The meltdown begins at the 2:17 mark in the video. Enjoy
Pete the Planner loses it on live television
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Category Archives: Budgeting
Pete the Planner’s Guide to Affordable Beer
I like beer. However, I don’t like spending tons of money on beer. I shared this sentiment with my friend, Mike Atwood. His blog, HoosierBeerGeek.com is one of the top beer blogs in the country. I asked him to address my conundrum. The conundrum: I want good beer, but I don’t want to pay top dollar for it.
When Pete asked me to put together something on good, affordable beer, my first thought was “there’s such thing as good, affordable beer?” The truth is that the variety of beer I enjoy – the category known as Craft – is definitely good. But affordability is rarely a goal for craft brewers, who tend to focus on quality first. Because craft brewers operate on such a small scale (just 15% of the overall beer market), they often encounter higher production costs than the big guys – costs that are passed along to the consumer.
Instead of focusing on affordability, perhaps what we should really focus on is value. We can determine value in craft beer by comparing beers based on not only price, but style and consumer scores. Sites such as RateBeer.com, BeerAdvocate.com, or more regional-based examples like my own HoosierBeerGeek.com are a valuable resource when comparing style and ratings. It’s important to note that these scores can be influence by any number of factors – scarcity and hype being among the biggest. Scarcity certainly drives up scores on beer rating sites, so those beers that are readily available and yet still high scoring are good indicators of value.
Another thing worth noting: When looking for value in craft beer, stay away from the 22oz. bomber bottle. We covered this in more depth on our site, but when comparing beer on an ounce-to-ounce level, the 22oz. bomber is almost always a worse deal. Even the seemingly affordable $7 bomber – when taken at a dollar per ounce price – equates to a $22.91 six pack.
With all these factors in mind, here are a few readily available, value-packed craft beer options available at your local liquor store.
Founders Breakfast Stout – The Imperial Stout category is overrun with limited release, hard to acquire beers that the average person might never get their hands on, but there are a few gems in the list that do tend to last a little longer on store shelves. Founders Breakfast Stout is brewed with two types of coffee and has all the chocolaty notes that Imperial Stout lovers fawn over.
Bell’s Hopslam – If you like big bitterness in your beer, Bell’s Hopslam is a gold standard in the Double IPA category. Despite that bitterness, the beer finds balance from a honey edition in the brewing process. Because Bell’s is one of the larger craft breweries in the country, they make enough Hopslam to make sure it lasts a little while on store shelves.
Stone Ruination – Perhaps best known for their Arrogant Bastard Ale, San Diego’s Stone Brewing has earned a nationwide reputation for beers packing big and bold flavors. Ruination is their Double IPA, featuring huge flavors of citrus and pine from Columbus and Centennial hops. This beer is available in both 22oz. bomber and 12oz. six pack – buy the six pack, it’s a better per ounce value.
Unibroue La Fin Du Monde – While American breweries have expanded the palate of what a beer can be, it was the Belgians that started the trend, incorporating a myriad of ingredients to create new styles. One of the more traditional of those styles is the Belgian Tripel. Montreal’s Unibroue produces a highly rated and highly available example in their La Fin Du Monde. Featuring honey, spice, and coriander notes, La Fin Du Monde is a showcase of the creativity behind Belgian-style beer.
Sierra Nevada Pale Ale – Perhaps the best known of the American craft beer pioneers is that of Chico, California’s Sierra Nevada. Despite Sierra’s Pale Ale being ubiquitous on grocery store shelves all over the country, it still maintains a place of respect with beer geeks. It’s hard to argue with an easy drinking, supremely balanced beer that set the standard for everything that came after.
Anchor Steam – A truly American style – and a personal favorite – steam beer or California common has roots in the 1890s, but it wasn’t until 1981 that San Francisco’s Anchor brewing perfected the style. By using the usually-refrigerated lager yeast at warmer ale temperatures, Anchor created an immensely flavorful beer with a gentle and balanced finish.
You may have noticed that the example above come from the some of the larger and more established craft breweries in the country – further proof of the advantages of size when producing product. While this list in certainly not comprehensive, it’s worth noting that you’d be hard-pressed to find a bad beer from any of the breweries listed. If you can’t find the particular style mentioned above, don’t be afraid to try another one of their other offerings.
