While me and my compatriots often abhor spending, we realize that a certain level of consumerism is necessary to survive in this country (let alone do fun things like read blogs such as this – which requires a computer). So, when we spend our hard earned cash on something, the damn thing better work right.

Unfortunately, goods aren’t made without defects and sure as he’ll they aren’t made to last forever (if they were you can imagine they would cost ten times as much). I have written angrily about six month disposable products previously. Over the past few months I have had to deal with a few other items that didn’t exactly hold up to the wear and tear of normal use. I do have good news though. There are plenty of good corporate citizens out there that recognize that their products should work, and when they don’t, they take steps to remedy the situation.

While it was royally shitty that I had to have products that failed to work, I was thankful I paid the premium to purchase these items from a company I heard of and respected. Instead of having to completely trash the item after it’s failure, I was able to receive a replacement for each.

Props go out to the following companies: Apple, LaCie and Zagg. Yeah, your products failed and frustrated me, but your customer service was execeptional and made me feel good about spending the extra money to ensure I bought from a company that backed it’s products up with their reputation.

How about my readers. Have you had a good or bad experience with a company when one of their products just didn’t want to work?

Sunday was one of the most inspiring days I have had in awhile. All my life I have been a hockey fan. Depending upon where I have lived, I have either been embraced or mocked over the years. But, the other day the entire continent watched and held their collective breaths during the USA vs. Canada gold medal game.

The game had a lot of significance for me personally, but what I can’t stop thinking about is the kids that may have watched it and will now start begging their parents to take them to an ice rink to feel what it’s like to move their bodies so fast and fluid on a surface that most people are terrified to even walk on.

I equally look forward to the adult populations embracing the game as their own. See, about three years ago I had never set foot on an ice rink. I was a great fan of the sport, but didn’t know how to skate or anything else related to the game.  Maybe there is someone out there that was waiting for inspiration to hit before giving the sport, and Sunday was that inspiration. For you, I am going to recap what you can expect to pay to get yourself started down a career on the ice. (Please note: these are the costs associated with adult ice hockey – for youth ice hockey you are going to need to find someone with kids)

Equipment

There is always the debate of whether to buy used or new equipment when starting up a new sport. I would typically say go used, but hockey equipment can get quite funky and you want items that are the right size. Everything listed here can be purchased used, however I would stay away from used skates. They are far too crucial for you not to have something that perfectly fits and is molded to your feet.

• Ice skates – $80-$300 (if you are just starting out you don’t need top of the line skates, but not getting a really cheap pair can be worth the investment)
• Helmet w/ a cage – $80-$130
• Shoulder pads – $50-$100
• Elbow pads – $30-$60
• Gloves – $30-$100
• Hockey pants – $60-$100
• Shin guards – $40-$100
• Hockey Jock (for men or women) – $30-$40
• Hockey socks - $10
• Practice jersey – $20
• Hockey stick - $30-$150 (you will need to have two with you at all times as these expensive numbers do break. For me, I refuse to pay more than $80 a quality stick)

Miscellaneous items

• Clear tape – $3 a roll (this is to tap up your pads for a more snug fit, expect to go through a lot of this, but you can buy in bulk online.
• Cloth tape - $3 a roll (this is to wrap the handle and blade of your stick)
• Mouth guard – $20 (most people don’t wear one in recreational hockey)
• Water bottle - $5 or find one for free
• Skate sharpening – $8 (you will need to get your skates sharpened every few games at most or every few month at least)
• Hockey bag – $40-$60 (need to hold your gear somehow)

Ice time

It’s important to get out and practice often until you feel comfortable on your skates. There are three different types of skates you can go to for ice time.

• Public skate - $5-$8 (open to the public, can be pretty crowded and you aren’t going to be wearing pads or carrying a stick)
• Stick and puck – $10-$12 (this session is for hockey players that want to work on things like stick handling, shooting, skating, etc. without having to play in a game)
• Pick-up games – $10-$15 (you will actually have a chance to scrimmage at these sessions)

League fees

While the equipment is expensive, the league fees aren’t cheap either, but no athletic hobbies (golf, etc) are all that cheap. As a guy that plays on two teams and loves every minute of it, the cost is ABSOLUTELY worth it.

Expect to pay anywhere from $300-$550 for a full length winter season. The price will depend greatly on your geographic area. If you live in the north where there are more rinks, more available ice time and more competition, you can expect to pay a little less.

