5 things you don't know about me

I was tagged! by Wanda, the author of the wonderful pf blog Well-Heeled.

So...5 things:

1) I secretly love getting shots/needles. tetanus, flu, giving blood, you name it. It makes me feel like I'm doing something good for my health. Not that I'd shoot up for fun or anything, but I welcome a good vaccine anytime.

2) I have a younger sister (25) who is terrible at managing money. and do i mean terrible. I try my hardest to counsel her and give tips, but it just doesn't stick. Love her to pieces, though, and she is my very best friend in the world.

3) When I go to the hairdresser I tell them to do whatever they think is best--I'm content to just close my eyes and enjoy the pampering. I'm an adventurer at heart and it's only hair. Of course, I only do this at a good salon, not at Supercuts.

4) Pop culture is my weakness. I love a good classic book, but more often than not you'll find me reading some crappy chick lit. Also, bad reality TV. I STILL (for some reason) watch the Real World! Project Runway is my favorite. At this very second I am watching Britain's Top Model recap. I also think DVR is the best invention of the 00's. For shame.

5) As a corollary of #4, I'm currently nursing a major crush on Jim Halpert from 'The Office.' He's so average-guy but so ideal. agh, i heart him.

6) I think and analyze to my detriment. As a result, I'm very afraid that I won't get what I want in life, or that I'll waste it by sitting idly by, thinking but never doing.

So that's my 5 things! I can't think of anyone to tag, i think all the blogs i read have already done this!

Taking a brief hiatus for the holidays after this post. Have a good one!

State of the Moolah

ING: $103.17
HSBC: $2133.10
Svgs: $25.40
VK: $964.30
Checking: $1562.01-830 (Rent)- (CC Expenses)

401(K): $3334.92
Roth IRA: $151.07 (yay! i already "made" a dollar!)

Owed to CC (for this month's expenses): $404.60

Total Saved (retirement): $3485.99
Total Emergency Savings: $3225.97
Total available for spending until 1/4/06: $327.41

Compared to:
Total Emergency Savings (9/9/06): $2035
Total Emergency Savings (10/14/06): $2583
Total Emergency Savings (11/19/06): $2977

Man, all those plane tickets (reroute through Chicago, a trip home for a funeral, tickets for my return from home after the holidays) really through my budget for a loop. just when i'm feeling vulnerable that my savings isn't growing at the rate I'd like it to, too--I will have to post soon about this.

Also

I think the show "Identity" should be called "Who is the best stereotyper?"

Am I a Scrooge?

Everyone's writing about how much (or more frugally, how little) they spent on Christmas gifts this year. I find myself wondering how one spends the amounts I've been hearing...$1200 for Christmas gifts?! Really?! Who are these people and why are you spending so much on them?

I just don't deem it necessary to give everyone I know a present. What for? I don't know what it is, but I'm not going to give a) my co-workers, b) my friends from high school or c) my mailman a Christmas gift. Who decided that we had to? here's who is getting a gift from me:

My sister will get a shopping trip with me footing the bill, my mom will get a mani/pedi/salon trip with me paying for a third of her treatments, and my dad gets me subsidizing a dinner out with the family. Notice they all involve spending time with me (i'm not implying that's the gift; i'm saying the opportunity to spend time together is usually the most valuable gift you can give). My standard gift limit for close friends/family members is $50, so my total comes to $150. I'm also paying out of my nose for airplane tickets, so i consider that part of my gift. Likewise, i'm paying a huge amount to spend new year's at my boyfriends' new city, Chicago, so I can't afford anything for him (plus I have NO CLUE what to give a shiny new boyfriend of less than two months for Christmas...esp. one that has ventured into 'we should move in together' territory (but that's a topic for another post). I AM spending the rest of my $100 bonus on dinner with him, so that could count...right?

I also consider Christmas cards the biggest waste of time and paper ever. Everyone throws them away right after Christmas, anyway. I saw "An Inconvenient Truth," there's no way I can kill that many trees in the name of a holiday that is supposed to be about love and faith. Not that everyone else I know and love won't hear from me--but I'll send my Christmas wishes through the intraweb this year, thankyouverymuch!

So if that makes me a cheapie, that makes me a cheapie. Christmas IS about spending to me--spending TIME with those that I love, and appreciating that they are with me for another year.

$100 Bonus!

Happy Holidays TO ME!! Today I received an email saying that while I had to miss the Company Holiday Party last week, they had recognized me for all the hard work I've been doing, and could charge $100 to the company card for ANYTHING I WANT. They specifically mentioned a dinner out, but i'm taking what they said literally.

Exciting, yes, and looong overdue. As happy as I am, it's too little, too late. I hate to be ungrateful; it really is a blessing. As I dislike having to figure out what to make for dinner when i get home, and feel guilty every time I buy my lunch out at work, i charged take-out for lunch and dinner in the field today (I'm working an hour away from home, so technically I can't charge it to the company; this blows as i don't really have time to pack a lunch and can't exactly waste two+ hours by going home and eating there), and put gas to go to and from work on it so far. I have about $70 left, which i plan to use to take my family out for dinner for Christmas, or to treat my boyfriend in Chicago over New Year's.

The funny thing is, I would've missed the party even if I hadn't had to go home to attend my grandmother's funeral because they scheduled me to be out of town for fieldwork last week. So they plan to recognize me but can't even schedule me to be there to receive my praises? Just another great example. I hate to be cynical, but it's so transparent, I can't take the praise seriously as I take the $100--they only recognize people when they absolutely can't afford to lose them. It's like suddenly if a not-so-nice guy suddenly bought his girlfriend flowers and started treating her well after she decided to break up with him. It means nothing at that point...the damage is done.

Hmmm...I'm suddenly tempted to partially fund a new interview suit with the rest of the money. Now THAT would be a great use for it.

Sorry this post is disjointed and probably grammatically incorrect, I'm insanely tired. also, i'm not mean and cynical in real life, just when it comes to my job. :)

Out of Commission

Really! It's not my fault. I have had no time to myself lately to focus on finances. Not that it isn't in the forefront of my mind (as always), but I just haven't had ample time to organize my thoughts, let alone set it down electronically. So honestly, i'm terrible lately, but I've had a crazy month.

First and foremost--work. I was out of town for most of December already for fieldwork to far-flung places in Cali. most nights i would get to my hotel room a mere 6 hours before I was supposed to wake up and start my work-day again. in addition, my work scheduled me to be in places that were 2 or three hours apart from one another, with no day in between to catch my breath. so i'd finish a 14 hour work day only to have to drive 2 or 3 hours to the next destination. kurrr-azy!

Secondly, the boy has visited me two weekends so far, two weeks apart. i'm not complaining about this one, but since we get so little time together, we basically are glued at the hip whilst he is visiting. therefore, no blogging time on the weekend.

Thirdly, my grandmother became very very ill in the past month, and passed away last week. So earlier I was trying to balance work, boyfriend, and trying to get home to see her. I didn't make it in time, but I was able to go home for the memorial service.

So, I've been everywhere but in front of my laptop with idle time. i don't see life getting any less busy, but I will try harder.

Work Sickness

I'm staying home sick today because the next month+ of work is going to be HELL. I actually feel I'm sick today because of the thought of the drudgery that has to take place before I leave for home for Christmas.

Anyway, I found out the schedule for the next few months yesterday. I have a million and one things to do, so much so that I'll be working all weekend, every weekend until January. Unfortunately, it looks like once I get back from my vacation, the grueling schedule only continues. Upon hearing this news, my body decided to revolt--and promptly ignored my alarm this morning. This is the last day I can take off before everything really starts to suck, so I guess an executive decision was made by my body and it decided not to tell my brain that it was overriding its commands.

In short, there was a brief lull before the storm, but the wind is only picking up speed, i fear.

I really am just biding my time and saving up until the day I can quit without the scary financial willies. I was thinking June, but now I don't know if I can make it that long. I'd better start applying for stuff now!

Roth IRA revisited.

I've gotten some feedback on my Roth IRA. Here's the skinny:

1) I'm too much in bonds. I need to convert my bond index fund to an emerging market fund. these are more risky than bond funds, but still quite conservative, and more appropriate for someone my age.

2) I need to wait for 3 months before doing this so I can avoid the fees.

3) the fees on accounts with less than $5000 are about $30 per fund per year. By next year, I should be over $5K, so I only expect to pay these fees for one year. I consider this just a penalty for starting.

So...good to know.

Also, I'm saddened to see that the co-pay on my new birth control is $25/month! this is up from $5. argh. From $60 to $300 a year!
bleh. may have to change it back.

been reseachin'

Apparently my company is switching over to HSA's (health savings accounts) for our medical insurance. I really don't like this, for various reasons. Maybe i just don't understand how they work. It sounds like the HSA's are tied to crappy insurance policies (they sound like catestrophic/disaster insurance) and require me to pay for everything until something bad happens. They have very high deductibles. i don't WANT to pay full price for my semi annual and annual doctor's visits. why isn't the insurance company paying for these things like they are supposed to? If i were responsible for paying for my own doctor's visits, i might skip them to save money! So, in effect, i'd be paying a premium for health care, PLUS expenses up to $1050 or so every year. That. Sucks. I probably pay a couple hundred plus my cheap-o premiums annually right now, so i'd end up paying MORE this way, even after taxes are added to my current cost.

I'd rather have a FSA--still tax-free, but more lee-way in the way of health coverage. FSA's sound like they are not tied to one particular kind of insurance; they are just funds you use for health care items. I can spend a certain amount before the end of the year, that's fine. as long as i don't have to pay for everything out of pocket. that's how it seems, anyway. is this true?

My weakness...

