Blog Ads

So far I've not indulged in blog ads, since the whole point of this was to have a place to dump my thoughts--nothing more. But as the whole point is to focus on money, why wouldn't I try to monetize my blog? I've always been staunchly against ads, but now I'm thinking more and more about it.

Single Ma (see side bar, i'm too dizzy for links) is basically my role model for financialness-ness. She's amazing, and SHE monetizes her blog. So I may try her tips (see here), INCLUDING adding ads. I didn't think that they could earn that much, but from what I've been reading about them, there is potential for $50 or more a month! That's alot for someone in school. Of course, I don't expect to make that much, but my motto is that every little bit helps. I'm also thinking about starting to do surveys for extra cash, maybe joining Cashduck.

So, as I jump from indebtedness to trying to figure out my life, I may be making some more changes. I also want to start reading those blogs that I felt were too advanced for me at first--like Get Rich Slowly and some other blogs run by people who are ALREADY successful. Alot of the blogs I have been reading focus on getting out of debt and getting started in their lives (not that there is anything wrong with that), but I feel like I need some role models, as well as people who are at about the same level I'm at. I need people who understand my current struggles because they are going through it along with me, AND I need people who are already where I want to be. 2008 will be a year of great change for me, so I'll need people to keep me on the straight and narrow.

California Day!

I seem to have come down with some ailment or another...not surprising since everyone on both of my flights was hacking and sneezing. Ugh. Even airborne hasn't helped fight this.

I'm mostly just dizzy. I cough and sneeze a little, but my main problem is that my brain feels like it's whirling around in my head, even when I'm really still and am just moving my eyes around. Wierd! I must have some ear infection-ish type deal.

I'm supposed to take my sister shopping this afternoon, so I'm going to have to drag myself out of the house and drive her to the mall (my mom has a new car, and so far, I'm the ONLY one she lets drive). But with my head the way it is, I'm a bit scared to be driving...but my sister would be SO disappointed if we don't go--it's only 8 miles on roads I know very well. So go it is...I can at least try.

My Christmas was good, if not sad. It's the first Christmas with no grandparents. The family on my dad's side is embroiled in in-fighting over my grandma's will, so they aren't talking to each other. They are the ones that live closest to us, so that means Christmas was just me, my sis, my mom, and my dad. We're used to doing it up much larger, so it really felt like alot was missing this Christmas. Not to mention, my mom had to do all the Christmas cooking and make sure everyone had good presents to fill some of the hole left by my grandparents' absence. My sis helped her make everything and I helped clean up. Good trade-off.

So this evening I will be going out to the mall. I haven't had a chance to spend anything since Sunday...just good old family time.

I'm also planning on spending the cash my mom gave me, not for luggage as intended, but on a great surprise "California Day" when they come to visit me Jan 10-20. It will consist of us waking up, eating some sort of healthy fruity b-fast, yoga from 10-11, eating lunch at a granoly vegetarian restaurant, possibly surfing lessons for sis (if it's not too cold), heading to the restaurant to see the standing wave--it's near the beach anyway--playing on the beach, a quick pick me up wheatgrass shot at Jamba Juice, and heading out to...go for a hot air balloon ride at sunset!! I'm sooo excited about that last one. Also, I'll take them both out for an early birthday dinner (mom's bday is feb 26, my sister's is Jan 27) at the melting pot, a GREAT fondue place. They will LOVE the day, and so will I. I love them so much and want them to remember this visit forever, esp. since I may be moving away so far soon, and because they've both been through so much in the past decade. They deserve some pampering. so shhh! i hope they don't read this and find out what i'm planning. :)

spending: nothing Saturday
Sunday: Around $28 on lunch for my sis and I
$27 gas for mom's car
$23 for a stupid novelty item while shopping
$5 for forgotten toiletries

And, in the spirit of full disclosure, I broke down and transferred a thousand dollars from my savings to my checking; I just didn't make enough this month to cover normal expenses. I've been good these past few months but now I'm getting lazy with work hours...this needs to change! For now, I give myself a small pass to go a little wild til school starts again on Jan 22. After all, $750 of it was money that I saved while in school.