If you’re looking for the absolute best value in craft beer. I encourage you to get to know your local brewery. Locals offer weekly specials, growler refills, and plenty of opportunity to save, but more importantly, your local brewery can offer a relationship or an experience – and that’s something that’s hard to put a price tag on.
Expressing your love via financial responsibility
Gotta be honest, I dislike team-building exercises. I don’t want to learn to trust Jim in accounting. It seems manufactured. I don’t want to fall back off of a picnic table and depend on Helen, Steve, Carol, and Jim in Accounting to catch me. Sorry. It’s not going to happen. I don’t trust them. However if Mrs Planner were behind me, she would catch me. I trust her 100%. Other than getting ready for date night in a timely manner, she is the most dependable person I know. I don’t know if she sets out to be dependable, but she is. And she makes me want to be dependable.
I think dependable is a pretty damn good quality. Striving to be dependable is an admirable aim. If you’ve ever found yourself on the other side of an undependable person, then you know the frustration that can commence. Have you ever been in a rowboat with someone who isn’t even trying to do their share of rowing? It sucks. No matter how hard you row, their crappy-drag-you-down effort will keep turning your boat in a direction you don’t want to go. It’s incredibly frustrating, especially when you know that your partner can do better. The last thing you really want in a partner is potential.
While you can’t always (rarely/never) provide endless income to your significant other, you can provide endless effort. What exactly does that look like? Or better yet, what doesn’t it look like?
Love expressed via effort
- Taking your lunch to work when you are focusing on accomplishing a financial goal
- Allowing your significant other to hold you accountable to your financial goals
- Woking overtime when you don’t want to, in order to accomplish a financial goal
Something else expressed via a lack of effort
- Dining out for lunch often despite the fact that you know you shouldn’t
- Coasting after a huge commission month
- Paying bills…late
Money is often the root of marital discord. However I’ve found that effort curbs many arguments before they even start. Effort builds trust. Effort is the ultimate team-building exercise.
The scary face that prevents spending
I just received this email from a client/reader. It is hilarious!!!!
Hey Pete, you will remember that when we met during Christmas break, I pledged to go on a financial diet. In spite of two January trips to Ft. Wayne which has a shopping experience that is similar to Keystone at the Crossing only with the best Italian in Indiana, Biaggi’s, I was in control. I think the purchase of a pair of socks and only one glass of wine at Biaggi’s is testament to my strength of will.
The $3000 debt on my credit card is gone. I put household expenses on it and pay everything off bi-weekly when I am paid. I am now staring the $9600 mortgage square in the face, and plan to put $1000 on that debt within the next week.
How am I able to do this, you ask, knowing my weakness for those shopping trips and high-priced restaurants??? Well, anyone who successfully diets has a personal weapon – something that takes the joy out of that bad habit, whether it’s overeating or overspending – and redirects one’s energy into more positive and satisfying habits, be it physical wellness or financial control. I have the best weapon anyone could ever hope to have, and it’s laminated right next to the credit card in my wallet (shown above). Feel free to share my strategy with any of your clients who may share my weakness; it works!!!
Thanks, Pete,
Suzanne
How one couple saved $20k in just six months
In the mood for a success story? Good. Me too!
About 6 months ago, Sir Phineas Hollingsworth and Dame Coco Hollingsworth entered my life. (If I’m going to change the names of the people, I might as well freakin change their names, right?) They were newlyweds desperately in need of direction. Like many people I encounter, they were highly intelligent yet were paralyzed by financial fear. Their #1 goal upon entering my office: put themselves in a position to become homeowners. Let’s not gloss over this. Phineas and Coco knew that homeownership wasn’t a snap decision. It’s a process that requires planning and sacrifice. Phineas and Coco were ready to put it all on the line.
Phineas and Coco’s household income when we met was about $85,000. Coco was the breadwinner and Phineas was busting his a$$ working three part time jobs to bring in about $25,000. He was on the hunt for a job, but wanted to make sure that he was maximizing his “downtime,” as he described it, while he was hunting for a job. Phineas and Coco were renters, and they were only paying $632 for rent. Yes, you read that correctly, $632 for rent. They knew that they wanted to save for a home, so they decided it didn’t make sense to spend a ton on rent. They strategically viewed the last 12 months of their life as a means to the end.