Be on the lookout for beginner leagues that may offer special rates if you have never played before. Also, don’t be intimidates. If you join a team you will make some great friends and likely you will be matched with people of a similar skill level.

Some other things to consider

If you have a family, there are significant time commitments to playing hockey. If your significant other works and you have kids, expect to pay for babysitters often.

One of the most often forgotten costs is that you will likely need to bring a case of beer once or twice throughout the season.  Think back to when you were a little kid and you brought orange slices to your soccer games.  Well, as an adult, its beer to drink in the locker room or parking lot after the game.

Lastly, be sure to have a spot in your apartment or house where you can put your gear to dry after each skate/game.  It’s important to air the gear out, it reduces the smell and makes the equipment last longer.

Is it worth it?

I spend over $1000 a year on hockey, and there was the initial investment of $1000 to get all of my equipment.  With a resounding YES, I can say that the investment was absolutely worth it.  I have never had more fun competing or working up a sweat in all my years of playing sports.  It’s a challenge unlike any other, and the camaraderie is unparalleled to anything else you can experience in recreational sports.  If you have the means and are thinking about starting your life as an adult hockey player, I can only wish you the best of luck and tell you that you will be glad you did.

For more information check out the following two sites and book:

• USA Hockey
• Hockey North America
• Hockey for Weekend Warriors (the book is ridiculously expensive right now.  If you are really serious about getting started, shoot me an e-mail or leave a comment and I can send you my copy)

After totaling my car last June (1 day before i paid my insurance premium), I received my first premium quote from Geico on Saturday with my new car and accident taken into account.

I was pleasantly surprised as my premium only increased $100 (every six months).  However, just because I was expecting close to a $200 increase and only saw my bill increase $100, I wasn’t going to thank my lucky stars and let my premium be charged to my card in a few months.  I went into my bill and I found something that i hadn’t discussed with the insurance agent when I put my new Sonata on my plan.  Apparently, Geico put “Mechanical Breakdown Insurance” on my premium for $45.84 each period without notifying me.  Now, I bought the Sonata in part because of its warranty.  I’ll be dipped if I was going to pay $100 a year that I would never need because my car is covered bumper to bumper under the manufacturer’s warranty.

I called Geico, had that part of my premium removed and went on my merry way.  The old me, would have just accepted the premium as it was and said, “That’s just what it costs” and moved on.  I was thrilled to save the $100 a year by taking 5 minutes to review my bill and made sure it was exactly as I wanted.

Take a look at your insurance premium sometime this week.  Does it cover something on your vehicle that is already under warranty?

Photo by cmgoonie9

This weekend I found myself in the middle of a conundrum. I am a huge Buffalo Sabres fan (that’s hockey for those not in the know). Their season started this past weekend and I desperately wanted to watch the game. In order to watch the games this season I have two options (being that I am in DC and not Buffalo). Option 1) go out to a bar and hope the bartender will put the game on or go to a “Buffalo” bar that is 35 mins away to make sure I can watch it. Option 2) purchase the NHL Center Ice package on Comcast and watch the games at home.

I debated this out in my head. I am so busy that in all likelihood I won’t be able to watch more than 20 of 82 games this season.  So, for the price tag of $161 for the season, I am looking at missing almost 3/4ths of the value. Now, going to bars would be even harder to watch a game. I would say this would happen 4-5 times this year. If that is the case I know i will have at least 2-3 beers while out, maybe an appetizer, or maybe dinner. The cost of this is starting to add up and I can see spending close to $30-40 each time I go watch a game at a bar.  I like the idea of using Ramit Sethi’s a la carte method, but it is totally possible I will end up spending more money assuming I make the effort to go drink and watch my team play (something that is more likely and more fun than me headed to the gym).

I am really torn here, and I am trying to evaluate unintended costs of making this minor (but still significant) financial decisions. If going with the a la carte method there is gas to consider, there are tips for waiters/waitresses, and then the time cost of going to and from a bar. If I stay at home and order the package, there appears to just be the cost of the package, but I will likely buy beer to enjoy while watching the game, I may order pizza or Chinese on occasion (especially if it’s that rare night at home when I can actually watch the game and not have to do work during it).

I fear that the choices are so similar and I have become indecisive about the situation that I will do nothing and just listen to the games on the radio and maybe catch the playoffs in April. What is it you guys think? Are you faced with similar decisions when trying to watch your team play on NHL Center Ice or NFL Sunday Ticket.