Yes, there is a Virginia Christmas

So, I am safely ensconced in my childhood (ages 6-18) home for the holidays. I flew out all day Saturday, arrived late last night, attended my childhood church this morning, and met one of my best college friends for lunch and shopping this afternoon. This evening was spent wrapping presents with my sister while watching Christmas movies. Ah...it's so nice to be surrounded by such warmth and love and familiarity.

Absolutely nothing can replace my family. Now that my grandparents are gone, all I can think about is that my parents are next. I try to remember this fact when they start to annoy me. In light of this, when I hugged my mother tonight it was all I could do not to break down in tears. A mother's hugs are irreplaceable, and I wonder how my mom and dad are getting along without them nowadays. It hurts my heart.

I can't even think about being 50 or 60 or 70, with them either gone or extremely elderly. I'm starting to see evidence of aging in them already, and I am having a hard time dealing. Life can't BE without them, y'know? It is UNimaginable. Is this why people get married and have kids and move on? So they have something to do, someone to see, someone to love when their nuclear families age and die? I feel like life is tugging me forward, to a place that is inevitable but I don't want to go. I guess I have no choice: we ARE going to age, things DO change, people DO die. and I hate it. I, childishly, want everything to stay the same and happy and predictable. I want the guarantee of my mother's hugs making everything better.

It is these thoughts that make me question my potential big move to New Zealand. This choice really represents Do I move on? or do I try to stay the same? The time with my parents is, very obviously now, very precious. How could I leave them, fully recognizing and knowing this? on the same token, how do I not take this amazing opportunity, one that they raised me to be able to take? Either way, I disappoint and either way I win. However, which is more important? Moving on to hopefully good things, or holding onto and cherishing the past? How do you do both at the same time? Can you? I'm really struggling with this. I'd regret not being close to home if something happened, but I'd really regret not going to NZ in case something happened. Agh.

These thoughts are too heavy for the holidays, but that's what happens when I'm away from the monotonous drone of work and my 'normal' life...the bridge has yet to present itself, so it's possible that the question will become moot.

Frugal Friday

Just Kidding, today wasn't frugal at all.

I bought gas for my car so it won't be completely empty when I come back from my home town Dec. 31. $27 Plus, my gas budget for December was only half used.

I went to the library to pick up books for my plane ride and vacation starting tomorrow. $0 I also went to subway to pick up a sandwich for my plane ride ($4.25 is cheaper than those awful plane meals they are peddling nowadays).

Then I went to the grocery store and stocked up on my cash ($100) and bought some chips and popcorn and fruit for my 9 hours in the air/airport ($4.50). Hopefully, I won't have to buy any overpriced food tomorrow.

We started drinking in the office today, after our potluck. (BTW, my chocolate chip-laced brownies went like, er, hotcakes? so i'm not a complete loss in the kitchen. maybe. They were better than usual because I accidentally added too many eggs to the mix...oh well.) Anyway, we ended up at a local bar, where everyone bought me drinks but I bought my boyfriend and I some nachos for $7.50.

So. Ok. December hasn't been the best month for expenses < income. I'm banking on the hope that one month won't be able to undo all the good I've been doing.

Curry Experiment

Tonight I made one of boyfriends' Christmas meals--Mushroom Curry with Potatoes. I spent $25.76 on groceries tonight, mostly to buy spices that I will be able to reuse in later meals.

The meal included tomato paste, peas, potatoes, mushrooms (duh), onions, garlic, garam masala (?), curry powder, and coconut milk. The sauce was salted, lemon-juiced, and poured over some brown rice I cooked.

It turned out looking and smelling AMAZING, but I think it was very bland and blah to taste. Boyfriend was very nice and added some spices and said it was GREAT. In any case, I need alot more practice.

The recipe said it took 30 minutes, but I took...3 hours. not including grocery shopping time. Sigh.

Let's face it, some of us are just not cut out for the typical house-cleaning, cooking, baby-making roles our gender places us in.

spending

Volunteered to bring in brownies for a pot luck at work on Friday.

2.98 brownie mixes
72.32 prescription, floss, self, and smart money magazines (only paid $21 out of pocket due to two gift cards)

Holla, Full time job

My exams are over now, and I no longer have any excuses not to go into work. Sigh.