I've gotten the travel bug again. It lay dormant for the past year or so, but now I'm just jonesin' to see some foreign lands. I think i caught it from my friend who just got a job that will allow him to travel all over the world. Luckily, he says his employer will pay for him to invite his 'date/girlfriend/spouse' over to visit him whenever he wants, so I may be able to score business class tix to places like tokyo and paris! that, combined with a free place to stay (his), and traveling costs are suddenly reduced to food, admission, and souvenirs. Ok, and missed time from work, but whatever. I don't count that. it's time to explore...now to just get some money together. I'll plan on using my rules in my last post to make sure everything is in order for when the opportunity presents itself, or I make it happen. At the very latest--June of next year! I can't wait.

Also, last night i went out to a bar and came out with a buzz and a contact for another job I've been looking at. A winner all around!

why now?

I keep getting annoyed that now that I finally have my financial life together (well, nearly together), I'm now planning on disrupting it when I change jobs. It doesn't seem fair that one part of my life is entering chaos while everything else is seeming to come together. As my friend says, control is an illusion. Still, I feel like i have most things in control right now, except for the biggie--and the one that my finances depend on.

I've boiled down the pertinent steps to maintain a healthy financial life--beyond the millions of things that you can do to save money, etc., what are the basic things you can do without thinking? Like dieting, basic overarching moves like eating a salad every day, sleeping enough, working out, and taking a daily multi-vitamin will keep you healthy without having to think about every morsel you put into your mouth. I think that's what I'm progressing towards--simplicity without the obsession. My interest in finances seems to be going through a waning stage now that i'm out of debt and my personal life is ramping up. I don't want to give up my dreams of being financially flush, so I need to figure out the main financial moves that I can still fit into my life easily.

Also, with the whole 'changing jobs' idea, I have a feeling i'm not going to have time to really concentrate on being frugal and keeping track of my expenses as much as I would like, anyway. Here's what I can do without really thinking:

1) Save a little. Each month, no matter what, put some away.
1a) Automate those payments. That way I don't have to think about it. I'm amazed at how it adds up.
1b) Save it in a high-interest bearing account like ING or HSBC. (ING will give you $25 to open an account--ask for one of my referrals!). Check the current interest rates to maximize savings.

2) Save for retirement. 12% of my gross paycheck now goes to my 401K. Rebalance as needed. Another $150 a month goes to a Roth IRA. If you are confused as to which funds to buy into, invest in index funds. Easy cheesy. And, finally--

3) Live off the rest, beneath your means. If you net $2500 a month after retirement and savings, sure, spend $2500. Seriously, folks, if you make more than the living wage and can't seem to get ahead, it's time to exercise some tough love on yourself. It's hard, it's a struggle, but totally worth it.
3a) Find a way to keep track of your expenses. use your debit card only; keep all of your receipts; even better, if you can handle yourself with a credit card, get a great cashback rewards credit card and only use that while paying it in full every month. the credit card company or bank (for debit) will keep track of your variable (maybe even some fixed) monthly expenses for you. Review the balance throughout the month and adjust as needed.
3b) Get in the habit of restricting your purchases. It makes budgeting easier. Buy what you absolutely need--toothpaste, etc. and that's it. Need? or Want?

Once you are a) saving a little for emergencies and the like, b) saving for retirement, and c) easily living off of the rest (including paying off debts as fast as possible), you are golden. I truly believe that these steps are easy if you make enough and can do without extensive luxuries that put you over your means. Of course, there's something to be said for those who can save 50% of their salaries and only spend $2 in the grocery store each month, but for right now I'm happy with letting go of the control a little bit and just following these simple steps. When I'm ready, I'll return to my super-motivated savings mode...and these steps will make sure I've got a great starting point to come back to.

still to do:
--check VK account rules for pulling money out of my money market acct.
--bill pay on rewards card? check into for 1% cashback.
--check credit reports/scores and fix. Tally up open and closed cc's. reduce number of cc's.

Opened a Roth IRA!

I'm on a freakin roll! I just opened a Roth IRA with T. Rowe Price today, as they waive the huge initial investment if you set up an automatic payment of $50 per fund per month. The huge initial investments (upwards of $1000/fund) are the reason I haven't opened one yet--i can't bear to part with the funds in my emergency account, but I can set aside a couple hundred a month for the Roth. Rather than wait 8 months to have enough to start one, I'm getting in earlier with this strategy, dollar cost averaging, and also will be able to contribute more (you can contribute an annual total of $4000 until April of the next year, or until you file your taxes).

So, here are my investments (totalling $150/month):

$50 in U.S. Bond Index (for security)
$50 in Equity Index 500
$50 in International Equity Index

I'm very happy with this arrangement. They are all no-load funds, with expense ratios under 0.5% annually. Since they are index funds, they keep up with the market and are quite diversified. I'd like it if I could invest less in the bonds and more in stocks, but I'll take what I can get for now.

Ah. Load off of my shoulders. I swear, sometimes actually crossing things off of my list is more gratifying than knowing that I'm investing in my future (although that is pretty rad, too).

Tuned up my 401(k)!

Once in a while I get really frustrated that there's not much I can do besides 'be frugal' to save money and change my financial situation. For as cautious as I am, I sometimes like ACTION. I like seeing change occur, instant gratification-like, in my money.

That's hardly ever possible. Most of my actions are very passive, like my automatic savings payments each month, and some of my to-do's on my finance list require a more hands on approach. Every so often, i get antsy to do some work on my active goals to satisfy the instant G's.

Today I did just that. My personal life has switched to la bore again, so i had some free time to think about what I could do. So, today i took the advice of the financial advisor that came to my work a couple of weeks ago and rebalanced and reinvested my 401(k) portfolio. It feels so good that I can check my portfolio tomorrow and will be able to see the difference! Here's the breakdown:

Before the reinvestment:

100% in the 2050 Target Retirement plan, which invests in roughly 8 funds of varying risks and is considered 'moderate' as a whole even though it includes conservative bond and mortgage funds and also aggressive small company blend sep. Accts.

After the reinvestment:
50% in the 2050 Target Retirement plan (moderate)
10% in U.S. Property Sep Acct (moderate)
20% in Diversified International Separate Acct (Dynamic)
20% in the International Small Company Sep. Acct (Dynamic)

So my new portfolio makes me happy. I don't ever intend on pulling money out of my account for anything but retirement, so the dynamic funds will have plenty of time to dip and recover at will. Meanwhile, the conservative investments in the target fund make me feel secure. I've been meaning to invest in real estate, and also international funds, so I'm super-happy about my new allocations. We'll see how they do--but I'm pretty confident that this was a good decision.

Next big action goals:
--check credit reports and scores (two down, one to go)
--fix credit mistakes
--open Roth IRA (still working on this one...need to get on the ball and open one already!!)

Passive goals:
--sock away $$ in automatic payments for my 3-month emergency fund
--save $$ for italy trip/new car/lasik
--research moving money from my money market mutual fund to my HSBC acct (it hasn't been gaining as much $$ as it would in hsbc, but i'm afraid of capital gains taxes since it hasn't been in the acct for more than a year...what are the rules on this again??)
--continue to live as cheaply as possible
--analyze my expenditures (they are now all on my Chase Rewards card, so i can see exactly how much I spend on every category!)

Putting the 'Personal' in Personal Finance

So I haven't been posting about money alot lately, and I am worried that the focus of my life is shifting away from those concerns and onto more dramatic ones. Every decision eventually impacts your finances, though, so I'll try to relate them all back.

I had an intense, busy, action filled past week and a half, and I spent ALOT of money, was throwing caution to the wind left and right, and I feel only a tiny bit guilty about it. After all, I had limited time with the people i adore, so money kind of becomes no object in those situations. I can afford a little luxury--the good side of being debt-free and usually conscientious about your finances is that once in a while you get to not care and also not do any major damage to your budget.

My life is back to boring, though--now that i have a long-distance boyfriend and my best friends are gone from the city, I have basically no other choice but to focus only on work, since work also paradoxically keeps me from making new friends and having a schedule that allows for planning. I am learning new skills left and right now (and I move into my new cube tomorrow!), so I'm planning on throwing myself into that. I still estimate that I'll leave this job in another 3-4 months or so, so that gives me some time to brush up on everything that will be valuable elsewhere.

Actually, i've had SUCH a hard few past weeks, I'm looking forward to spending Thanksgiving being grateful that I can spend some time alone. I'm not sure I'm even going to go to anybody's house for dinner on Thurs.; I was invited to several, but think I would be happiest lounging around and planning my escape from my company. The harder I work, the more opportunities I'll have--that's the kind of reward that motivates by itself.

Current State of the Moolah

Money market mutual fund: $959
ING: $2
HSBC: $2025
Savings: $1
Total Emergency Savings: $2977

Compared to:
Total Emergency Savings (9/9/06): $2035
Total Emergency Savings (10/14/06): $2583

Checking: $1700 (minus $830 in rent and $100 to be transferred to ING in the next week and a half), totalling: ~$700 to live off of for the next two weeks.

I have a bunch of transfers happening with all my savings accounts, but I'm really bad at keeping up with what transfers when...that's one reason why I try to keep ~1000 in my checking at all times--no matter what, I've got enough to cover any unexpected transfers, check cashings (WHY does my landlord take two weeks to a month to cash our checks??), etc. I really need to streamline and try to get all my transfers to take place on two days of the month, one after each paycheck if possible...

Savings (from Checking): $25 every month, on the eleventh (no min. bal. on my checking if I do this; no fees is my motto!). No way to change the date of the transfer on-line; will have to call.

HSBC: $100 on the 3rd

ING: $50 on the 3rd,
$50 on the 25th--only until January--there's a special $25000 giveaway promotion going on if you deposit $100 a month into the account. When January is over, I'll stop all transfers to ING and roll that money into my HSBC automatic payment.