Next year a couple of us bloggers should run experiments to see who spends more, the person buying the package or the person going to bars each week (In fact, I may make some rudimentary analysis in an upcoming post)

It should be noted that I abhor Comcast, which makes this decision more difficult. I really cannot stand giving that company money.

Photo by basykes

Back when I was in high school I tried an over-the-counter dietary supplement called Exenadrine EFX (ephedra free).  I spent the last 2 months of high school going to class, hanging on the couch, playing video games and not doing much in terms of actual physical activity.  To my surprise, I lost 25 lbs that month and had increased energy.   It was truly a miracle in a bottle.

The Situation

I went to college in decent shape.  I was never a gym rat and I knew my weight wasn’t going to vastly change unless I went to the gym every day and completely reshaped my body.  I was involved in athletics and I knew what it would take to overhaul my body.  That specific time commitment wasn’t important to me.  So, I cheated and took the easy way out.  I kept taking dietary supplements as a means of maintaining my current weight.

Where I Fouled Up

I won’t say I screwed up by taking the supplements in the first place, because they did what I wanted them to do.  What was the problem was that I kept taking them even after I had hit a plateau for fear that I would regress (something that didn’t happen when I eventually stopped buying them).

Over the course of a 4 year time span, I probably only went 8-10 months without pumping down these supplements.  At around $50 a bottle (maybe a bit less with a GNC discount) I spent quite a bit of money on these types of products over that timeframe.  Lets do some math.

48 months – 10 months of inactivity = 38 Months

38 Months x $50 = $1900

Total Amount of Waste = $1900

There is nothing like actively throwing money away on nothing but the occasional caffeine headache.  Looking back, this was surely a mistake, and a costly one.  What could $1900 over those 4 years have gotten me?  Well that I don’t know, but I probably could have bought a lot of shots for friends when out at bars.  L’chaim!

What I Learned

We are always looking for quick fixes to our life problems.  I was never addicted to these pills, but psychologically I knew it was the easy way to maintain my weight.  It is so much easier to just watch what you eat, and not shell out extra money each month for something that will do nothing but make you stay the same.  I hit a plateau with the supplements and I kept throwing money down the drain.  I don’t even think twice about it today, as I know the cost greatly outweighs the benefits.

After two straight weekends of 16 hour work days, a ridiculous fever, and several hockey games, I am taking this weekend off to go to a wedding.  You can expect some interesting follow up to that come next week.  Getting to the airport yesterday was a chore in which I had not fully anticipated just how big of a pain in the ass it would be.  I lost a ton of time and made me question how much “opportunity cost” did i lose yesterday.  Below is yesterdays story (or whine-fest).

I left my house at 11am, had to stop at work, which was a bit out of the way in terms of the metro route (sort of like McDonalds is out of the way to your house from wherever; its out of the way, but not extremely so).  Because of the red line delays, it took about 2 hours to get there.  1PM now, I had stopped in the office for a few minutes, and gotten back to the metro where apparently I had just missed the yellow line, so i hopped on the blue.  It was a slow ride back to the red line, then a slower ride to Union Station, getting there at 1:50PM.  Then I was able to board the MARC and take it to the BWI station, where I then needed to take a shuttle to the airport.  Then I sat around in the airport for 2 hours waiting for my flight.

So here is the breakdown: 6.5 Hours and $12 in transportation costs vs. 2 hours and $40 in transportation costs.

Maybe i was a bit too frugal yesterday and should have taken a shuttle from my house.  I lost a lot of productive hours trying to do the “DC Thing”.  We will see if this is a lesson learned for next time.

For some other great reading from this week, please take a look at the Carnivals I participated in:
(Jul 27, 2009) – Carnival of Personal Finance: The House of Rose Edition
(Jul 23, 2009) – Carnival of Pecuniary Delights #17 – “Online Slang” ed.

And today, Peter over at Bible Money Matters wrote a great article on the incredibly fast fall of the Cash for Clunkers program. Check it out here!

I have been sick the past handful of days and it made me think, “I spend a lot of money while I am sick that isn’t in my typical budget.”  Maybe its just because I am a young twentysomething guy that doesn’t ever plan on being sick, but I rarely have the right meds in medicine cabinet.  Nor do I have “sick” foods in my pantry such as chicken soup, etc.

When I get sick, here is how my day goes.