Today was my first day back, and luckily I'm pretty busy until spring semester starts up. I have the next four days full-time, then I leave for VA on Saturday. I'm out there until the 31rst, then I come back to SoCal for New Years Eve. My company has Jan 1 off. So, Jan 2 and 3rd I'm full time at work. On Jan 4, I fly out to Minnesota for my boyfriends' sister's wedding on the 5th. I work full time Jan 7-9. Then, my mom and sister come out to SoCal Jan 10-20. I work full time Jan 21, and then spring semester starts Jan 22. Holy crap. So, in the next month or so, I only work full time for 10 days.

All told, I'll probably only make about $2,000 in the next month. I'm seeing how this month plays out, since I am very underbudget so far but my income is also unusually low, and there's a whole week where I'm at home. I shouldn't have to pay for much during that week, so it may even out, but I just can't be sure right now. If i do have to dip into my savings, I have that $750+ cushion there, anyway.

One of my project managers came by to talk to me this evening, and basically asked me how I was doing financially, being part-time. I just said simply, "I saved up all this year, so I'm doing fine." He asked if I was eating Ramen noodles, and I just laughed, "No, it's not that bad." I really wanted to say that I've actually been SAVING money on my part-time salary, but didn't want to tempt him to cut my income (not that he has that power, but I just didn't want to go there). He then asked if I was coming back to full-time after the spring semester...I think he's worried about staffing since three girls in the office are out for maternity leave over the next year. I said, "Of course, I don't have THAT much saved up!"

don't need to tell anyone that my plan as of now is to quit in June to spend some time at home and then move to New Zealand...heh.

Christmas Surprise spending

Spending is at nada today.

As a corollary to his Christmas surprise for me, I set up my own surprise for my boyfriend this evening. He's off watching football with some friends, so I was free to put the vegetarian cookbooks I bought for him in the kitchen, with my little 4 meals coupon. on the coupon, I promise to buy all ingredients, fully prepare, and cook four full meals of his choosing (with one caveat: the recipes had to be in one of the two books I bought).

I also put Team America on his DVD shelf for him to find. We usually have a movie on in the background while hanging out in the living room, so he'll find that pretty fast.

The total for the books and dvd was about $50 on amazon, so I figure another $50 should cover the cost of ingredients, bringing me to the $100 total I was aiming for.

I go home this Saturday. My presents for my mom have already been shipped there, half of the present for my dad is there, and I have the present for my sis and the other half of my dad's with me. All in all, I'm definitely on budget this Christmas, and I feel really good about everything I was able to get for everyone.

(p.s. In case you were curious, the two cookbooks I got were "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" by Mark Bittman and "The Healthy Hedonist." Both received great reviews on Amazon.)

Almost Christmas!!

Wow, been busy...my last exam was Thursday morning. I did ok, but I didn't ace it. Probably a B, B+ or so. We'll find out when the grades come in in about a month.

Friday, I took a day off and just hung out at home to recuperate, clean, do everything that I've been ignoring for the last two weeks. That evening, boyfriend took me out on the town to celebrate end-of-exams and our 13th month anniversary (should we still celebrate months??). He treated me to a reasonably priced, VERY well reviewed afghani restaurant in a hip neighborhood (read: gay-borhoods are usually the most interesting, fashionable, and have the best eateries and fun shops in cities). Most importantly, they had a wonderful selection of both vegetarian and meat-eater dishes--hard to find.

Then, I bought tickets (student discount!) to see Juno. It is a great movie--lots of good lines, funny, interesting supporting characters, and a fantastic display by the main actress. My boyfriend and I have been quoting movie lines all weekend.

$19 movie tickets

Afterward, we walked around the gayborhood enough to get chilled in the 50 degree weather and drove a short distance away to a coffee shop in an area that is well known for cheap rent, spanish style architecture, and awesome, indie kids. the coffee shop is the kind that i love: independent, been there forever with the same owner still manning the 20 year old cash register, employees who chat wittily with you while making your drink, homemade confections, cozy couches and nooks strewn about the large room, wireless internet!, posters and adverts for local bands, poem slams, etc., from this day and age to yesteryear. There was a neighborhood cat just chillin on a chair that was tucked underneath a table in the joint--it's that homey. Just a very cozy, welcoming place to be. AND it's open 24 hours a day on the weekends, and is right across the street from my favorite bar in the city. I bought us some drinks and we lounged around on an empty couch and talked leisurely while people-watching.