My job is pretty simple, I combine technical know-how with motivation and deliver it to people in a systematic way. This generally equals great results. The most important ingredient in this formula is motivation. Phineas and Coco walked into my office filled with motivation. They simply wanted technical know-how. I put together a very simple, but hard plan that would put them in a position to become homeowners in just 10 months. They had wonderful credit, but they had no downpayment or emergency fund. They had plenty of income, but a high income alone isn’t justification enough for buying a home. If you can’t scrap together a down payment with that high income, then how in the world can you consider yourself financially secure? That’s right, you can’t.
The conversation went a bit like this:
P and C: We want to be in a position to buy a $200k home in about 10 months.
PTP: Then you need to pay off the $5k in credit card debt you have, and then save $20k for a downpayment on a home. That means, that you need to save over $2500 per month. You need to live on a very strict food budget. You can’t go nutty on gifts. You need to consider every purchase against your desire to buy a home.
P and C: Cool, we’ll see you in 10 months.
Eight months later I received an email saying that Coco wanted to meet with me. We met. She said that Phineas had secured a different job about 6 months ago, and was now making $38,000 per year. This meant they were making about $900 (after taxes) more per month than they originally thought. This got them super motivated. They went nuts. In just six months they paid off their credit cards and saved $20k for a downpayment on their house.
The lesson: motivation plus technical know-how will equal success. Phineas and Coco succeeded because they set a very crystal clear goal, and then attacked. It was beautiful. I’d love to take credit, but I just provided them with some math. Motivation is the most overlooked piece to the financial success pie. Phineas and Coco will always succeed. They’ve got it. They’ve got the motivation to live the life of their dreams.
So, how did one couple saved $20k in just six months? They were motivated. They sacrificed other comforts to accomplish their goals. Are you willing to do this? If so, I’ve got the math.
Get your FREE copy of 60 Days to Change
Your financial successes are my lifeblood. Every success story that I hear from you makes me ridiculously excited. Your ability to take control of your financial life is incredibly powerful. I have had the great fortune to assist thousands of people over the last 12 years of my career, but today I want to change hundreds of lives at once…together.
You know about The Molly Project. It’s the yearlong web series in which I plan on helping one woman change her financial life forever. She is climbing out of a financial hole. It’s quite the story. But what’s your story? How can you change your life along with Molly?
Thanks to my friends at ELFCU, you can join the change with a FREE copy of my book, 60 Days to Change: A Daily How-To Guide With Actionable Tips To Change Your Financial Life. ELFCU is a credit union that is offering the 60 Days to Change curriculum to its members, starting today. As part of the partnership, I asked that they help you too. And they said yes! ELFCU’s ongoing commitment to help its members reach their financial goals is now extended to YOU. I encourage you to view this as a sign, a gentle nudge, and an opportunity for you to improve your financial life.
This program can take you from bad to good, and then good to great. You don’t have to be struggling badly to benefit from this 60 day program, but if you are, we can help you. The program will have some lovely structure to it. ELFCU will be buying your book (quantities limited), and I will give you your marching orders every week during the 60 days. This means exclusive emails, videos, and online chat sessions. And there’s one more thing. You can win $1000.
There are three $1000 prizes to be awarded at the end of the program. One award for most debt paid down, one award for most money saved, and one award for most expenses eliminated. Holy moly.
There are some guidelines that you need to follow. Go to ELFCU.org/60days to sign up. Follow the directions. I don’t want you to miss out on this because you don’t follow the directions.
This going to be great. I’m very excited, and I hope you take this opportunity to create some change.
4 tips for dating without going broke
Ahhhh, love. It’s so grand. There’s nothing better than a developing relationship. Me? I always start with the middle name talk, and then move briskly into how many children do you want. Okay, maybe not, but who cares, I’ve been married for almost 12 years. My relationship with Mrs Planner started in college, therefore we were broke, very broke. There were absolutely no illusions that either of us had money. We had to get to know each other – without money.
