The audio book, Money Management Skills, by Professor Michael Finke, is a very thorough introduction to personal finance and financial planning. It has easy to understand explanations for listeners newer to financial planning and investing. Though it wasn’t always a smooth read from the author/professor, the ideas were logical and gave the audience much to think about when looking down their own financial path. 

Just like the last book I (M) brought up on the blog, this one was more centered around Americans and thinking points about choosing a financial path if living in the States and able to take advantage of the opportunities and systems there. But again, though American-centric, it covers a wide scope of all things finance that could be useful for anyone getting started in understanding each area of finance and understanding how they are connected.

One thing that was different about this book was that the author focused on where we are on the life cycle model. This model suggests that the individual should plan their finances based on the season of life they are in. In many ways, this strategy makes sense and encourages the consumer to think of the longer term goals and overall picture of finance. In other ways, it somewhat seems to leave out the possibilities of disasters and personal situations in the life cycle. It also seems to have some assumptions that the reader would either be on the path of the life cycle model already or that the audience needs to be consoled for bad decisions. Perhaps they are and perhaps they do… 

One specific area that I found interesting was when the author talked about emotion in relation to the life cycle model. Specifically, when insurance was mentioned and the risk retention logic. Professor Finke talked about the emotional response to disasters and happenstance, but also suggested taking a step back and thinking logically about risk and loss. The suggestion here was to think about how much the reader is willing to spend over a lifetime and looking at the limit of the deductible and how much could be saved through something like compound interest. $10,000 as a deductible was the magic number for Finke to take responsibility for insurance, but this assumes that this is cash that the individual has saved up for just such cases. 

Another helpful idea for any reader, not just the American audience, was the idea of figuring out cash flow in order to build a budget. While I’ve heard this presented by different finance books before, I thought that this description was very clear and easy to follow. Professor Finke encourages us to find our fixed (same every month like rent) and flexible (food, clothing, etc.) spending by keeping track of them for a bit. From here, the individual should consider and write down their total income through income and also 401k (as this increases our saving potential and is part of net worth). From here, the reader is encouraged to split the difference to see what net savings (and investments) and deficits (borrowing/credit) currently are. After all of this is when a budget comes into play. Once the individual can see their financial path, with priorities in place for goals and long term spending, a budget allows smoothing of spending overtime and for money to go to where the individual feels it should. 

One thing that kept popping up within the narrative was first an explanation of what the most basic thing to do was, but then the author saying, most readers are probably in a higher pay bracket or something similar. Personally, I felt like this marginalized the experience of the individual before saying what each progressive step is. The difficulty in savings and planning in a lower SES seemed glossed over, but it also probably wasn’t the focus of this teacher. 

Final thoughts: I would come back to this book to listen to sections as starter points especially for bigger purchases like housing or ideas and terms for refreshers on investments, but again these are more applicable to the U.S. American market, resident and first steps before starting in-depth research in the area of finance. Who knows, it could help us all grow our own wealth.

Short weekend trip; December 13-15th, 2019

A great town to experience Slow Food, Bra has an outstanding selection of local food options and types of food for almost every taste. The town is a short trip from Milan and has that quintessential feeling of Italy. I went on the trip with some friends in the winter of 2019 and it’s been a highlight of this time in Italy. 

Slow Food is a reaction to the fast food industry and tries to keep local, traditional food from going extinct. I hadn’t heard of it before this trip and now every trip around Italy seems to be an opportunity for even better food because of the specialness of these food options at their original locations.

Battaglino was probably my favorite of the slow food restaurants. They had options for all of us and the waiters knew local wines to pair with the food perfectly. Menus were also in English if requested. A reservation is needed. 

If into wine, a stop by the Wine Bank is ideal. This “bank” has been around since 2001 and a large collection of the wines from all over Italy and carries a history of those wines. Wines are selected by Slow Food so you know this is a taste of Italian wine at its best. Tastings, visits to the vault and workshops can be provided by visiting the website. We did a tasting pairing with chocolate – yum! If you have allergies or food restrictions, let them know when you’re booking the tour.

If you’re heading back to Milan and have time to stop for lunch in Torino (transfering at Torino Porta Susa), a recommendation is to stop at Giardino. They have fresh, organic, plant based food and can cater to many dietary restrictions. 

Looking for a sweet snack? Grab a bicerin (drink made of coffee, chocolate and cream) from the original cafe, Caffe Al Bicerin (dal 1763). Not interested in a bicerin? No worries they have straight up drinking chocolate (picture), baked goods and other flavored drinks. Get there early! They fill up and usually there is a line out the door. 

How did we get to Bra?