$7 drinks

We ended the night pretty late. I don't think i've been out that late, ever, without alcohol being involved. It seems as though I'm growing up.

The next day I did some errands and had a concert to attend. While I was getting ready for the concert, I went to put on my old watch and had a surprise. I got the watch for my high school graduation from my mom and dad, and it is showing the 10 year old wear. I've been looking at styles for a new one for christmas, and picked out about 10 that I liked the general look of on my amazon page. So i went to the usual spot to grab my watch and put on the old one, and instead, there was a brand spanking new watch, actually the most expensive one that I had picked out! I freaked out and jumped around all excited--obviously my boyfriend had grabbed my old one and put the new one there for me to find. :) I love my new watch, and I would never have spent that much on one myself, so it was a perfect gift.

After that excitement, we headed over to the show. My old roommate works for my favorite radio station in my city (who put together the show) and she was broadcasting backstage while the concert was going on--she kept me updated with how the band members REALLY are and all the gossip. We saw six bands over six hours and of course were famished half way through (no outside drinks or food allowed), so ended up buying some gross nachos. Water was THREE DOLLARS--and it didn't even come in a bottle.

$8 snacks at concert

The kids at the concert seemed like they were all 14 and insanely immature--trying to mosh to super-mellow tunes, pushing people around to get closer to the stage (i'm short, why do you begrudge me my spot?), and throwing shoes on stage at the band members. WTF is wrong with these kids? yet another example of how I felt super old this weekend. we stood in the pit for the first few bands (they were the ones we were actually the most interested to see, fortunately, 'cause most of the kids showed up late. afterward, we took seats in the stands). my whole seated section saw two girls--they couldn't have been more than 13--eat it face first up the steps in two separate incidents 'cause they were so drunk. stupid. The bands were great, though--most of them. It was well worth the money, esp. for the headliner, who are true rock stars in my book. I finally got to see one of my favorite bands play live! great time.

We were still starving after the concert and didn't want to go home so we ended up at our favorite late-night stop: denny's. A french slam and a moon over my hammy (hold the ham) later, we were satiated with good conversation and yummy food.

$21 Denny's

we talked alot about new zealand and moving there. My boyfriend keeps asking me if i'm on board, and I'm always like, hells yeah, I'm in. How could I not? I mean, unless something terrible happens with my family, I'm there. One day soon I will have to be the sole supporter of my mom or dad and/or sister, so I may as well do what I want now. I'll miss them terribly and HATE HATE HATE the 24 hour flights to get home, but well, that is what the month+ long paid vacations are for. Yup...NZers get at least one month a year off paid vacation, from everything I've read.

I'm also considering getting phd there. For several reasons: 1. there are some research topics I'm extremely interested in that I haven't explored yet. 2. one the professors from grad school that i'm really close to is from new zealand and I'd definitely have a good leg up in terms of references there 3. in nz, they don't have to take comps or fulfill class requirements. comps are horrible--they are 2 day long events in which 5-6 professors (usually your committee members) can ask you ANYTHING in your field (not narrowed down to your specialty, either) in excruciating day-long oral and written examinations. I've seen my friends go through it, and I have no interest. AND, since you don't have to take classes, you can finish your phd in 3 years. So. Exciting.

So that was my weekend. How was yours?

Spending

And...my first exam was today--the one I spent most of my time in the last week studying for. It went ok--but I get the feeling that I was focusing too much on the tiny details and not enough on the big picture. I will still get an A in the class, I'm pretty sure.

Afterward I immediately went to a study session with my classmates for my exam tomorrow, where we studied/talked for 4 hours. Studying in a group makes everything so much more fun and enjoyable!! I definitely learned more in that time than I would have at home by myself. I really like the kids in my class, too...I feel so refreshed and happy after hanging out with them.