I would argue that it’s nearly impossible to date someone, as a working adult, and not spend money to develop your relationship. Dinners, gifts, and trips are the norm for budding adult relationships. Married couples have a hard time funding unlimited meals, gifts, and trips, so what makes anyone think that two single, yet dating, people could afford this opulent behavior? That’s right, they can’t.
So what is a young, passionate person to do? Okay, the passionate part was a bit much. But it sounds a helluva lot better than “so what is a young, mildy interested person to do?” See what I’m sayin? Anyway, here are 4 tips for dating without going broke.
1. Experiences are often cheaper- State parks, museums, art shows, and meetups are very inexpensive. And they are also dirt cheap. Sure, you could go have a nice Saturday lunch, but you could also go on a nice hike in a state park and take a nice simple picnic lunch. You could go to a movie, or you could go to a museum and actually learn something about each other.
2. Cook dinner- It’s quite likely that your favorite restaurant can prepare better tasting food than you can. Don’t use this as an excuse to spend money. Cooking a meal at home with your love interest is not only fun, but it’s cheaper. Again, you can learn more about the other person by working together with them, than you can just sitting across a restaurant table from each other.
3. Exercise together- Pumpin and a sweatin. You know, working out. Running, walking, biking, lifting weights, playing kickball, playing dodgeball, etc. Here’s the key: don’t join a gym together. That costs money. Sweat together, but do it outside. Yes, still talking about working out, here. Settle down.
4. Share your financial goals in order to alleviate undue pressure- This tip is not nearly as committal and/or boring as it seems. It’s simply practical. “I’ve been working so hard to pay off these student loans. I’ve really been watching my spending. I want to make sure that I’m not paying for them forever.” Seems like a pretty reasonable, important conversation to me.
Sure, spending money is easy, and you can certainly buy some fun times with your lady and/or man friend, but the alternative is so much more interesting. Be interesting. Get to know your “special friend” without going broke.
7 tips for reducing the cost of pet care
This is Ernie. He was free. He is a rescue dog. We love him very very much. He tells us that he loves us too. I’m sure that you love your pets too. But there is no more frustrating expense category on the planet than pet-related expenses, well, other than maybe speeding tickets.
I’ve written about pets before. I wrote about my dog, Otis, dying. It was expensive. But we were fortunate to be able to pay for his care. But there are ways in which you can reduce the costs associated with pet ownership. I wanted to know what these ways were, so I turned to an expert. My friend, Dr Greg Magnusson, is veterinarian. Below, you will find his best 7 tips for reducing the short and long term costs associated with pet care.
1. Get pet insurance BEFORE your pet gets sick. Usually considered in hindsight,
pet insurance purchased before an injury or illness can repay up to 90% of what
you spend at the vet after unexpected accidents and illnesses. I recommend
Trupanion pet insurance.
2. Feed cheaper pet food. I realize this flies in the face of what most of us have
been taught by the pet food PR people these last few years, but here’s what I
recommend. If your pet is young and healthy and has no medical problems,
you probably won’t see any benefit over good-quality grocery-store food, by
feeding the high-dollar All Natural Organic Grain Free Grass Fed Farm Raised
Fancypants kibble from the pet store. There, I said it.
3. Don’t supplement your pet’s diet unless prescribed by your veterinarian. Every
commercial pet food is required by law to contain all the protein, carbohydrates,
vitamins and minerals to support healthy life. Any supplemental vitamins you
feed will just end up peed out in the litterbox or the yard.
4. DO test yearly and give heartworm preventives. Just about the least expensive yet
most effective health maintaining medicine you can give your dog is a once-a-
month pill to prevent the deadly mosquito-spread blood disease, heartworms. Yes,
heartworm-infected mosquitoes can come inside your house. Yes, mosquitoes bite
your dog when she goes outside to potty. Heartworm disease is a terrible problem.
5. Don’t feed treats. The average 25oz bag of Beggin Strips at Wal-Mart runs about
$9.50 plus tax, which equates to feeding your dog crappy nutrition for $6/lb.
6. If your pet has chronic arthritis, don’t buy “pet-branded” glucosamine, use human generics. IMHO glucosamine that is adequate for my use is probably acceptable
for my dog.