Ideally, all of the transfers will occur on the same day, as soon as possible after my paycheck clears. Unfortunately, the day that our paycheck comes in varies every month--it's supposed to be two business days after the first and the fifteenth, but for some reason the business office (yeah, the same chick who can't seem to find our benefits packages) pays it anywhere from one day after to four business days after the first and fifteenth! argh. not to mention the confusion that weekends and holidays throw into the mix.
This is why I'm hesitant to increase my recurring transfers to any substantial amount--doing so may overdraw my balance if my paycheck hasn't come in yet.

So, I transfer $225 a month to various savings accounts. I'm also enrolled in Bank of America's Keep the Change program, so I transfer that moolah to my HSBC account depending on the balance. My goal is to have a 3 month emergency savings account. that is roughly $1500 per month, or $4500. I have ~$1500 to go, or seven months of $225 deposits. I am sure I can increase my monthly contribution next month (this month included a plane ticket purchase for $450 that took up most of the money that was supposed to go to my savings account) to roughly $800. That means, in three months, I will have the rest of my emergency fund! Then, it's on to saving to open a Roth IRA. With minimum initial deposits of 2K or more, i decided it was better to save up after I have my emergency fund in place. With my bonus, I should be able to amass 3K by April for my 2006 contributions, and then play catch up to max out 2007.

Busy

sorry for the lack of posts, but i'm still reeling from all the changes. I'm basically dating a guy that's leaving in 5 days, and work still sucks. I AM learning new skills, though, so that just ups my price even more.

My best friend is going to be in town for the next 4 days (hmmm, it's going to be interesting juggling my new boyfriend with my best friend when I have limited time with both), so--no posts. I'm sure there will be a plethora when my friends are gone and i have nothing to focus on except for work and finances again...

New Goal!

I just found out today that one of my good friends is spending a semester of B-school in Italy starting in Jan. ahhhh. italy...!

My plan now is to quit in April-ish, with a starting date at my new job (wherever that may be) after my friends' wedding in June. I'll use the time off (probably about 6 weeks) in between to visit my friend in Montana for a bit, probably visit another friend in the heartland, then head on over to New York to visit yet another couple of good friends. From NYC i'll head over to Milan, and spend a good two weeks there. Then I'll fly back to my hometown in VA and attend my friends' wedding.

Wow that's going to take a lot of money. luckily rooming is free at all my travel locations. It would be AWESOME to do that. How much money could that possibly take?

$2900 for flights to Bozeman, Chicago, New York, Milan, VA, and back. Lodging is free, so my other expenses are for food and souvenirs and all that good stuff. It's going to be terribly tempting to put it all on plastic. I really don't want to do that--I've got to start putting away funds for that. Guess maxing out my Roth will be put on hold until I have a stable job again.

This changes everything.

Ok, I don't have alot of time, what with spending time with friends before they leave and also trying to fit work in, but I found out some info last night that has me reeling. Quick recap:

-One of the main managers that I talked to on Monday? I found out from one of my friends who is leaving (who is getting all the gossip from the higher ups now) that that manager has been "trying to get rid" of me for the past 6-8 months. Also, he considers my work "worthless." (This is the same manager who told me not to let problems 'fester' before they got too bad).

-the CEO of the company is going to try to sell the co. in the next 2-3 years; most likely the shareholders will not want to buy him out, and the co. will either disband or be sold to one of the major firms in the U.S.

That changes my whole plan. I don't usually go for rumors, but these are serious, and affect absolutely everything, from my friendships within the office to the sense of support I thought I was receiving. If my job security is in jeopardy, well, then I really have nothing to lose by leaving.

That manager stuff? Here's why I'm not worried:

-he's pretty well known for being psycho, and most of the other higher-ups don't listen to him anymore.

-If anyone else had agreed with him, I'm sure I'd be out the door by now.

-My supervisor likes my work and everyone else (except for one person) likes to work with me...as far as I know.

-I don't want to work on his projects, so him not liking me just frees me up to work on better projects with the managers that I do like.

What burns me is that he sat in his chair just last Monday, looked me in my eyes, and told me that he 'values my work' and that i 'had potential.' and that he cares about my happiness and mobility in the company. Really? It's just rediculous. It's such a mad scramble to keep the company afloat right now that I can't take anyone at their word.

It's also affecting my friendships. What I thought was one of my good friends outside of work, as well as in, works very closely with this manager and actually likes him. Unfortunately, she allegedly agrees with him that my work is terrible and also is actively petitioning to get rid of me. Fortunately, I also don't like working on her projects and she is not very high in the company, so her opinion really doesn't matter. However, I was supposed to go to her house for Thanksgiving, but I'm afraid that my feelings are so hurt (why am I hearing this second-hand?), that I don't think I will be able to. I know professional opinions are separate from friendships, but I don't know how I could do that to one of my good friends. Where is the support? Why not give me tips? Pull me aside? Let me know that you think I could do better?? I just don't get it--maybe i'm naive, but I value my friendships over work-ships. and I hope that never changes.

And, whether or not i were friends with a person i was trying to get rid of, how do you not tell someone beforehand what you think the problem is so they can work on it? It's just bad managing. Why just point blank blindside someone with a firing?

The rumors were confirmed by several people, so I'm pretty sure they're true. At this point, I don't care. It's almost freeing to know the truth! I don't have to scramble to impress that manager anymore, I know what's up. I always do the best I can--if that's not enough...at least the pressure's off, i can't lower his opinion of me anymore!

One thing I'm considering doing, though, is to talk with my direct supervisor to see if he's heard anything, if he likes my work, if he has any suggestions for me. I like him alot, and I think he'd tell me what was going on. Then again, he's with the company (which is kind of the enemy at this point, manipulating me at every turn...).

Another thing--I also heard from my departing friends that my company has a policy to not give references for anybody. This is crazy. It's obvious where the employees have always fallen on the priority list.

I'm just intensely disappointed in alot of people right now. I think I'm just going to learn as much as I can in the next few months while I look for other jobs and then leave as soon as I can. I've put my feelers out, and have a few contacts already, so I'm confident I can find something better (anything would be right now!).

Just...bummed.

The Fallout, Part II

Today brought more changes to the office. Yesterday they offered me classes and a new role in the office, and today my supervisor called me into his office and told me I was getting a new cubicle--a bigger one, at that. Not only that, I get to pick which office I want of the two cubes available, before anyone else. In addition, my supervisor mentioned that once new people were hired, my new bigger cube would be used for projects in the office. Hence, I would be out of the field. Sounds great...

...but still feels like I'm being manipulated. I've asked to take classes and do GIS work since I started two years ago. When I started, I asked for a bigger cubicle, since three were available back then. I got shot down for the cube thing, and nothing progressed with the GIS and classes stuff. Now, within two days, I'm suddenly offered both??

Yeah. That's not transparent. I mean, I appreciate that they are finally listening to me, but I really am suspicious that things are happening only now, when they can't afford to lose me.

My supervisor also mentioned that he had talked to the people I talked to yesterday, and that they had 'felt my pulse.' My supervisor is one of the good guys--i like him alot--but he's very new to managing. I was his first supervisee, and so I know that he's still finding his footing with managing the needs of the higher ups with my needs. I think he's getting pressure from them to keep me happy...which is wierd, since I didn't say anything bad about HIM. If I quit, it's definitely not because of him at all. He seemed really nervous today, which is odd. He's usually so mellow. I wasn't sure what was coming when he first called me in there, honestly--i thought we were going to have yet another talk about what I am unhappy with in the company. I really hope the other manager that I talked to didn't misinterpret what I was saying...after all, my comments were mainly directed at HIM, not my supervisor.

Oh yeah, the BO lady came and talked to me about life insurance. we get $40K. now...disability? I swear, it's like pulling teeth with her!

Ok, dilemma--i have two cubes to pick from.

Option A is in the back, away from everyone. I could come in and out at will. However, it is dark and next to the drafting guys, who like it dark.

Option B is lighter, more centrally located. However, I would be in view of my supervisor, and wouldn't be able to come in and out when I want, like I do now.

I think I like Option A because I like the freedom, but the dark thing sucks. I like light, or else my eyes hurt from staring at the computer. I guess I could just get some lamps. Option B is a good cube, but I really don't like that I'd be under my supervisor's thumb all the time, and that he would know my every move. I wouldn't even be able to check email without him knowing!

I have a feeling Option A is going to win out. I usually pick having more freedom over having more comfort. But dang, I like light.

Yo Vote!

My sticker says, "Yo Vote!" because they ran out of English stickers. I went and voted today--kind of spur of the moment, actually, because I thought that I may not have registered in time to do it. Today came and I suddenly really cared about the elections going on, and also someone at work who I KNOW voted Republican had an "I Voted" sticker on. HA. SOMEONE had to cancel out his votes...it was me. Yeah, not to be political (oh who am i kidding?), but I've been waiting for some hot liberal action in D.C. for a good 6 years. It's time to bring the good times back, baby.

Whether or not I agree with you, I hope you voted. It is really important. Those people dying in Iraq? It's for you to have the right to do things like vote for your representatives. However awful people say America can be, it's still one of the best places around. Thanksgiving is coming, and one of the things I'm grateful for is that i was born here.

Questions

I just posted that I wasn't going to focus on my finances as much in the middle of this work crisis, but wouldn't you know? Today was the annual 401(k) meeting with Prudential. I need to change a bunch of stuff now!

Basically, since i have a target retirement fund that I THOUGHT placed me in the relatively aggressive risk category, I just invested all my 401k money in that fund and left it alone. Today I realized that that fund is considered 'moderate' in the risk it takes. So, talked to our company's representative after his presentation, and he advised me to spread my investments out a little more. My question is, do I trust him? I AM interested in being alot more aggressive, but I don't want to buy all the funds he suggested just because he said so. He told me to keep 50% of my funds in the target retirement, then place 25% in international stocks (which I've been wanting to do anyway), and then spread the remaining 25% in real estate trust funds, small cap growth funds and large cap value funds. He also said to spread the money already in there this way, instead of waiting for new money to buy this stuff. Sounds like alot of funds to me, and more expenses and fees, what do you think?

