Young Professional Finance Blog

Don't you hate it when you're down to that last pair of old underwear that just doesn't feel right? While putting a reminder on my task list to do laundry is easy it doesn't accomplish the task. Some electronic calendars or task lists will even remind you to do what you need to do (although, it's easy to just ignore the reminders). You bet I'm more inclined to do laundry when I've got to use my old underwear, though. I don't have to spend time trying to remember to do laundry at that point-- I'm reminded of it every time I get up from my desk or walk around and feel that oh so constricting waist band!

Many times there's no need to put things on a task list because you can naturally remind yourself. Other times, it's helpful to add things to a task list or even set them up so they automatically happen. And finally, in some cases it just makes sense to do things when you think of them the first time. In this article I'll explain the idea of including graceful degradation in your life to manage the tasks that you don't do right away, but shouldn't have to waste time on to add to a task list or calendar.

Graceful Degradation

Sometimes there seem to be two types of people: those who create organized tasks lists because they never get around to doing anything and those who get around to doing things but never have them organized because they don't have a task list. In other words, it takes time to stay organized, but there's a cost to doing so. If you spend too much time planning, you don't do anything. But if you don't spend some time planning, you may not do everything you need to at the right times. What if there were a more natural way to remember to do things, but without as much overhead as keeping a list or calendar of them? Thus my idea of living a gracefully degrading life!

What do I mean by graceful degradation? Wikipedia defines graceful degradation as "the property that enables a system ... to continue operating properly in the event of the failure of ... some of its components". In reality, the system (your life) keeps going even if you don't complete all the tasks you need to, but you notice a reduced quality of life. It's this reduced quality of life that reminds you of what you need to do, but it's more gradual and perhaps natural. Task lists and calendars aren't as natural. The concept of time is really a man-made invention or model anyway. Does your alarm clock really know when you should wake up better than your body?

I have flown over 30 flights in the first 8 months of this year, have over 120,000 frequent flyer miles on Northwest Airlines alone, and have been to cities across the U.S. I do all this travel as part of my job in working with broadcasters to get their streaming media online and it's a great time in my life to do it! However, it's also an ideal time to make sure my finances are in line so the next 30 or 40 years lead to good growth and income. It can be challenging when you're putting so much focus into helping Oprah put on her first webcast or Barack Obama streaming his acceptance speech for the democratic presidential nomination in HD. In this article I discuss methods for keeping personal finances in order while doing a lot of travel for work.

If you can have a small reward now or a larger reward later which would you choose? Why? Do your personal, financial, and lifestyle choices mimic this choice? There seems to be something going on in our culture and The Naked Economist explains they involve key bad habits:

1. Entitlements-- politicians who offer short term rewards forsaking the future help to reinforce delusions of unrealistic entitlement.

2. Flat college and high school completion rates-- school isn't for everyone, but is it the best choice for you or just an easy short term way out?

3. America's near-zero saving rates-- insane, risky, stupid, and we all know it!

4. Chronic federal budget deficits-- our own government can't even provide a decent savings model; don't look to it for an answer.

5. A lack of vision for how ambitious collective endeavors can change the trajectory of our lives-- the author explains a lack of social programs is to blame, but I don't think they are the answer as there is plenty of private sector inspiration-- learn from it and act!

Instant Gratification Nation: Can We Still Sacrifice for the Future? [Yahoo! Finance]

Mint.com, a free online money management service, now has the added functionality of supporting student and auto loans, mortgages, tracking interest changes, and more banks.

I've been using the FullView service since I have an account at Fidelity, but these new features at Mint just made it very interesting to me. I signed up for an account last year, but it wasn't really useful to me since I couldn't track my student loans or credit union account.

I think Mint might be worth another look now.

For those of you looking to determine how much you should be paid for a certain job try the Online Wage Library. Companies employing foreign laborers with temporary or permanent work visas must report how much they are paying them. As a result, this database of pay scales is available online as an alternative source to others like Salary.com (another good site I'd recommend).