7. Don’t ever buy “pet-branded” medicine, “medicated” shampoos, flea shampoos, hot spot gels, or other assorted varieties of snake oil from the pet store. I promise you, a complete physical exam by a licensed veterinarian will get you to the RIGHT treatment way faster, and way cheaper, than self-diagnosing and getting
your pet’s diagnosis wrong.
Greg Magnusson @IndianapolisVet is a veterinarian in Indianapolis practicing at
Leo’s Pet Care at College and 106th.
The Molly Project: Episode 2
Last week, on The Molly Project…
Now you know the facts. Let’s start tackling the problems.
When I meet with someone to help them solve financial problems, I get inside their head and swim around in it for a while. The numbers NEVER tell the whole story. Every word they speak matters. Every nervous laugh they laugh matters. Every personality trait that I can pickup on matters. Once I “read them”, then I make a series of notes about their persona. I’m not making this up. This is what I do. I need to know how to motivate an individual. The numbers would never tell you this. It kinda explains why I snapped on that emailer yesterday. There was no way that another method would have worked with him.
Anyway, here are my professional notes and observations for Molly:
1. Molly had no debt upon graduating from college. The debt came when she decided to switch careers, kicked off by going to grad school. She then decided that she didn’t want to pursue a career in the field of her advanced (expensive) degree. There’s a major underlying problem here. Debt was so foreign to Molly, that she had no idea how to deal with it. She chose to do what she always did; she strapped on her genuinely positive attitude and proceeded the way she had for the previous 27 years. She proceeded as though she didn’t have debt.
2. There is hope in every financial situation. And Molly’s situation, believe it or not, is laden with lights at the end of the proverbial tunnel. She has a tax refund check on the horizon (amount to be determined). She has nearly $500 per month to put towards debt. And she has various bonus opportunities sprinkled throughout the year.
3. We have over $450 per month to work with for Molly’s financial priorities. One of the major challenges that people face when trying to fix financial problems is they don’t know what to focus on. We only have so much focus and energy to put towards something that is currently stressing us out. All that Molly should focus on is $450. If she focuses on allocating this amount every month to the right debt, then she will succeed.
4. Molly’s positive attitude got her into trouble, but it will get her out. She can see the silver lining in a tornado cloud. The world needs more people like her. She didn’t panic as things were getting bad. She should have. I need to get her a bit panicky.
The budget haps
Here are Molly’s expenses:
- Rent: $550 (includes utilities)
- Car payment: $225.84
- Cell phone: $79.99
- Car & Renter’s Insurance: $83.99
- Groceries:$200
- Gas: $150
- Personal care items: $100
- Medical: $50
- Personal care services: $50
Total living expenses: $1,489/monthly
Minimum debt payment: $1,392/monthly
Total expenses: $2,881/monthly
Take-home pay: $3,333/monthly
MY MONEY: $452
Molly’s first task: Pay off Gap and Loft credit cards. And then put $200 into savings. That’s it. You are done until the tax refund check comes in. That was painless, wasn’t it?
Getting out of a major financial jam is difficult, but the solution is simple. You cannot convolute the situation by just firing all sorts of financial shots at your financial problems. The only thing that Molly can do, other than reducing spending (which she already did), is focus on the $450 she has to pay down debt. This is where people get themselves in trouble. They start flailing for a solution. Don’t flail, just proceed calmly.
Be sure to listen to my radio interview with Molly. It’s the February 17th episode (part 2). Courtesy of 93 WIBC FM.
Should you pay your wife an allowance?
I get all sorts of email. I get emails about debt. I get emails about how to ask for a raise. I once even had a Nigerian prince offer to share his family fortune with me. Despite the fact that I opened an account and emailed him the account number, I never heard back from him. But I digress. My point? It takes quite a bit of craziness for an email to get my attention.
My eyes are wide open
Dear Pete
Hey. I love your podcast. It cracks me up. You said you take emails, so I thought I’d give it a shot. I’ve got a problem. My wife spends too much money. It might cost us our marriage…unless you can help. Hahaha. No pressure. I’m the only one that works. She stays at home with our two kids. I make really good money (nearly $120,000 in 2011). But we never can get ahead. Between us, we have over $85,000 in student loans, $30,000 in credit card debt, $40,000 debt on my M-Class Benz, and my wife has a major spending problem. It’s got to stop. She makes no money, but wants to spend all of my salary on clothes, and random stuff for the kids. She’s at Target like twice per week. Between the medication for our son, and the piano lessons for our daughter, she spends like $50 per week right there. If I was doing the buying at our house, we wouldn’t be in the position we are in now. We fight so much on the weekends, that I end up leaving the house and playing golf just so we dont fight for 5 hours. What do you suggest I do?