Also, he told me to go with a bank or credit union for my Roth IRA, instead of a discount broker. Apparently you don't have to have a large sum of money to buy into the funds there? wierd. I didn't know that. Does anyone have any experience w/ this?

In addition, it was pretty much resolved that my company is going to get an HSA. I don't know too much about them, but i think i like FSA's better--even though you have to spend all the money in it by the end of the year, your deductible with HSA's is so freaking high. I know I've heard arguments against HSA's, but few against FSA's, so I would love some feedback/information about these two type of accounts. Basically, how do they work? And, which do you like, HSA's or FSA's?

Thanks...

oh yeah, FINALLY today, my business office gave me the accidental death and dismemberment plan description. I still haven't heard a word about the disability or life insurance plans. argh.

The Fallout, Part I

So today was my first day back in the office. It was pretty uneventful for the most part. I did get called into a few offices and got some smoke blown up my ...ah, you know, but I managed to convey my discomfort at the situation and got alot of the things I've been feeling lately off of my chest. I did say that I was thinking about leaving, given all the reasons that the guys gave for quitting, but was interested in staying with the company if those issues were resolved. There was a lot of "THIS needs to change," which I agreed with, but don't have much hope in these words...I know they are in "put out fires" mode right now, especially this manager, because he was implicated in one of the guys' resignations. Therefore, they are doing what they can to salvage the situation and make sure no one else quits before they can make it better.

Also, I finangled a way to stay in the office more, doing some GIS work, and to take some classes in GIS that will greatly improve my marketability after I leave this job. It isn't what I really love to do, but it will definitely make the rest of my time there a little bit better. I wanted to take classes in other stuff, but hey, learning is learning!

Basically, my timeline is to gather my bonus for the year I've 'served,' then bolt. Bonuses are usually given out in March, and by that time they should have hired three more people to even out the workload. I'm happy with this compromise. That's not to say that life isn't going to suck in the next three months, but it's amazing what communicating your discomfort will do for your mental state.

It was pretty cool today, though--I said one thing about GIS, and 5 people jumped to accomodate me. This kind of power is niiiice. Is this what it feels like at a normal job??

Should I stay or should i go now?

The Clash has never been so right (thanks for the correction, trent). It's become clear to me in the past 3 days that I have to leave my job. The only question is when. I'm still grappling with the classes opportunity, but it's just become not worth it to stay... I need to remember this when I talk to my bosses tomorrow and make sure I don't get snowed by talk of money or other promises that they can't seem to deliver on.

I've also been away because I've been busy spending time with people who are leaving in two weeks (or sooner). It's just so sad. There was a going-away dinner for one of the guys last night, and while our friendship was close, we have grown apart in the past year, due to his new girlfriend and because we don't work out in the field together as much anymore, and because he was sort of my party friend and he has stopped going out. So while that's sad, I know I'll be ok when he moves. The other co-worker who is leaving, on the other hand, is someone whom I've been growing closer to recently. Since finding out he was leaving, we've been inseparable. I guess it takes the threat of losing someone forever to push some relationships forward. I don't know what is going on there--if we hadn't worked together I think something unfriendship-like would have developed, but now that he's leaving I don't think it's wise to go there. It feels a little inevitable at this point, though.

So a personal as well as career upheavals are on the horizon, and I'm pretty powerless to stop the change. I can only manage the fallout as best as I can. Hopefully, my finances won't be impacted dramatically, but I don't think I'll be able to focus on them as much as I have been. I'll still keep the blog, though--no need to get too much off-track!

Impending Doom...Or Happiness?

Personal finance has to take a backseat today. This work thing is really exploding in everyone's faces, most of all mine. I need to vent, and my mom is busy.

OK. So I got an update from one of my friends last night. synopsis: everyone was shocked, and tried to tell him that they would accomodate him, but he had his mind made up, and he went through all of things he felt about the company.

Mostly, that they have this intense, rigorous hiring process that only allows the cream of the crop, M.S.-bearing individuals through, and then they send them out in the field to do rote, base, repetitive tasks that take no skill whatsoever. They then send them out for weeks and months at a time to do these things, offering no opportunities for growth or learning. AND they send us out with no scope or background on the project that we're working on so we can't even hope to make relevant decisions, and have to rely on them for everything. This in turn undermines our confidence in our work-selves, renders us useless for anything other than basic tasks, and lends to more mistakes in the field.

Also, some of the managers are just not good at ...managing. We only get attention from them when we've screwed something up, which really decreases morale.

this list was received in one of two ways, which indicates the problem with the company:

1) absolute shock and horror that people felt that way even though it's been brought up before. after all, field work was in our job description (they even told me in my interview that i would have to "pay my dues."). this was followed up by lots of insincere, desperate promises to change conditions for him in the future if he stayed.

2) understanding and "Thank you for your feedback. I've been worried about that for quite some time. I've told the other managers to do X, Y, and Z, but I'll have to push on them a little harder so this doesn't happen again. We are open to change and appreciate your suggestions."

The guys in #2, obviously, are the good guys. We like them. They care. They try to make us happy. They are why we stay. The other folks...well. I don't know.

apparently this is the most field work my company has done in 10 years (news to me), so they aren't equipped to deal with this, and it shows. Something has to change. and soon. Some active progress is in order. I want to see, and demand, results.

I'm grateful to my friend, who started this change, and wasn't afraid to rock the boat. Otherwise, I would have probably stayed in my position, complaining about it but not compelled to do anything about it, until much later.

We are going to continue to lose people this way (several past employees felt this way and it was brought up at their resignation), and I am honestly not sure what I'm going to do. They haven't changed things so far. However, I cannot leave right now, even though I really really want to. The field schedule was reworked today, and it's gotten so bad that I'm out of town every available week day and weekend for the next three months, AND we are contracting alot of work out, AND they persuaded the temporary secretary to do field work. Yes, this is ludicrous. Yes, this will end in disaster, on multiple levels. But no, I cannot leave them in the lurch and make the situation worse. I just couldn't feel like a good person if I did.

I guess I should make a plan, though--

1) Plan out my speech in bullet points. Memorize. I'm not very good at critiquing, nor speaking candidly with intimidating higher-ups. But I know that my opinion will be asked, so i need to prepare and make sure all of my points come across in a helpful manner.
1a) I need to make sure they know that I have thought about leaving for various reasons described above (thanks for your last comment, Kira, good wording!). My friend was not the only one feeling that way...

1b) Somehow fit MY goals into that. Including:
i) less fieldwork, i never am in my home city! this makes me miserable.
ii) find my niche in the office--I need to learn some new skills, i'd really like to do more GIS and real science and research, be able to THINK a little bit! this includes taking classes.

2) I need to make...not an ultimatum, i guess, but some sort of declaration like, if they do not work on the problem and try to come up with solutions, and actually CHANGE after everything dies down, I will leave. It'd probably be good to schedule a 6-month meeting to review how I feel then.

Ok, i feel better with a plan. If you have read this far, I'm impressed...do you have any other suggestions?

Quitting? Be Honest to Benefit Other Workers

So two of my best friends gave their two-week notice at work today. It's a complete coincidence; they both have been looking for jobs and happened to get hired at the same time, for different companies.

However, they are both quitting for the same reason. They each had a speech planned, because they are quitting due to the way that the company treats them, rather than due to better opportunities. They just were fed up with the conditions that we work under sometimes. They both asked me what they should include in their assessment of the company when they are asked why they are leaving...I really appreciated the opportunity to voice my opinion without incurring any sort of backlash. There are certain things going on within the company that could be improved upon, but are very touchy and I would be hesitant to say anything unless I were leaving, too, so I'm excited to see if any changes are actually made due to this two-at-once resignation. I surely hope so. These two are quite valuable to the company--we low-level employees are the resource the company makes the most money off of, and without us, the company would have a very, very hard time operating.

Unfortunately, we now do not have enough workers for the amount of work that we have to do in the next few months, so my life is going to suck royally in two weeks. Even if we hired someone new, they'd have to be trained, and that would take a while. Also, it's a pretty hot job market right now and we've advertised for more people for the past 6 months, but no one has been hired...so obviously entry-level people will have an easy time finding a job elsewhere and we are not guaranteed to get a large response.

This makes me wonder if i'm going to be compensated for staying and being one of the two people in the company that can train future employees. If I am not, I could go elsewhere and get a raise pretty easily. But that's kind of a step forward in a direction I don't want to take, career-wise. Should I look for jobs in a career I haven't tried yet (but don't know if I would like more)? I'd have to take a pay-cut for starting all over again--but when am I going to get the chance to try new things again? If I stay in my current position, I'll advance in a career I don't really want. Thus, my dilemma...

If I am honest with myself, I would say that I'm staying simply due to the promise of free classes in the future...it's like a carrot, and I may be getting tired of pulling the cart. The other jobs that I would be applying for would not offer free classes, so I would be eliminating that much-desired opportunity from my life if I left.

What to do?

Bring on higher taxes!

Even though this isn't a political blog (most of the time), this makes me excited about 2008. I really, really can't wait. You can tell because I started rhyming.

Then donate it to charity...!

i received this email today, an obvious scam. Who do I report this to?

From: Madam Joan Taylor.

4 Old Church Street,

Chelsea, SW3,

England.


Good Day,

Here writes Madam Joan Taylor, suffering from Cancerous ailment.