Two thoughts jump out at me upon re-reading this post: 1) Am I looking at the tiny details (of my life, of my finances) too much without stepping back and seeing everything I should be? and 2) being with (a certain type of) people obviously makes me happy--I need to make friends here; all of my old ones moved away.

$20.36 groceries (dinner/snacks)

Exam Spending

Listening to the study CD i bought, eating the study food I bought, I've spent 90% of my waking hours today in the middle of science intensity. I've nearly got a handle on it--just a few more topics to master and then I can memorize everything on my study guide before my exam on Wednesday.

Now, my other class is another issue...I unfortunately haven't even cracked that book open for this exam. Ugh. There is just SO MUCH information. Tomorrow and Wednesday are going to be very, very bad. I kind of can't wait until Thursday evening when I can relax and I can sleep. My 86 and 99 on previous tests only makes up 60% of my grade--I'm on the cusp of an A with my 93.5 right now, but this final is what is going to determine what I really get: A, A-, B+, or B. Even though these grades don't count for ANYTHING, will never go to any school or employer (including my current one), I still want to get A's...mostly for myself.

The upside to all of this? No time to spend. I'm at $0 for today.

Sunday spending

$37.37 on groceries (mostly junk food and snacks for finals studying! oh, how i've missed this...)

also $160 for Sea world dolphin interaction program for my sister when she comes here in January. And, $135 for 3 sea world tickets. I don't count that stuff, though, 'cause my mom is going to pay me back over Christmas break.

Finale

I'm studying for finals this weekend, so I haven't been spending much the last few days. At most, I'll go to the grocery store to pick up some fruit and other snacks while I'm cramming. My first exam is on Wednesday and the second is on Thursday, so I have a feeling Tuesday and Wednesday nights are going to be BRUTAL.

I'm studying now, but for some reason, I'm a horrible procrastinator. Right now, I can't seem to sit down and sit still unless the TV's on or I have some music, or the internet is on behind my study guides--I NEED distractions to study! Sigh. I'll buckle down in the next 24 hours, but until the pressure's on, I'm all about the ADD.

budget overboard

I got something today in the mail saying that I'm potentially getting a refund back because I spent some time out of the country between 1996-2006. I personally spent 29 days out of the country--10 days in Thailand and 19 days in New Zealand. I remember being charged some fees on my credit card when I charged things out of the country, but I just took it as normal. Apparently those fees are being challenged as illegal. More info here:

http://www.ccfsettlement.com/

Sigh. I am supposed to be studying for my final exams today, and I decided I couldn't without some good music, specifically the new albums by the bands playing at the concert I'm going to next weekend. I also should get some closed toed black pumps/boots for the wedding I'm going to in Minnesota in January--COLD = thick, black tights = closed toed shoes! So I ventured out to the shops...and Oh My Goodness, was the traffic and crowd in the stores CRAZY! I am NOT going to another store before Christmas, I can tell you that much. I am SO glad that online stores exist!!

$18.31 misc (cd)

I also bought some supplies for boyfriend, but he's paying me back in the form of reduced rent this month, so I'm not counting that in my tally...

spending

$5.50 eating out cash

My spending follows a natural pattern, particularly when it comes to my eating habits. i can go for months of making my own lunch, with a treat every once in a while, and then BAM! it seems as if I suddenly can't handle it anymore and I binge (no pun intended) on the eating out/shopping for one month or so. This is one of those times. I can already feel that I'm going to blow the eating out budget!

But it's ok--I know it will pass. I seem to be a self-correcting system. Plus, I still have $120 in cash in my wallet, to be used for times like these. I take out $200 every 3-4 months to use for 'treat' purchases like these. I SHOULD charge these things on my cc and get the points, but this way feels like I'm cheating my budget a little here and there. It comes out virtually the same in the end, but it is psychologically satisfying to do it this way for some reason. Oh well. Tis the season!!

Milestones

It's said that most Americans think that if they had 20% more money than they currently make, everything would be perfect. I'm sad to say that I'm the same way. I hate being average...

Before I got serious about eliminating my debt, I was floating free and oblivious. Then I realized that what I was doing was rediculous--a >$42K salary and I had MORE debt than when I was living off my $20K grad school salary??? Yeah, that's when I realized that I was being really stupid about something.