My buddy thinks that I should put her on an allowance system. I’m thinking about doing it. Have you ever heard of somethings like this? It sounds crazy, but I really think it could work. For instance, if she cooks five meals in the week, then I’d give her $100 to spend. If she vacuums and dusts, then I would give her another $50. I’m thinking she just needs to earn her keep more so that she’ll value money. What’s a fair price for chores? I figure it’s much cheaper than a divorce. Hahaha. Things are just nuts around here. My college buddies are going on a guy’s weekend, and I can’t even go because the cards are maxed out because of her stupid Target trips. Sorry, I’m just venting. Thanks, man. I’m interested to see what you have to say.
Jeff
Jeff, thanks for your email. I’m afraid that I’m fresh out of candy-coating today. Therefore you are simply faced with the unadulterated truth.
I’m really worried about you. You’re pissed that your wife spends too much on your kid’s medication? I would sell all four of my limbs for my kid’s medication. I wouldn’t golf the rest of my life to pay for my kid’s medication. And your daughter’s piano lessons are a problem too? You’re not supposed to feel that way. I generally don’t make a practice of telling people how they should feel, but you shouldn’t resent your children’s medication and/or music lessons.
Anyone that would think/write the things that you thought/wrote clearly doesn’t have a strong grip on reality. I don’t know where you come from, but where I come from my buddies call me out for being an a-hole. They don’t tell me ways to be more of an a-hole. If you have the sort of friends that recommend that you put your wife on an allowance, then get new friends. Your wife isn’t the problem. Your attitude is the problem.
Here’s what I suggest you do. Take a week’s vacation. Given your salary of $120,000 per year, I figure you have the sort of job that allows you to take a paid vacation. Send your wife out of town to stay with a friend for the week, and then do her job for seven whole days. What you will find is that you are lucky that you currently aren’t divorced. My guess is that you will find that your wife doesn’t spend nearly as much as you think she does. She simply spends the money that it takes to run a household…without the (non-financial) support of her husband.
Jeff, I’m really concerned for you and your family. To be frank (as though I haven’t been), this is the worst situation I have ever seen. You need counseling. I highly recommend that you seek professional help. Dude, seriously? You care more about guy’s weekend than your kid’s medication. You have got to man up. You are going to ruin your kids’ lives. All they will ever know is dysfunction if you don’t get help. This is serious. I don’t have any financial advice for you at all. I’m just really sad. You don’t have any true friends that are pushing you to be a better person, and unless this email strikes a chord, then I’m afraid things will have to completely blow up before there is a resolution. Please change.
****Update #1****
This post has caused quite the uproar. I’d like to clarify a few points. First, I didn’t address the financials in the question, because I don’t think the answers would actually help him. In my professional opinion, although he has significant financial problems, his primary issue has nothing to do with money. I chose to treat the problem, not the symptoms. In addition, the advice is so obvious, that I didn’t think it was worth writing. Alas, here it is: Jeff shouldn’t be driving a $40k Mercedes. He should be driving something paid for or something with a very cheap payment. The payment on his Benz is most likely astronomical. If he were to do this, the savings should then be used to pay down his credit card debt. He and his wife should sit down and work out a budget together using Pete the Planner’s Ideal Household Budget. Any other financial advice would be purely speculative. I don’t know his credit card and student loan interest rates. I don’t know if he has an emergency fund, though I doubt he does. And I don’t know how much they spend per month on their mortgage. My educated guess is that it’s a significant part of their income.
I’m not above criticism. When I write advice or give advice that is poor, then please ask for clarification or correction. I will gladly admit when I am wrong. However, in my opinion Jeff was looking for help. He thought his problem dealt with money. I disagreed, and wanted him to see that his family was at risk. Keep calm and carry on.