I am married to Engineer Silas Hines an Englishman who is dead. My husband was into private practice all his life before his death. Our life together as man and wife lasted for three decades without child. My husband died after a protracted illness. My husband and I made a vow to uplift the down-trodden and the less-privileged individuals as he had passion for persons who can not help themselves due to physical disability or financial predicament. I can adduce this to the fact that he needed a Child from this relationship, which never came.

When my late husband was alive he deposited the sum of 10 Million

Pounds (Ten Million Great Britain Pounds Sterling) which were derived from his vast estates and investment in capital market with his bank here in UK. Presently, this money is still with the Bank. Recently, my Doctor told me that I have limited days to live due to the (LUCAMEA) cancerous problems I am suffering from. Though what bothers me most is the stroke that I have in addition to the cancer. With this hard reality that has befallen my family and me, I have decided to donate this fund to you and want you to use this gift which comes from my husbands effort to fund the upkeep of widows, widowers, orphans, destitute, the down-trodden, physically challenged children, barren-women and persons who prove to be genuinely handicapped financially.

It is often said that blessed is the hand that giveth.

I took this decision because I do not have any child that will inherit this money and my husband relatives are bourgeois and very wealthy persons and I do not want my husband’s hard earned money to be misused or invested into ill perceived ventures. I do not want a situation where this money will be used in an ungodly manner, hence the reason for taking this bold decision. I am not afraid of death hence I know where I am going. I know that I am going to be with the Almighty when I eventually pass on. The Almighty will fight my case and I shall hold my peace. I do not need any telephone communication in this regard due to my deteriorating health and because of the presence of my husband’s relatives around me, because I do not want them to know about this development. With God all things are possible.


As soon as I receive your reply through this my confidential email Address: I shall give you the contact of the bank in UK. I will also issue you a Letter of Authority that will empower you as the original beneficiary of this fund. My happiness is that I lived a life worthy of emulation. Please always be prayerful all through your life. Please assure me that you will act just as I have stated herein. Hope to hear from you very soon and God bless you and members of your family.



Yours sincerely

Mrs. Joan Taylor.

$25, Anyone?

I allow myself to buy magazines only when I'm flying. I get really bored with reading after too long--at least on planes--and magazines are as scatter-brained as I usually am while 10,000+ feet in the sky.

So anyway, I had to go back to Las Vegas for work again today. I picked up Kiplinger's to read (also the new issue of Marie Claire with the black and white cover, very cool, a good second place for my preferred JANE). There was an ING form in it, with a reference code (see below). Apparently you don't have to deposit $250 to get the free $25 bonus, like you do with referrals from existing customers of ING (is this still going on, or have they gotten rid of the $250 rule for referrals, now, too?). So, if you want an ING account, currently at a 4.40% interest rate, go here and enter this Reference Code:

KP338/EH2H4RDM

I can't use it because I already have an account, but maybe someone else can. Please let me know if you use it so I can update this entry saying that the code has already been used.

Also, if you want to open a high-interest savings account and want a referral, email me at sensetodollars@yahoo.com. You can get the free $25 this way, but you have to deposit $250 initially. I have 9 referrals left. In the interest of full disclosure, I get $10 from ING if you use one of my referrals and you choose to deposit enough to get the $25 (but I get nothing if you use the above code).

Peace.

The more things change....*

My best friend in this city is leaving. Mind you, i've actually only met like 15 people here, and half of them have left this year already. Three more are scheduled to leave in the next two weeks or so, including the two people I'm closest to here.

What's with the mass exodus? Setting aside the problems with the company we work for, it seems that housing prices are so high, and the people are so fake (their words, not mine, although I agree somewhat), that everyone I like that is getting to house-buying age (average is about 30) is leaving for greener, and more authentic, pastures.

This, my friends, is terrible. Not only have I wasted my time here by focusing on my finances and keeping a job that sends me out of town (and out of friend-making situations), I've wasted time that could have been spent with these people who are leaving.

Yes, I regret paying off my cc bills now. I regret not spending more time with the people that I probably will not see more than once or twice ever again in my life. I regret staying in a job that I'm not happy (but not UNhappy) in just to have a steady, secure paycheck. I regret placing my financial needs ahead of my emotional ones.

I'm tired of losing people, I'm tired of feeling like I'm wasting my life, and I'm tired of not having the financial security in order to make good-for-me emotional decisions.

But it's a paradox. I NEED, emotionally, to feel financially secure. I guess, that need is stronger than my need to always make real connections. It's times like these when that selfish part of me is brought into focus and I see how I continually deny myself gratification because I think the reward will be greater later on. But people don't work like money does. You can't put off hanging out with someone because you'll have a better time if you wait until later. Waiting, while great for compounding interest, is a terrible strategy for enjoying life. You have to appreciate what you have WHEN you have it; life and people go away so quickly. I can't seem to remember that.

I also can't seem to do everything I need to do financially while also making sure I'm happy in the other aspects of my life. It's not balanced. I need to re-assess my life and start making changes unrelated to finance. I realize this, but as we all know, action is different from realization. I don't know if I will actually DO anything about what's contained in this post, but I consider it a good first baby step. I will continue on with my finance goals, but I sincerely hope I can start working on my other goals as well.

*This post is brought to you by the lethal combination of watching 'Click' and the series finale of 'Six Feet Under' the same week that I find out my two best friends are moving away--as well as a good dose of female hormones. Please bear with me...

P.S. 'Six Feet Under' is a really, really good show. I'd say it has THE BEST series finale of any show I've ever watched. Ever. Rent it. Watch it. Love it. It's worth the money.

Let's GO!

More progress:

1) Doc appt. challenge completed for another year! Fabulous.
2) Credit card account closings: Mailed.
3) Received Fidelity Roth IRA package in the mail to review.

Loves it!

I went on some site today and it was discussing how people get free groceries and stuff. how can i get in on this deal without spending EVEN MORE time on my finances? ...Will be exploring this in the future.

So, more to do:

1) open Roth IRA...still figuring this one out. it's a biggie, but my budget hasn't calmed down since I changed my 401K contribution, so I'm not sure what I have coming in and out quite yet...

2) close my TransUnion 30 day credit score watch service.

3) Check other two credit reports

4) much much more.

I'm back in Vegas next week, so posts will probably go down to a trickle.

I am Sysiphus

So I'm trying to get back on track after my meltdown yesterday (sorry!). Inaction makes me feel impotent. So I got active today!

I typed up a letter to all the credit card companies, closing my extraneous credit card accounts. I typed up a letter to TransUnion and Citbank to try to clean up my credit report.

I made copies of the letters and got them ready to be mailed Certified Mail.

Also, I have been trying to make a female doctor's appt. for FOREVER...i finally got ahold of them today and got an appt. for TOMORROW! yessss.

I emailed the Business Office lady, basically issuing a stern warning that I was going to go to the CFO (her boss) if I didn't see the benefits package soon. "I haven't seen anything from you yet, should I ask A____ M_____ for the info package?" Still, my bet is I have to ask 5 more times before I see one piece of paper from her. Annoying. Maybe I should just go to the CFO...she is super important, though, and well, we're all a little scared to talk to her.

I bought a return flight from home to here for after Christmas. I had a flight on hold on Tuesday, and last night was the deadline. Unfortunately, the price went up in those 2 days (by $150!!!) and the deadline was for 12 midnight EST, not PST. By the time I went to go buy the ticket, it was 1 AM EST. Oops. However, I called American Airlines and a very nice lady reset the time so I could get my old price! Yay, nice lady!

So tonight i'm vegging with some mac'n'cheese and The Office. Oooh, fatty comfort food and Jim Halpert is the perfect antidote to a crappy day...

Muchos Problemas! Ay!

I'm having a hard time finding budget-friendly healthy alternatives to my normal meals. I mean, beans and rice, sure, but the rest of it? Expensive-o. I just bought one of those Naked juices, and it was TEN dollars for like a quarter gallon! I feel really really good after drinking it, though--it's much better than the Dr Pepper I normally drink to get me going in the morning (I hate coffee).

I'm really trying to get on track with health stuff while also tying up loose ends with finances, but it's rough going. I had a large spurt of progress in the $$ department after I finished paying off my debt earlier this month (was it really only 3 weeks ago?!), but now I'm getting blocked at every corner. I checked my credit report, and there are many many things that are incorrect on there. For example, it lists that i have two open accounts at Citibank. I don't have any citi cards or any record of having citi cards, so I called Citibank up last night and they had "no record" of any accounts with them for my SSN. Wierd, right?

So now I have to go through all the hoopla of getting that corrected. And figure out the old account no's for all the open accounts that I haven't used in years. ugh. and that's just ONE of the 3 credit reports I need to check!! NOOOO!

Also, the (completely incompetent) business office lady is being very lax on my requests for info on our benefits. She said that she was going to put an info packet about our accidental death and dismemberment (fun!) plan in my mailbox last week, but so far? nothing. I dropped by her office yesterday and (surprise, surprise) she wasn't there. I even asked her specific questions about our disability benefits plan in an email last week, and...nothing. argh!!! As far as I can tell, she does payroll and gossips with her co-workers and that's about it. It's not that hard, I did that job for my dad's business when I was 16. And he had more employees! payroll took me a good 6 hours the night before payday. that's it. that's her job!! you'd think she could handle something like getting benefits packages out to those whom the benefits...benefits!

I just HATE having to bother people for something that should have been done ages ago. We should get those benefits packages after we are hired! Or at least when we pass the initial employment period! Really. I'm so annoyed. Also, when I ask other employees if they have their packages, they look at me like I'm planning on becoming disabled or dying. "Is something wrong?" they ask. Hello? No, but don't you think someone else besides the company business office employee should KNOW what our benefits are?

In addition, there's no link from my Chase rewards card account page to the rewards site! NONE! After searching for a half hour (i MUST just be dumb and missing it!), I called and it's at:

http://www.choosemyrewards.com

Good LORD.

In conclusion, people are stupid.