Since then, I've been calculating and re-calculating the money I'd need coming in to achieve X, Y, and Z. First, it was eliminating my low-balance ($3K or less) student loans, then it was paying off a discover cc, then another card. I thought FOR SURE when I was debt-free, I'd have plenty of money with which to do my heart's desire.

Yeah, I was wrong. It's been a year since I paid off my debt in full, and I don't have enough, even with the 5K increase in salary I received this year!

Granted, I started taking classes this year, but I base this assessment off of calculations I CONTINUE to do while barely making more than I spend.

Maybe my problem is that I want to do TOO MUCH. I just get so anxious and want to achieve everything, right now!

Here's what I want to be able to do with my salary:
--max out 401K (16K in 2008), before taxes
--max out roth (5K in 2008), after taxes
--save $1,500 a month for house downpayment, a big Europe trip, a possible trip to NZ, wedding fund ($18K), after taxes
--maintain current lifestyle ($25K), after taxes

Using a 30% tax rate (fed/state/ss/med), that's equivalent to a salary of $85K/yr. Sigh. I make $55K a year now.

I really need to decide if saving for short term goals (downpayment, etc.) takes priority over my long-term: retirement. I feel like there will ALWAYS be short-term goals to save for, but retirement should be running in the background the entire time. I think I'll have to try it both ways to be sure--max out retirement and just see how much I can save after that sucker punch. Or, should I set my 401K percentage to a minimum amount now (say, 3%), and just keep increasing it every quarter/with raises/bonuses??

Life is just as complicated with debt as without. (but the problems are a whole lot nicer!).

Early? Go Shopping.

For some reason, when I woke up today I groggily looked at the clock first thing (as I always do), saw that it read 8:55, decided I was going to be late for my 10:00 class if I didn't get a move on right away and leave the house at 9 am. I proceeded to arrive on campus a full half hour EARLY. I actually need to leave the house at 9:30 on Mondays and Wednesdays (I have to leave by 9 am on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I guess my sleepy brain got confused). Of course, with only a half an hour to kill, and no where else to go, I went to the student bookstore. I visited the bookstore yesterday to make sure the exam materials I had were the same as they were selling in the bookstore, and ended up perusing the clothing section. I found a cute shirt there, and I've been wanting some clothing from my non-undergrad or grad school, but I put it back 'cause $15 is $15.

Unfortunately for my budget, they were having a 20% off EVERYTHING sale today. I bought the cute shirt in the half hour before class. Drat. I did put away some sorority girl booty (ahem) athletic shorts, though.

$13 t-shirt (clothing) cash

This is a prime example of how constantly being late actually saves money.

Just kidding.

spending...

100 Roth
10.31 groceries
13.43 eating out (cash)

Poll Results!

Wow, you guys, I was surprised to see the results, honestly--12 people voted, and only ONE person voted to put the extra (now $758.52) in my Roth IRA. Unsurprisingly, no one said to spend it (darn). Four people said to keep it where it is, in my savings account, and a whopping SEVEN people said to do one-third each.

Thank you for all your votes. It really put everything in perspective, and made me think about my strategy a little more.

I have decided to do a 2-prong strategy: keep the money where it is, and if I haven't used the money for an emergency before my 2007 Roth closes in April, I'm going to put it in my Roth IRA. This gives it time to grow in interest, as well. My classes end early May, so I'd really only have to make it through April without any surprises (and if I did, I'd still have my $15K in the EF). After that, I'm back to full-time and shouldn't have any cash flow issues.

So, all, thank you for your input! Once Christmas gets closer, I may change my mind a little and spend a third of it (~$250), but the other 2/3 will surely stay put unless a shortage of cash occurs. I promise!

December 2007 Budget

Ah, as the last month of the year rolls out, I tweak my budget in the hopes that the new year will bring me greater sense of where my money is going. For December, my budget is going to be a little larger, to accomodate the holidays and the sure cash outlay that awaits me on New Year's Eve...