Purchasing tickets through the online websites for .Italo and Trenitalia was easy and inexpensive. We traveled from on .Italo from Milan’s Centrale (train station), then switched to Trenitalia at Torino Porta Susa. The transfers were easy and within the same large stations, so give yourself a little time to find the correct platform. The total length of a train ride one-way was a little over 2 hours (if counting transfer time). 

Time: Mid-February, 2020

In mid-February, I took a mini-break from work for the Italian national holiday called “settimana bianca”. Where many friends and co-workers were heading towards the mountains for snow or to seek out the sun for a bit, I wanted to work on one of my major O:KR (objective: key result) goals of learning functional Italian. 

Another goal this year is to go on short trips, but not to break the bank with travel. This trip also helped me to realize that I can travel without overspending and still have a satisfying trip. 

I went with friends who have some similar goals and are better planners (and people, in general) than I am. They had decided on the Italian Academy in Syracuse, on the island of Sicily. We shared a lot of costs and this really helped to keep the total of the trip down, even with some splurges on meals. No regrets!

How we got there: We took a quick flight from Linate (best if going from Milan) to Catania, rented a car, and stayed a night at a little hotel/apartment called Casa D’Aria before heading to Syracuse.

In Italy, people drive on the same side of the road as in the USA so if you can rent a car and have an AAA International Drivers license it is pretty easy to get around! It was less than $10 per person for the week (there were 4 of us) and it made getting around so much faster and easier. For example, on the way to our Airbnb, we stopped a bit outside of the city at a great slow foods restaurant called San Giovanni. We wouldn’t have been able to get there without a taxi or a day of walking. 

(In saying that, there is also a train that goes from Catania to Syracuse so it is still possible to get to Syracuse.)  

What to do: (I would suggest three main things)

1. Take a language course at the Italian Academy! The classes are small, there is a focus on speaking, the teachers are friendly, and there are a variety of ages and nationalities that go to learn. The schedule is pretty flexible, based on student needs and you can get a certificate of completion at the end. The school is next door to Catacombe di San Giovanni. It is also a short walk from Roman and Greek ruins. One recommendation: if you buy a book, make sure to ask for it the first day. https://www.theitalianacademy.com 
2. Walk around, or stay in, Ortega and eat. It is a smaller island city to the south of Syracuse and gives the feeling of a dignified, small town on the water (because that is what it is). There are many beautiful streets and sites to visit and enjoy, the sunset is beautiful when the sky is clear and they have great restaurants, including one of the best plant based restaurants I’ve been to called MOON (Move Ortigia Out of Normality). I would also recommend a stop for a delicious gelato or treat at Belfiore and look up a few slow food restaurants. If visiting during the day, there is a daily market around a temple of Apollo and various other daily life shopping experiences. 
3. If you have a car, take a short trip to a nearby town. This is the time of year for Carnival so a lot of the small towns have festivals. Children and adults dress up and there is a feeling of fun surrounding these quiet places. One evening, we ended up in a beautiful town called Palazzolo Acreide, walked around the ruins of a beautiful medieval castle that we had to ourselves, had some slow food street food (yes… but it was for the Carnival I think) and desert before going home. I was very pleasantly surprised that multiple places had alternative food options and everyone left full and happy.

When I decided to move again in 2018, I had no clue how to budget for a move to Europe. 

After moving internationally two other times (from the US to Vietnam and then to Japan), I just thought that things would fall into place and that the responsibility of getting myself settled would magically happen as easily as it had the last two times. Mainly due to employer support, the kindness of others and the benevolence of the universe.

Delusional… 

Though in retrospect and after talking with other teachers in my cohort, this mindset seems pretty common. And, to be fair, things really do seem to work out eventually – even though there are a lot of growing pains with realizing one’s responsibility in expat adultness.

I tried to plan a basic budget by thinking of things that people had warned me about. In all honesty, this really only included rent and a deposit. (I think it is clear, I am no financial expert and am just sharing stories along my bumbling path.)

In retrospect, I should have done more research to see the cost of utilities, internet, hidden fees, what-ifs of not finding a place after the first month of school support ran out (real possibility and did happen), etc. I just did not know the questions to ask because these were not issues that I had encountered in any other international move.

I think this is the hardest part about moving overseas: every country has different settling in norms. I did not think to ask, so I was not expecting the cost; I did not fully envision different outcomes, so have felt that I have been hemorrhaging money. 

And, yes, there are A LOT of unknowns that I feel one cannot catch, but can be prepared for financially. While I think planning a detailed budget for us financial newbs who are moving is a lesson in frustration, and maybe even futility, I do think that having a general plan or budget limit is a good thing. A must.