Charitable Giving

Giving to charities doesn't always mean giving money. I don't have alot to give right now, being in the midst of my debt removal/survival plan, but I feel much better about life after I have helped out a little bit in other ways. Here are some things that I have done (besides giving money) that I consider charitable giving--Not all are tax write-offs, but if you are doing it for that, I think you are missing the spirit of giving anyway:

1) I go here and click everyday. It's super-easy, time efficient, and beneficial to any cause you could possibly support. A very good way to start your day by thinking of others.

2) This one's a gimme, but: Give to Goodwill/Salvation Army/other thrift stores. I go through my closet/drawers every couple of months and get rid of all the stuff I don't need. It is also cleansing to the soul to get rid of clutter. Double whammy for the good feelings!

3) I travel alot, and I make sure to grab all the soap/shampoo/accoutrements the hotels provide. I bring them home, save a couple for guests and my own travel kit, and give the rest to women's shelters and Goodwill. I love doing this especially when i stay at fancy hotels and they have good shampoo/conditioner like Aveda--I always imagine some woman in need of some pampering using it and feeling just a tiny bit better about her life. I hope so, anyway...

4) I acknowledge the homeless/needy. I know it's scary, but when they speak to me, I say something back. Always. I can't imagine doing what they are doing--it takes immense swallowing of pride and a horrible situation to ask a stranger for money, food, whatever. This is a biggie for me. When I'm driving in my car and I see a homeless person on the street corner holding up their sign, it just...gets to me. I tear up EVERY time. That's alot of tearing up down here in SoCal. I will ignore a guy trying to booty-dance with me in a club, but if that same guy asked me for food to feed his children? I'd give him my full attention, at least for a moment.

Besides, just how far away are we from being in their position? Don't be an asshole, they've been through enough. I'm not saying to give money to everyone that asks, but a simple, "Sorry, I don't have change right now, but good luck to you." suffices. Look them in the eye, see the person behind the scary life situation. They are real people!

I also find other ways to give, by volunteering at the soup kitchen and homeless shelters.

5) This one's more about being a good citizen--especially when I'm in a bad mood, I take out my neighbor's trash bin, let someone in in bad traffic, do my roommate's dishes, and am patient with the new guy at the grocery store. You know. Karma is real, and the more tolerant you are, the better your life will be. Even if it's small, find something good in every bad. At risk of sounding like a hippie, the more good you put out there, the more good you will see in the world.

6) Be Kind, rewind your DVD's. (just kidding, i used to get my little sister with this one every. time.)

7) A corollary to #5--I try to be happy for others' fortune, even if it affects me negatively. It's hard to see other people succeed sometimes, esp. when we feel that they didn't deserve it or it came too easily. But like I said, the more good feelings out there, the better. It has a rippling effect, and bad feelings will only compound. Crap--I sound like a total hippie, but this mentality has kept me going through some hard times. and it's true! Rely on your faith, rely on yourself, whatever, just keep the blind faith. Hope can do amazing things.

8) I count my blessings. Feel how good your life is. Whether it is comparing your situation to others', looking at all your 'stuff', or just listing off some people who love you, don't take it for granted. If you feel that your life is good, you will naturally want to share that feeling.

So in the end, 'giving to charities' is much more than the obvious giving of money to me. It is a lifestyle. It is something intangible you do every day, it is an attitude. They say that if you give it will come back to you ten-fold. I completely agree.

I'm Back!

After a long weekend (yummy!), I'm back. it's been so nice/interesting. I have today off but work keeps calling me. I'm not worrying about them until later, they should know better.

My friend arrived last Thursday afternoon. Earlier that day, i had my annual physical, which was a funny experience. I went through the paces, had a wonderful doctor, and ended up failing the urine test. Well, not actually any kind of test they do, just I had to drink what seemed like a GALLON of water in order to give them the amount of liquid they needed. I know, ew. Don't worry, it's ending soon. I was just sitting in the waiting room with a big cup of water for about a half hour. why is it that you always have to go when you don't want to (like when you are working on an important, time-sensitive project in the office, or are in the middle of Grey's Anatomy), and you can't go when it is necessary?? I had even drunk a couple glasses of water when i woke up because I knew that i'd have to do this. ah, all's well that ends well. My only gripe about that experience is that i spent probably about $5 in quarters feeding the parking meter (who made up this "25c = 12 minutes" rule? they are crazy, 25c = at LEAST 25 minutes!!), and in the lobby was a BIG sign saying that parking is free in a lot across the street. WTF? why don't they tell you that BEFORE you've maxed out the meter and wasted 10 minutes circling for parking? the only lot i saw near the hospital was marked "for doctors only." oh well.

My stats (for future reference):

--BP 91/59
--ht 5'4.5"
--wt 116
--EXCELLENT hearing, the doctor commented that the results were what they usually saw in a child's hearing.
--terrible lung capacity (i always fail those breathing tests, they overlook it b/c some people suck at it (e.g., me)and my baseline breathing test is similar to what i produce now)
--blood/urine results to come

So it looks like i'm in pretty good health. That is a good first step in my Wealth-to-Health project (TM)! Like i've outlined, after my short-term financial goals are met, i'm going to really start focusing on increasing my net health. This is a good 'before' picture.

My low blood pressure emphasizes my need to collect a large amount in my retirement fund (see this).

Basically, the article indicates that people with low blood pressures live longer, on average, than people with 'normal' or high blood pressure. That is lucky on the one hand (who doesn't want to live a good long life?), but bad in terms of my retirement funds. I guess I'll have to take the estimated retirement $$ need and add a bit more to make sure I'm covered.

That is my gripe about retirement estimations--a) they are all different; b) they all seem to base their calculations on inflation, return, and tax rates that are COMPLETELY unknown. it's just insane to have a goal that is so based in a fictional scenario. and c) it doesn't take into account factors like low blood pressure or other medical conditions. Therefore, my goal is to just save what i can when i can (i'll try max my roth/401K out though), without giving up too much fun stuff. If i can balance those two for the next 20 years, I can tweak my retirement plan when we know better what tax, inflation, and return rate conditions will be like. it's maybe not as rigid as some people like, but i am a fan of this strategy. it's flexible while also demands some sort of compromise between the two lifestyles (absolute friviolity vs. super frugal saver). Maybe that's why i have low blood pressure--sometimes i just let things flow how they are supposed to and don't worry so much...it'll all work itself out.

Ah, good stuff. I'm pretty relaxed today. I love vacations!
details of my weekend to follow in future posts.

Hi, My name is ______, and I'm an addict

This article really caught my attention. Addictions take many forms, and while I'm lucky enough to not be addicted to the top 5 on the list, I definitely have my weaknesses (Subway sandwiches and white cheddar popcorn come to mind...).

So just what is the cost of being addicted to your finances?

Oh the irony! That's a question that only a pf addict could love. I spend a LOT of time on the internet, reading pf blogs and researching and checking out articles on MSN Money and Yahoo Finance and various other places. It's my hobby, i find it endlessly interesting, and ...let's face it...I'm addicted.

I go over my budget with a fine-tooth comb at every opportunity. I LOVE seeing the numbers add up and seeing where I could cut back. I LOVE brainstorming new ideas to save a little bit here and there. I LOVE waking up and seeing new posts, I LOVE checking my balances, I even LOVE paying my credit cards and bills. Basically, I LOVE money, esp. in relation to ME. If I couldn't do all that, well, wow. What would I do with all my spare time?!

Probably go shopping.

So, if it's one or the other, dangit, I prefer to be addicted to controlling my finances.

Psychologically speaking, even though what I'm addicted to isn't that harmful to society financially--on the contrary, it should provide me the tools to live an organized, fulfilled life--I do catch myself doing crazy things with a high emotional/physical personal cost sometimes. Such as staying up too late reading stuff on the internet (which causes me to wake up late for work once in a while), checking blogs instead of getting outside or doing work (oops), and getting OCD and calculating my budget over and over again. This stuff isn't good. It isn't healthy. I am thinking of placing a time limit on my internet use, esp. in the evenings after I get home. Lately I've stayed up waaay too late trying to get all the goals on my finance list done. It hasn't drastically affected my work-life yet, but I'd bet it would if i kept up this habit.

Focusing on finances a maximum of a couple hours per day should be fine. My next project, after I run out of the little finance goals (open a Roth, organize my credit cards, talk to parents, check on benefits at work, create a budget for emergency savings), is to work on time management and start eating healthier and working out more. That will be interesting and add a whole new level to the finance game--how do I manage my money while making sure I have time for healthiness and a balanced life? I've been denying myself for so long that it's difficult to see what is worth investing in. My health is one of those things, but how far (i.e., how much money do I spend) do i go to do that? I have to completely re-learn how to spend my money. At this point, I either deny myself completely or splurge in a binge. It's basically financial anorexia/bulemia!

Oh, crap. How much is rehab for financial addicts?

Away...

I'm going to be away til probably Thursday or so. That said, I think I've decided that i'm over-thinking the Roth IRA investment thing. Vanguard is the easy answer, yes, but as it's an index fund and has a low fee, I think that is good enough for me for now. The important thing is to get my foot in the door at this point, and more serious analysis can occur later.

In addition, I found a better cashback/rewards credit card than the one I just applied for (Chase Freedom Rewards--3% cashback on gas/groceries/fast food; 1% cashback for all other purchases), the HSBC Direct Rewards Platinum MasterCard.

It offers 5% cashback on groceries, gas, and drug stores, 0.5% on all net purchases up to $3K, then 1% on the net amount after $3K. Hmmm, better deal.