I decided also to average October and November to estimate costs, that's why the odd figures:

RENT: 650 ($750 less utilities boyfriend owes me)
Car/Rental Insurance: 0
Food 206
Clothes 0
Travel: 0
Gifts 250
Car/Gas 100
Cable 60.27
Roth 100
Electricity/Gas 0
Eating Out 50
Charity 25
Cell phone: 46.19
Medical 47
Misc 300
Sewer/Water 20
Saving 0
Total: 1,854.46

Electricity/Gas is 0 because I paid last month's bills in November, and December's bill will be paid in January. Gifts are $250 and Misc. is $300 simply because I still have to buy a few gifts for my boyfriend and I don't know what I'm doing for New Year's quite yet--but from the looks of my friends' options, it's going to be pricey.

December (and Christmas) is one time when I don't want to care about my budget. I'll see old friends and my family, and I do not wish to restrict myself from doing something with them due to financial reasons. I probably will buy some things for myself, too--as you can see, most months don't usually involve clothes or travel. This month my $25 Express gift card is burning a hole in my pocket. Not to mention, they just sent me a $15 off-anything coupon. Therefore...a $40 item will be free to me pretty soon!

In addition, my final exams are next week, and then I will be free to work full time until my new semester starts on Jan 22.

November 2007 Moolah Update

Checking: $1,850

Retirement:
401(K): $6,798.06
Roth IRA: $1401.30

Total Retirement Fun (12/22/06): $3,485.99
Total Retirement Fun (2/07): $4,479
Total Retirement Fun (3/07): $5,820
Total Retirement Fun (6/07): $6,965
Total Retirement Fun (7/07): $7,153.37
Total Retirement Fun: (8/07): $7,113.74
Total Retirement Fun (10/07): $8,320.32
Total Retirement Fun (11/07): $8,199.36 (! It went down!)


Total Emergency Savings (09/06): $2,035
Total Emergency Savings (10/06): $2,583
Total Emergency Savings (11/06): $2,977
Total Emergency Savings (12/06): $3,225.97
Total Emergency Savings (2/07): $4,260.16
Total Emergency Savings (3/07): $6,750
Total Emergency Savings (6/07): $7,815
Total Emergency Savings (7/07): $13,151.28
Total Emergency Savings (8/07): $14,756.25
Total Emergency Savings (10/07): $15,485.60
Total Emergency Savings (10/07): $15,758.52

Total Net Worth (Emergency Savings + Retirement Fun): $23,957.88 (whew, still went UP!)

November 2007 budget review

November Budget:

RENT: 750
Car/Rental Insurance: 0
Food 175
Clothes 0
Travel: 0
Gifts 150
Car/Gas 75
Cable 60.27
Roth 100
Electricity/Gas 35
Eating Out 50
Charity 25
Cell phone: 48
Medical 47
Misc 125
Sewer/Water 20
Total $1660.27

Earned income from job for November: 1701.31
Income from other sources: $241.25
Total Income for November 2007: $1942.56

Here is how I did on all of this:

RENT: 550
Car/Rental Insurance: 0
Food 227.18
Clothes 0
Travel: 0
Gifts 286.55
Car/Gas 96.65
Cable 60.27
Roth 100
Electricity/Gas 40.55
Eating Out 54.87
Charity 25
Cell phone: 46.19
Medical 47
Misc 390.29
Sewer/Water 19.79
Saving 215
Total: 2159.34


Rent: $550. Under budget by $200. Boyfriend owed me $$ from utilities, etc.

Groceries/Food: $227.18. Over budget by $52.18. My last shopping trip messed me up.

Gifts: $286.55. Over budget by 136.55, due to Christmas shopping. I'd be paying this in December, anyway, so it's not really over budget in those terms.

Car/Gas: $96.65 Over budget by 21.65. What can I say, I had a round trip airport trip and gas prices are rising! $75 was not a reasonable amount.

Cable/Internet: $60.27 At budget.

Roth: $100. At budget.

Electricity/Gas: $40.55. Over budget by $5.55. BUT! this includes the payment for November that I would normally make in December, so I actually prepaid December's payment here. We're kicking butt on the low electric bills! only ~$16 this month! I heart solar panels!

Eating Out: $54.87 OVER BUDGET BY $4.87. Eh, I'm being pretty lax on these kinds of things...