So what have I learned so far in regards to moving without a budget, or a very sparse outline of one on paper?

Lessons learned with moving (hopefully):

1. Ask more financially related questions. 

Not just about the job, work load, community, but realistically about the boring day to day of costs and timeline (also a cost) of electricity, gas, internet, finding a place and extra fees involved in getting everything set-up. 

Every step along the way, there were extra fees and not just with settling in. I would have asked more about payment timeline because it was a bit of a surprise (though not completely unexpected) to find out I would not be paid until being there for a month, with no settling in allowance. This would and should have gone into my general plan of how long I would have been without a paycheck in order to more realistically plan how much to save for the move.

2. Save more than you think you’ll need… and be prepared to spend it!

In Italy, just for housing, I found it normal that there is a 3+ months of deposit, plus first month’s rent (building fees are separate, but should have been factored in), plus the possibility of an agency fee for someone who practically does nothing [insert rant here] that equals about another months rent. Needless to say that it came to a lot more than I have ever spent to find a place. This wasn’t including setting up utilities and an actual place to call “home”. On the good side, I also didn’t get scammed, which is pretty common here. 

Another piece of good news, I had saved the money for all of this… I just did not plan to spend that savings on the move. Plan to spend the money after saving it! 

3. Be prepared to hemorrhage money for a bit and put savings on hold.

This last one… I have gotten pretty down about. For the last two years especially, I felt I was doing well. I had taken finance books advice to heart, started to spend less, invest about 25% of my pay per month, had savings, no debt, and was feeling smug in my ability to stick to a budget. 

Yet, here I have been feeling like I was taking a giant step back because I haven’t been able to do any of those financial steps forward for months.

My wise friend A said that I needed to just be kind to myself, I had a hard time hearing this until November when she said it again. She also reminded me that I had said I had saved, and I had – I just did not want to spend it on what I had saved it for (see lesson learned #2).

Conclusions…

I think the lessons I have learned are important ones, including that I was more prepared than I thought, but less prepared than I had hoped.

My moving wound still seeps more than I would like it to and unexpected costs still happen, but I’ve also learned that making a new relationship with this country will take time and so will planning the next part of my financial path. 

As someone who is still learning deeper levels of patience on this financial path, this move has often felt like an imposing task with too many unknowns. For now, I just keep trying to remember that this is a great opportunity to practice what I’ve learned and learn more in a country that requires an understanding of things happening when they happen.

Are you just getting started with making money matter? 

I, M, would really recommend starting a money date night. Dates with your money are even for those that are old hat with finance and trying to make it sexy and not routine. The best part? Money date night is FREE and you can do it in your PJs!

So about two years ago, I was YouTube binging and trying to find motivation to continue to track every piece of what I was spending so that I could have a better game plan of where my money was going and how I could save more. I happened across Vanessa Van Edwards and Tom Bilyeu talking about success and how to be more invested in the process (or at least, in successive years this is where my brain told me I got the idea from).

(Blog break: I couldn’t find the original video, but found one just as strong about healthy relationships. Check out HERE.)

The biggest thing I got out of that long ago and nameless video was to have a date night with your money. Van Edwards said to make money sexy again by having a date with your money. Go over your money, how you’re spending, do bills all with some nice candle light, maybe music and/or wine. Once a week or a month? It doesn’t matter as long as people start making time for something that controls a lot of our decisions and futures. Genius!

From that point, I started to enact a once a week money date night. I set a money playlist on my media player for motivation and tried to make money “more sexy” (as Van Edwards said to do). 

So what do my money date nights look like? Usually, about once a week, I get out my little book of what I spent, tally everything and reference my budget to the awesome tunes of my money playlist. I will often add candles and some of my favorite tea to this ritual – I started very stressed to even look at where my money was going so this helped me to calm down. 

When I first started money date nights, they were about 20 minutes, just to make sure that I was doing something and that it was more on my mind (squirrel brain). After awhile, just like exercising, I would find myself spending an hour with my money without even realizing it. I would read finance books, balance my budget or make a new one, reference what I had done the previous month, etc. etc. etc. 

I think the most important part of this for me has been making time for myself and to understand something that has a lot of control over me (even when I think it doesn’t). It has become a way to enjoy learning, drink tea and take time a little slower. 

One of the most important things about money date nights are that they are a chance to reflect on my success each week. I take little steps, have good intentions and it turns into a way to celebrate moving forward with my financial goals. 

How can you start your own money date night? Any way you want! That is another plus for these dates. As long as you sit down, have a good and honest conversation with your money and can make a better path, you’ve had a great date!