Also, I need to cancel all of my extraneous cards that I've never used. Ugh. I want just 2-3 cards only. I'm going to keep my MBNA card open, just because I've had it the longest, but it's going to sit at home, I think. #2 will be my cashback credit card, and #3 will be the current Chase card I have. I need approximately 3400 more points in order to get a $25 gift card on that one, and ...wait, i'm confused. It looks like I ALREADY HAVE a 5% cashback credit card, the one i transferred my balances to in order to get a 0% interest rate. OK. What? I have some more thinkin' to do...and lots of cancelling credit cards...oy.

Ack. I need to go to bed, i have my annual physical tomorrow morning at 8 AM.

Not as bad as I thought...

Well, I received my first paycheck since my uber-spontaneous decision to up my 401K to 12%. All in all--much less of a hit than I anticipated!

My paycheck is only $260 less per month than before. Sweet! I can totally live off of that. and have some room to save up more than I did before I was debt-free. I'm tellin ya, this is the way to go!

Now I can cross that off of my list--there's no way I'm going to increase that percentage anytime soon, unless I win the lotto and can fund my emergency fund and Roth for the next several years with the winnings. Yessss.

OK, so life is going to start getting even busier than before, so I won't be posting much. I've gotten the ball rolling on the Roth IRA research, but have SO much more to go into.

I read an interesting idea that I don't know too much about on the Motley Fool discussion board--one guy was all in favor of buying only bonds in your Roth IRA, and putting stocks in a non-retirement account. His rationale is that bonds are taxable at a higher rate than capital gains from stocks (15%?), so you should take advantage of the tax sheltering that a Roth offers and just buy bonds with the entire allowable amount.

I didn't realize bonds were taxable at a higher rate...huh.

If true, i think it's a great idea, but ultimately not really practical for my situation--someone just starting out. Maybe once I don't have to scrimp and save to come up with the max for the Roth every year, I'll think about that some more, but in the mean time, I think I'm going for either an index fund or a targeted retirement fund. The Vanguard total market index fund seems to be highly regarded. Also the Fidelity Freedom Targeted Retirement Funds (or whatever they're called). But I don't want to jump on a bandwagon when no one else knows the destination or the driver either, you know what i mean? I need to kick the tires a bit, look at the other transportation options...

Anyway, I came back with the motherload at the library today--all sorts of books on mutual funds and investing and ...stuff. yay! i love money books. i can always skip the first few chapters about debt removal now. i've graduated! Sweet.

S.O.S.

i'm lost in a sea of funds. I'm researching which company I should invest in a Roth IRA with, and I'm in that enviable position of too many choices:

Vanguard, TD Ameritrade, Fidelity, T Rowe Price?

and what mutual fund I should choose on top of that. Vanguard Total Stock Market Fund? Fidelity Freedom? a million billion others?

what about minimum purchase? is there a monthly contribution program? Expense ratios? Performance history? annual fees? no-load?

???


Agggh. going insane.


Will have to post more about what I find. I'm sure others don't know where to start, either. Please help, i'm reflecting my mirror and waving my flags...

Why I love President Bush

Ha! Thought that would get your attention.

Back on track: I played around on the internet a bit, lazed in bed for a while, and finally decided to get myself out of the house. I banished my to-do list and gave myself the day off. instead of running around like a crazy woman, I walked around my neighborhood. The stuff I found will vastly improve my life. For example, across the street from me is a huge shopping complex, and they have an Enterprise! we use Enterprise for work. Since I'm not driving my car to sites anymore, I usually have to drive to work, get someone at Enterprise to pick me up (which takes them an average of 2 hours and several phone calls to do for some reason), rent the car, drop off the car when i'm done, and have them drive me back to work. ugh. painful. Now, I can just run across the street from home! I don't have to drive to work in my car at all! fabulous. saves me SO much time. :)

Also I discovered Free-Sample Sunday. Von's was giving out free samples of their deli food. I didn't even need to buy breakfast. Yay!

Then I went into one of those impromptu fly-by-night Halloween costume shops that had opened up across the road from the shopping complex. They have flapper stuff, but a simple dress is $32! plus accessories like the headband($5), boa ($10), fishnet tights ($5), shoes ($20? from payless?), and cigarette holder($5), and we're pushing $75 if i'm lucky on the shoes. Grah. that is TOO much for one night. I'm willing to pay probably $35 total. which is STILL too much.

i think i could make the headband on my own. little elastic sequin band, a feather, and a needle and thread, and I'm set.

then i decided i wanted to go to the beach. not really beach weather today--it's overcast and was threatening to rain, and i had to wear a light jacket to stay warm, but it's exactly the kind of weather i wanted. it reminds me of home, the east coast, and I miss it when fall comes around. the weather reminded me of cozying up with a good book in front of the fire on a chilly winter day. aah. i think the sun would have ruined my day....

i live 10 blocks from the beach, so i try to go as much as possible, to try and enjoy the standard of living i'm paying so much for. i wanted to go shell-hunting, so i researched the best beaches for such a venture, and lo and behold, it was the beach 10 blocks away from me! MY beach, the best shell-hunting locale in all of the city! lovely.

i ended up exploring a section of the beach that i'd never been to. I encountered a couple taking pictures of rocks, and realized how much i missed my field trip days. And how much i've missed the beach. it's been forever (ok, one month) since i've really spent any time there. Going there today filled a hole that i didn't know had opened up. I watched the surfers, a wind-surfer, and kite-flyers. The beach was pretty deserted, though. especially compared to a month or two ago, when tourist season was at its peak. it was quite serene and beautiful. a guy practiced the bagpipe at the far end of the beach, and i walked down, hunting for shells and avoiding the cold waves washing in on the way there. the sand gives way to cobble-y tidepool area with cliffs towering above, and i had an adventure exploring some hand-hewn little village made by somebody collecting scraps that had washed onshore. it was very "Castaway." Trying to get out of there before high tide came in was almost a bad scene. I had alot of fun.

ooh, and i found the BEST shell! it's humongous, and perfect and pearly and swirls around like this shell:

ok, randomness over. I SAID i'm not focusing only on money on here. Money only buys so much happiness...

One Crazy Life, comin' right up!

Life is going to be really busy for the next...oh, 2 years. This crazy-makin' feeling just fuels my need to make lists. pardon me, i'm about to launch into boring. In the next week, I need to:

1) keep on track with finances/research Roth IRA's/find a cashback credit card/link cc to company card

2) check other 2 credit scores/reports for accuracy (TransUnion has not been updated recently; my score is 754). Experian and Equifax to go!

3) make sure the business office is working on getting me info packets on our benefits (they need to be reminded every week for 2 months to get anything done sometimes)

4) confirm finances appt. with mom (she sent me an email back, responding to my request for her to answer a few things about their wills and junk. she says we will talk about this over christmas). this would also be a good time to talk about DNR requests (do not rescusitate), organ donation, cremation, E. T. C.

5) get card/present for b-day girl J (by thursday)

6) engagement present for H (thursday)

7) care packages for millions of people

8) get flowers for living room

9) install hooks, clean up room for P's visit (by thursday)

10) pack for P's visit

11) i really want camo pants. i don't know why.

12) return plants to wal-mart. buy bigger (and cheaper) plants at Lowe's to fix up balcony for P's visit.

13) close several of my 13 open line of credit cards. i have nearly 30,000 dollars of credit! i def. don't need that much.

and more...

my friend P is coming to visit me next weekend. we're partying down here on thursday night, which is also when a dear past co-worker is visiting. should be AWESOME. i took friday and next monday off to accomodate the fun. Friday, we see a college friend and her new baby, and drive up to a nearby city (2 hours away) to see more friends and party heavily. Saturday, we drive another hour north to another city, where I will be his date to a wedding on Sunday. my cousin is in school at the wedding city, so i'm excited to get to see her and possibly crash a college party, the likes of which i have not seen in a good 5 years. i expect to feel really, really old and also to meet lots of young easily-manipulated 18 yr. old boys (one can hope).

then i am out of town for work on tuesday and wednesday, in town for 4 days, and fly back out to Vegas for Halloween week. i'll see my college roommate again and probably just do whatever she's doing on Halloween. Ho'ween in Vegas really puts the TRICK back into trick o' treat. :)

So, tomorrow will need to consist of: putting together a package for J. i am thinking about cd's and some fun random stuff from the dollar store. some fonzi memorabilia since she recently met him when she was an extra on one of his movies, maybe a cute picture of us for her wall. i'll have to look through the pics i took when i was back in my grad school town, visiting her last july...

engagement package for H. no. freaking. idea.

put together a halloween costume for vegas. i really haven't been working out, so ho'in it up does NOT sound fun...i want to be a flapper girl but where in the world am i going to find a flapper dress? and shoes? what ARE flapper girl shoes? Edit: flappercostumes.com, of course! so now i just need: fishnet stockings, shoes, long beaded necklace, sequined headband, cigarette holder. don't know if i'm going to get the black wig or not. i'm pretty pale so i don't think it'd be cute at all.

how fun! i love love love dressing up, and putting together this outfit is going to be great. provided i have the time. hmmm...

Current State of the Moolah

Time to do it again! Debt removal has caused me to restructure my entire budget. Here we go (cross your fingers, but keep them inside the vehicle, please):

Currently--

Cash in Checking: $480 (paycheck coming in on Tuesday)
Cash in Savings: $80 (need to transfer to HSBC)
ING Savings: $63 (need to transfer to HSBC)
HSBC Savings: $1490
Money-market Acct: $950

__________________________
Debts: $0(!)


Total: $3063
Total Savings (Emergency Fund): $2583

That was too easy.

Now, Budget.
After an 9% increase in my 401K contribution, and no debt, I'm starting from scratch here.

From now until Dec. 31, I calculate that I'll take home: ~$2600

Going out per month.
Rent: $830
Electric: ~$30/mo (I have 2 roommates)
Cable/Internet: ~$35/mo (ditto)
Cell: ~$50/mo
Total: ~$945 (we'll round up to $950 for simplicity's sake)

This leaves me with around $1650/mo. that is flexible (i.e., I get to decide how much I keep/spend).

