What does this mean?
There will be no new entries on Poorer Than You until the end of the WGA strike. I may respond to the occasional comment on old posts, and I encourage discussion in the comments section of this post. But there will not be any new content.

But Stephanie, you’re not a member of the WGA!
True. This is a showing of solidarity toward my fellow writers. It may seem silly, but due to my connections to the film and television industries, I feel deeply moved to action by all of this. I don’t feel content to sit by and simply be an observer.

You’re not hurting anyone but yourself by doing this.
Perhaps. I am not really sticking it to “the man” by doing this, as I answer only to myself and my readers on this blog. However, I’m hoping to at least raise some awareness of the cause. Also, I feel that because I have advocated (on this very blog) digital and internet formats for watching television, I need to do this. Writers should be fairly compensated when their work is released in any format.

You’re just looking for an excuse not to update.
You might think that, and I don’t blame you. But I’d like to remind you that I do make income from this site, and striking puts my already precarious finances in jeopardy. I am, in fact, putting my money where my mouth is by doing this.

Where can I find out more about the strike?
The Writers Guild of America website
Why We Fight - a video explaining the reasons behind the strike
Support the WGA Stike!
United Hollywood - unofficial blog by a group of strike captains

Please consider visiting these websites and supporting the WGA strike in any way you can. Thank you.

The following is a guest entry, written by one of PTY’s readers, Matt. If you have a personal finance story to share like Matt’s, please feel free to email it to me.
- Stephanie

Hi, my name’s Matt. I was briefly venting to Stephanie (your regular author) that I was about to take my first plunge into the stock market game tonight, and she invited me to write a guest entry, so here I am.

First, a little bit about myself. I’m a service member currently deployed to Iraq. I’ve got my wife who, like Stephanie, is a full-time student, and my young daughter at home waiting for me. Perhaps the best deal about being in Iraq is that my pay is increased by effectively 33% due to my tax-free status in addition to my “special incentive” pay that I receive while over here.

We just finished paying off our debt snowball in June, and have been studiously dumping money into high-yield savings accounts: first EmigrantDirect, then E*Trade after ED lowered their APY to 4.75%. It’s a proud time for me. For the first time in a very long time our checking account is looking pretty thin because we’re saving every last penny we can.

To get where we are today, my wife and I have adapted a few of Dave Ramsey’s rules to fit our military family mind-set.

1. Establish your strategic reserve ? Sun Tzu said something like, “Keeping a force in reserve to support the main effort can be the decisive factor in winning a battle.” As a military family who rents our home, our chances of encountering catastrophic expenses due to medical bills are statistically insignificant. Often the only “surprise attack” we’ll get is having to take one of the cars to the auto shop. However, I know the debilitating effect even a small doctor’s visit can have on the uninsured. For this reason, having a “react force” that can pay the hundreds of dollars for an office visit or a trip to the mechanic means you won’t have to wear out that plastic and build up your principal again.
2. Attack your debt ? You’ve got to hate your debt. Yeah, it has some nice things to teach you, but if you’ve gotten to the point where you want to get it out of your life, you’ve already learned the painful lessons. Gear up with the weapons of personal finance war: a budget, a disciplined mind-set, and a strong will to win. You’ve got to relentlessly slice expenditures out of your life. We had to cut cable, and skip vacations and buying nice things. Our tax return last year went to paying off one of our cars. We could’ve used a new dining room table, but we made do in order to get out from under our lenders.
3. Defend your budget ? This one can be tough, especially if your significant other or child(ren) want new things. On one hand, you want to keep your family happy and not become an overbearing miser who can’t let a penny go. On the other, you know what your financial objectives are, and every dollar you can keep out of the gas pump, restaurant or mall is a dollar that can go toward debt reduction. In my experience, it’s best to adopt a flexible, “bend but don’t break” philosophy. If you have a controlled splurge once a month, buying a new outfit or eating out at a nice restaurant for no reason, you can maintain domestic tranquility without wrecking your budget.
4. Don’t be afraid to call in supporting fire ? In the Marine Corps, we have our big guns: artillery and tanks. In the world of my personal finance, I’ve had to start calling in my family for backup. When I make my trip home, I don’t let pride stop me from letting my family pay for dinner or driving us to a far-off location (gas costs money!). On the same token, however, don’t get carried away. A loan is a loan is a loan. Borrowing money from family carries its own set of dangers you have to be on the lookout for. Also in this category, talk to the experts! Dave Ramsey turned our financial life around. I also subscribe to numerous personal finance blogs, like PTY, Consumerist, Get Rich Slowly, and My Money Blog.

There’s probably nothing new here for most of the PTY readers. The bottom line is still spend less than you earn. No matter how much you make, minimum wage or a six-figure salary, anyone can spend themselves into debt. There are so many personal finance generals out there, like Dave Ramsey (I love that guy, can you tell?), who have fought this battle and won decisively. Listen to your generals. Whether it’s Dave, your grandparents living well because of decisions they made about retirement 40 years ago, or even our girl Stephanie (who honestly I suppose might be a major, if we’re going to stretch this metaphor), listen to people who have turned their lives around! And focus! Victory is within reach!

Ok guys, you know how excited I get every month, when I get the opportunity to comb through my finances and tabulate my net worth! What can I say - I’m a geek for numbers. October gave me a bit of a worry - my on-campus job went on hiatus, and I went a little crazy with Halloween. So… did the number go up, or down? *Drumroll time…*

Change: $71 or +0.26 %

Not a great jump up, but up is still good! Almost all of my extra expenses this month could be placed in the “Parties and Dining Out” category. I’m a sucker for hanging out with friends, and I make a big deal out of Halloween, especially.

One other thing I dropped money on was $20 for an audio version of notes for my class. I really enjoy being able to review while commuting to school, by putting the notes on my iPod and plugging it into my car stereo. I’m hoping this will help me get a good grade on the final exam in two weeks!

Gas for my car was also a big expense - commuting is saving me a lot of money, but it doesn’t feel like it whenever I fill up my tank. Environmentally, I wish I was able to live close to (or on) campus, and not having to drive so much - or at all. But financially, I wouldn’t be able to afford school at all if I had to pay for my housing.

For a breakdown of my assets and liabilities, check out my NetworthIQ for October. There’s also an explanation of my NetworthIQ categories.

Next month: I have hope for November, but it’s going to be a bit of a crap shoot. My on-campus job is still on hiatus, so I’ll be relying on my other two jobs for income. Also, I expect to begin Christmas spending. Oh boy - I think the conversation on Christmas presents will probably warrant an entry of its own, so I won’t get into that just yet.