the-heck else there's just so much going on in St. Louis during February and we want to see how you're celebrating!

Starting TODAY, February 17, 2012 through NEXT Friday the 24th, post your best February holiday pictures on the Young & Free St. Louis Facebook Page for your chance to win a $50 Visa gift card.

Good luck, and may the best photo win! 

Keep rockin'!

Jenn 

And as usual, here's the legal stuff: Chance of winning depends on number of entries received. Winners will be chosen by Vantage Credit Union and photos must be family-friendly. No purchase necessary. Must be 18. Void where prohibited. Vantage Board and Supervisory Committee members, staff and their families are not eligible to win.

Key Differences Between Having a Job and Romantic Relationships

So we just passed through ye ole Valentine's Day and I loved this take Brazen Careerist (which is a cool site that is basically LinkedIn for young folks, you should check it out!) had on how dating cliches can aide us in our job search.

I got to thinking about what comes after the dating stage and how having a relationship and having a job are really similar in the way that they get under your skin...make your heart flutter...cause anxiety about if you're wanting it too much or if this one is just not right...make you excited and crazy and after about 6 months you have a pretty good idea if things could really work out...

But there are some key ways that they differ and we definitely shouldn't treat them both the same way! I am happily married and settled into my romantic life but up until this incredible gig with Vantage I was definitely kind of a job-dater. I love startups and small businesses, they have such an awesome, scrappy energy to them, but sometimes the energy is just there in a vaccuum and other parts of the business put up red flags that I just couldn't tolerate. 

Here are a few key ways that relationships and a jobs differ and how we can handle them:

1. With a job, you can take one you are not super enthused about just to get by. In the relationship realm this is pretty much frowned upon as using and not a quality situation to put someone else in! Just make sure if you are still looking for other opportunities that you still give 100% while you work there and give your employer all due respect in notifying them of your departure if another job arises that you would like to take, instead. 
2. With a job, it's okay to shop around on your own time for something better. Even if you are perfectly happy in your current job, it's a great idea to continue to grow your network and even entertain possible opportunities as they arise to see if they can compete with what you already have. You always have risks to weigh out in those situations though, but there are always risks in any seemingly comfortable situation as well such as downsizing, mergers and even the outright shut-down of a business so be smart on both sides, but don't ever stop networking! ...In a relationship though, this energy is known to lead to CHEATING which is not good, either!
3. With a job you are not thrilled with, you can still choose to THINK really positive and make the best of a tough situation, expanding your mind while you are there; whereas with a relationship, if you have to try THAT hard to be okay with the other person, it's possible you should just get out.

What other kind of similarities have you seen between your work and romantic lives? Let me know in the comments!

Keep rockin'

Jenn