1. Lay in bed until I can summon the strength to move.
2. Bitch and moan as I find some clothes to wear to the grocery store.
3. Go to the grocery store, and quickly grab whatever I may need (usually the name brand stuff that has all sorts of adjectives in it, “long-lasting, fast-acting, twice as potent”.
4. Go home, get back into bed and realize that in my sickness, I forgot to buy food while at the grocery store.
5. I find my phone and my wallet, order some chinese food with a big thing of wonton soup.
6. Eat my soup and grumble at how bad I feel and the fact I just spent $50 in a day and I have nothing to show for it but symtoms of a sick guy.
7. I go back to bed and hope that I will not feel this way for the rest of my life.

I swear, when I am sick, I become a sheep to advertising.  Instead of getting the generic store-brand ibuprofin, I get the name brand – everytime.  In reality, its all the same drug.

I am going to be putting together a little first aid sick kit next time I make it to the store.  This will hopefully last me years of random sick days and end up saving me money in the long run.

The contents of the kit:

• Big bottle of ibuprofin
• Generic Dayquil/Nyquil capsules
• Big box of sudafed
• Whatever is on sale size of pepto-bismol
• Box of Tissues
• 6-8 cans of chicken soup (only to be consumed when sick, so its always handy)

I’ll be honest, I already feel like I am forgetting something.  Let me know what else I should be picking up at the store so that I am prepared the next time the plague sweeps through my town by leaving a comment.

Dude, I Totaled My Car (Update 3):

I have been living the past 5 and a half weeks without a vehicle.  I have updated the status of my search for its replacement once, shortly after my initial post about my accident and my carless situation.  At this point I have foolishly put all my eggs into two vastly different baskets, and I am waiting until the end of August to see which one hatches the most chicks.

• Basket One: A friend of mine is selling her 99 Nissan Pathfinder.  It has 106,000 miles on it which is mostly highway miles.  She is the original owner and has driven it for every one of those miles.  The car is priced reasonably, however the initial cost of the vehicle is about the same figure the insurance company gave me for my total loss.  After registration, tags, etc.  I will have likely lost a little bit of money on the deal.  However, I feel I will be able to sleep at night driving a car that I know has been taken care of instead of some car that I bought randomly off of Craigslist (that piece of mind may be worth an extra thousand dollars to some; it could be priceless to others)  Furthermore, she has made me agree that if I buy her car, I have to pet it before driving it on road trips (what is that about?!?).  Deeper Analysis: Buying a car from a friend is risky, but it has some rewards.  I am not thrilled about the price tag, but at the price I am looking to spend I am not thrilled with a lot of the cars.  I may have to up the amount I am willing to pay for my next ride.  Also, the MPG on a Pathfinder is a concern, then again, with as often as I drive, is it worth stressing over an extra $100 a year in gas when I haven’t really slept the past month because I have been carless?  This is my best option and if it still presents itself in late August when I get back from vacation, I will write her a check.

• Basket Two: Go to a dealer in late August and say, “How much are you giving car’s away for today?”  Now really is the best time to buy a new car.  In a month from now, when 2010 models start to show up on lots, the timing will be even better.  The price I wanted to spend on a new car was $14,000.  It is a possibility (albeit not a fantastic one) that I can go into a car dealership and walk out with a brand new Honda Civic LX for $14,500 with 0% financing for 3-5 years.  If that is the case I can afford to put $7000, finance $7500 and have a car that I know will last me 15 years.  Deeper Analysis: This is my last resort, but if the numbers work in a way I think they could, I have no reason not to consider this option as it represents the difference between value and cost.

I Gave Myself a 10% Raise This Week:

I started to contributed to my 401(K) this pay period.  I have mentioned it before, but the reason I hadn’t been contributing prior was because I my employer didn’t match until you’ve been employed there for six months.  This is the first pay cycle that fell after that six months, hence today is my first payday where I have my 401(K) contributions withheld.  You may ask, how did I give myself a 10 percent raise? Well this is it:

Employer match ($0.50 on the dollar with no limit) x Personal contribution of 20% of salary = 10% raise from employer

That’s right, 20% of my salary is being dumped into my 401(K) a month.  All of those part time jobs are starting to seem worthwhile now, huh?  Should I mention that this is just one more reason I am going to be a millionaire some day?