So here's how I think I want to break it down:

$825 to misc./food/fun/entertainment/small irregular expenses
$825 to Emergency Fund/Roth IRA Fund.

Right down the middle.

I have found that even when I make little categories for everything (Gas, Entertainment, Travel, Auto Repair, Car Insurance, Etc.), I don't follow it and what's the point of doing all that work for nothing? So, I am going to split the difference in half, with one half going to stuff I need that month--gas, food, fun, irregular expenses, misc., in one category, and the other half going to my emergency fund, roth ira fund, and random extras like an extremely high auto repair/medical bill in another.

I will be using my new cashback credit card for gas/food/extras, and will be paying that at the end of the cycle, so I will be able to track how much I'm spending and plan accordingly. and believe me, after the debt ride i've had, I'll be checking that balance/due date every other day!

I plan on transferring $412.50 twice a month into my various savings accounts, so it gets saved and not spent. The money to be spent will stay in my checking account, and if by some miracle I don't spend as much as I think I will and gets too large, I'll transfer some of it to savings. Or, you know...travel. Money will only be taken out of savings for:

Auto repair (if not covered by normal monthly spending; to be paid back when possible)
Plane tickets (too large a sum to be covered by spending; to be paid back)
Other High Irregular Expenses (also to be paid back)
Roth IRA contribution
Lose Job
Become Ill

Irregular expenses to be covered by normal spending:
AAA membership fee
Car registration/fees
Auto and renter's insurance premiums
small auto repair bills (under $250)

Hopefully all those things happen in different months. :) if not, of course borrowing from Paul to pay Mary or whatever the saying is will be applied.

This whole thing will be moot in roughly four months, as:

a) taxes are going down January 2007 (thanks, JLP's All Financial Matters)
b) my insurance (car and renter's) are going down in January 2007, according to the dude at State Farm.
c) my annual review is in February 2007--I expect a raise in line with inflation (this year I received a 13% raise and a promotion; I highly doubt I will see anything close to that next year).
d) I expect a decent bonus in March 2007. This will all go to the Roth fund.
e) I will need to save to make sure I get $4000 into a Roth before April 2007/filing taxes.
f) Following that train of thought, I'll probably need to lower the 401K contribution in January 2007 in order to max out the Roth in 2006 and 2007. Once those are full, I'll increase the 401K again so I don't start increasing my living standards. The raise should help, too, however small it may be.

So, basically this is for my peace of mind until the dust settles, and I can revamp everything all over again. !

It never ends, does it? Thank goodness I have a blog now, or else I'd think I was just treading water. My progress has been slow but steady...I want one of those fancy meters so I can tell how close I'm getting to my goals.

Reduce, Reuse, Organ Donate!

Health issues and medical care seem to be a very popular topic recently. Over at Debt Hater there is a very good post concerning the cost vs. pain threshold. How bad do you let it get before you take action and spend money? Additionally, Kira (of Penny Foolish) has a post about the importance of organ donation.

In California, you get a little sticker to put on your license that indicates if you are an organ donor or not. My sticker fell off! It lasted 2 years, but i guess I've been carded so much that it came off one day. (Ah, another side effect of drinking...) You also get a little paper card to keep in your wallet to indicate your wishes, but are they really going to look through my wallet to see if i have it? i doubt anyone besides me keeps it in there.

Anyway, this is VERY important to me. I don't have a personal story to tell about how organ donation saved my best friend or anything, but i feel pretty strongly about having my organs donated upon my death (if eligible). I'm in my 20's, so maybe some of my liver won't be very usable, but for the rest of me, why not? I'm not going to need them anymore, and it warms my heart to think that someone else will be able to have a better life because of me. Plus, I want to be cremated (NO ROTTING FLESH or worms/bugs near my body, ever! ew), so why destroy something that is still usable?


To try to relate this back to finance--organ donation is the ultimate in being frugal. You are reusing something instead of throwing it out to waste. Reduce, reuse, organ donate!

Ok, this discussion has officially morbidded (word?) me out. My dreams are going to be tres funky tonight.

As a final thought, tell your family your wishes. They're the ones that will ultimately be making that decision. Make it easy on them and make it for them!

I know that I'm putting that on my finance to-do list.

Selling Piece of Mind for $3/mo.!

I have a couple of things that I would rather be beaten with than see destroyed: my journals, my photos and travel souvenirs, and my music collection. Oh, and my rocks, but that one is a toss-up with the beating thing. ...if that one went on for too long, I may be persuaded to see them destroyed (and so would the dozens of airline baggage people who've had to lift them onto those conveyor belts! I'm probably on some blacklist.).

The rest of my stuff? get rid of it. I honestly don't care. my bed is comfy, but whatever. i love my books, but really, no first editions there. I bought most of my furniture and junk second-hand and for less than $50 if possible. So why did I get renter's insurance? the stuff i care about is mostly worthless!

I got it because of security (see other post). if something happens, I want to know that I can buy another bed and it won't be out of my pocket. A tragedy befalling my 'stuff' doesn't have to become a tragedy befalling my finances.

A problem I've found in the finance books I've read--even the ones who say they are geared toward the young and broke (and fabulous, ha ha), don't address renter's with more than a "you need it" and maybe a line or two about getting 'replacement cost' coverage. But HOW MUCH insurance do you need? How do you go about getting it? What kinds of things do you need to know?

Here's my story:

I got a auto+renter's insurance quote from AAA, who I have a membership with. For $20,000 and a $500 deductible, I was quoted for a $115 policy, with replacement cost coverage. This amount of coverage seems to be the norm. The kinds of things I was asked were:

--what kind of roof does my abode have?
--how many rooms?
--what is infrastructure made out of (wood, steel, etc.)?
--attached or no?
--How many square feet?
--roommates?
--pets?
--earthquake safe?
--deadbolt lock on door?
--carbon monoxide/fire alarm?

crazy stuff, right? I know, the kind of ROOF on my house? i don't know that!

I had to call my landlord and ask her all these things.

After a whole month of phone calls, I never once had the privelege of having the agent at AAA answer my phone call. So, I decided to test my State Farm agent, who i use for auto insurance (I've never had to claim anything so far--knock on my wood-containing roof), and see if he offered any better service.

A smart girl I met in grad school once told me that an accessible and personal insurance agent is what you look for in insurance, and the policy comes second. Because a smart insurance agent will guide you to the best policy for you (but of course you have to do your homework), AND be there for you when something goes down. I have always remembered this advice, and love it. (She also mentioned that State Farm assigns you an agent, unlike Geico or some other bigger companies.) I'm smart enough to figure out what I need in a policy, but that won't do me any good if the agent is unreachable, or, worse yet, I'm using some agency that doesn't assign anyone to me, and just passes me around.

So, State Farm (I guess I'm pimping them out now; if only I were a celebrity) was fabulous. Just amazing. I told them what I needed, and got a quote over the phone in less than 10 minutes. I had the answers to most of the above questions, having answered them on-line with AAA. I also told them up-front about my quote from AAA, which was KEY.

I had to answer a bunch of additional questions, such as:

--how much is my TV worth? ($50)
--total other electronics? ($600)
--computer (with software)? ($1500)
--CD's? ($2500)
--furs? collectibles? (0)
--stereo, dvd, cd players? ($150)
--cameras? ($800)

probably more that I can't remember now. I am SO bad at guestimating. I should have OVER-estimated everything just to be on the safe side. If you do this, go over how much you think everything is worth, and add a couple hundred bucks--you have to have it delivered/use gas to get it to your new house, right?

Eventually, he quoted me $175 for my renter's insurance policy. I know that is much higher than AAA, but I was also arguing my auto insurance policy down with the quote I received from AAA at the same time. Among the reasons to lower the auto:

1) I'd moved to a less-affluent area recently.
2) I was now housing my car in a secure garage.
3) I am now driving less than 7500 mi/yr, since I now use a rental car to drive to and from our long-distance work sites.
4) I don't need the Emergency Roadside service they offer for $3.75/6 months since I now have AAA.
5) I am not sure, they just started lowering it due to random things they talked about while I was on hold.

They definitely didn't want to lose my business, so they pulled 'discounts' out of nowhere and eventually my combined quote from State Farm (auto+renters) was within $3 of my combined quote from AAA. Is $3/yr worth getting a crappy agent? Hint: N.-O. Plus, he said, "Insurance rates are going down next year, and if you remain accident-free, your insurance will go down even more!" In addition, with all the 'discounts' on auto, my annual total for auto+renter's insurance is $2.50 more a month than just my annual auto insurance premium.

Let me say it for you:

SCORE.

Renter's Insurance

It seems that you need insurance for EVERYTHING these days. According to every single financial book out there, if you are a renter, you need your own insurance, because your landlord's homeowner's insurance DOES NOT cover your precious stuff.

So I guess it's true, then.

Getting renter's insurance was something that I've always sort of intended to get around to in the back of my head, but I was playing Russian roulette with it--the longer I didn't have it and nothing happened, the more money I had in my pocket.

This, of course, is also true.

However, my new thing (see first post ever) is security. Even though my MOST precious "stuff" is worthless and irreplaceable (journals, pictures, cards from relatives), I can still realize that I don't want to be emotionally crippled AND have to buy a TV and bed again from scratch if anything horrible happens. The emotional cost of worrying about this has become greater than the loss to my wallet.

So what's my point? If something happens, and I lose every inch of stuff in my house, I will not be starting over. I will be sad, but I WILL NOT BE BROKE. The piece of paper containing the picture of me and my Grandma before she died is worthless, but what it means to me cannot be measured. The same is true (not to the same degree, of course) of the paper detailing my new renter's insurance policy.

My Grandma would be so proud.