My Six Month Disposable Headphones:

Hopefully I have found a new pair of headphones that will last me a while.  I purchased the Zagg Z-buds.  I was very close to purchasing them through their online store for $80 + S&H.  I even started to shop for a coupon code.  Then I quickly scanned e-bay and saw the same pair I wanted, with iPhone compatibility for $46.50 Buy It Now with free shipping. I was about to click the “Buy” button when I saw the “Make an Offer” tab on the eBay page.  I needed to get that order placed that day, but I said I may as well try.  Instead of typing in something ridiculous like $25 or something, I typed in the reasonable price of $40 (a $6.50 discount).  A half second later, my offer was accepted, making me feel like I should have offered a lot less, because they always could have said no and I could have paid the higher price, but, they also could have said yes and saved me more money.

I really like the new earbuds.  They sound great, look durable, even have a funky bud piece that looks like, well, I don’t know how to describe it, but look to the right and you will see a picture.  They are very comfortable and because of how they are designed to be worn, you don’t the occasional pull on the front of your earphone chord that will pluck your buds from your ears.  So far, I would recommend these to anyone, however, we will see in six months if I am back in the market for another pair. Time will tell the story on Zagg’s Z-buds.

Dating is expensive

This past Monday I went on a date with a new friend from an old part of my life. We went to a medium to high priced restaurant and proceeded to go through a bottle of wine, dinner, dessert and dessert wine. We had a great time talking about people that we had long since forgotten about and seeing how we both had connections to those people. Three and a half hours later, the bill came.

How much did this night of entertainment cost? Around $150 – which we split evenly. Did I have an idea going into the meal it would be that much? Yes I did. But that doesn’t mean I can’t be aghast at the unbelievable price tag there is to being a single guy in an expensive city like DC.

It’s rare that I go out to eat, so I don’t mind spending a bit when I do. But, one or two dates a month and I start to really feel the strain on my wallet. At the PF blogger happy hour we discussed all sorts of hidden costs that can be associated with dating, but the food and the drinks are really the two primary culprits of breaking the bank. Even at a less expensive restaurant, you are still looking at $40 for a simple meal (2 drinks, 2 dinner plates, tax and at least a 20% tip as waiters and waitresses need to make money as well, right AK?)

Lifestyle Inflation

The friend that I went out with talked about how much she loves going out and she would do it three to four times a week if she had the time right now (she is studying for the bar exam in a few weeks). This has made me wonder about lifestyle inflation in the coming months for her. From what I have read, going out to eat is the largest indicator of consistent lifestyle inflation (buying cars and houses are other indicators, but those aren’t every day expenses).

For my friend, will three nights a week turn into five or six once she starts work in September? Saying that she is a lawyer and she can afford such outings isn’t the point. I think a lot of young people start to spend more money after college by saying “I will be working soon and therefore can afford it”. And then when they actually land a job, they increase their consumption further because now they have money coming in. This is how people get in over their heads with debt.

For me, trying to curb lifestyle inflation is why I don’t date that often. After a while it gets expensive and while you can meet some interesting people going on dates, aren’t their other ways to meet folks that won’t make me go back into debt?  Of course there is.  A lot of other writers talk about alternative methods to dating, but in a happy hour driven city like DC, the norm seems to be drinks and dinner.

Lifestyle inflation seemed to be a hot topic this week.  Please take a look at what my friend J. Money and Matt Jabs from Debt Free Adventure had to say about it.

Challenge

While writing today I want to put a challenge out there to some bloggers that track their expenses.  I would like to see who spent more over the past year; the actively dating single person, or the married person.  If anyone is willing to compare their going out expenses please email me at brian@buildingwealthtogether.com.

Have a good weekend and enjoy your Friday and Saturday date nights.

Since Groupon started a few weeks ago in the DC area, I have been excited to get their daily e-mails.  Groupon has already saved me money at some of my favorite locations around town, allowing me to go out and have a good time in style, without having to spend a fortune.

I will let the Groupon people themselves explain how it works.

Groupon isn’t only in DC though.  They offer great deals in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle.

Here are just some of the deals they have had lately around DC.

• $20 off a $40 Coupon at Sushi-Ko in Georgetown.
• $30 for an Hour Long Massage at Lunar Massage
• $20 for a $45 ticket on All-Star DC Tours
• $60 for either 2 Manicures and Pedicures or a Rejuvenating Facial at Hela Spa ($240 Value!)

If you don’t subscribe to this free service, you are missing out.  Head to Groupon’s site and sign up.  I have already taken advantage of some of their deals and plan to do so in the future.  Go and enjoy saving money while having fun!