Charity: $25. at budget. Donated to a fire relief fund for my county. Awesome.

Cell phone: $46.19. Under budget by $1.81.

Medical: $47 for health insurance. At budget.

Misc.: $390.29. OVER BUDGET by...ALOT. Major expenses were an oil change and tire rotation/balance for $69, getting my car brakes fixed for ~$130. I spent $50 on a concert ticket, and about $40 on blockbuster (gotta do something about that!!). The rest is parking (while I was on a field trip I had to park my car on campus), boyfriend, and random misc. stuff. Should be less next month.

Sewer/Water: $19.79. I'll budget $20 for this from now on.

Saving: $215. Not bad.

Total expenditures: $2,159.34. That includes a major repair and maintenance to my car, 3/4 of my Christmas gifts, an extra payment on my electric/gas, and me and my boyfriend's anniversary celebration and gifts. Not to mention a concert!

Overall, I spent $217 over what I made this month. However, I saved $215 in my savings account and $100 in my Roth. Also, about $100 of that total was in gift cards, and $40 from my cash stash. Therefore, the hit to my bank account should only be about $100.

I'm really liking how this school stint is turning out for my finances--no, I'm not saving as much as I was before, but it's really teaching me how much I can live off. At this rate, I could be comfortable making $30K to $40K before taxes! This will be helpful when I start maxing out my 401K contributions...

In theory: At this point, I make $55K/yr. I should get at least a thousand dollar raise for next year, so this logic is still valid: I could sock away the max in my 401K (16K for 2008), pay taxes on $40K, and still take home $2100. As you can see, on my WORST month so far, I only spent about $2100. I would barely be able to max my Roth out on that, though--it'd be a squeeze.

This plan becomes more and more feasible the higher my salary climbs. The only glitch is if there's something big I need to save for, or if my life changes drastically: a house, my trip to New Zealand, a wedding, a Europe trip, a kid's college education, etc. So this plan goes on the back burner for now...

Spending

Gas $27.76

205 mi
8.262 gal to fill up
almost 25 mpg

$48.66 boyfriend's Christmas gift (half)

These days, I'm just happy to get out of the gas station for under $30!

November budget review to follow.

Give some support to a fellow pf blogger!

Ms. Miniducky is going through a hard time...leave a comment and let her know we're thinking of her and her boyfriend's family.

I totally blew my budget.

$52.74 groceries.

budget update coming in the next few days...

What I Told A Beginning Investor

I peruse MSN Money message boards from time to time, and there was a woman on the Women in Red board, 41 years of age, asking how to start investing in a Roth IRA, preferably on a monthly basis. Apparently, she and her husband hadn't a dime saved for retirement yet! Although they had no debt and a healthy amount of equity in their home, they were going to be in big trouble if they didn't start saving soon. Here's what I wrote her:

Several companies allow you to make monthly investments--I'm with T. Rowe Price for my Roth IRA, and they allow you to deposit a minimum of $50 every month. I'm 29, so I'm invested in an aggressive mix of an International Equity index fund and an Equity Index 500 fund--they are no-load funds, have very low expense ratios (~.5%), but do have a quarterly fee of $2.50 for each fund (because they are index funds and therefore do not need to be managed). They also charge an annual fee of $10 per fund for maintaining the account, since my balance is below $5,000 in each fund. Notice that I can rattle these numbers off the top of my head--please be aware of where you are putting your money, and all the pitfalls of investing where you are investing.

Basically, since you are starting out with investing, the general advice is to start out in no-load mutual funds (this means that the fund doesn't charge you a fee for buying the shares of the fund, nor do they charge you to cash them in). The funds that are 'loaded' are also called "Class A," "Class B," or "Class C" load funds. For now, as a beginner, you should avoid these like the plague. I've read about instances where these funds are ok, but they aren't for you right now.

Go to a low cost brokerage like T. Rowe Price, Vanguard, TD Ameritrade, dozens of others...I'm sure other people on here have suggestions. I opened my Roth IRA online in about a half hour.

The important thing is to get started. Knowledge (and hopefully money!) will follow. You'll need a few years to play with your investments and figure out your game plan. You can't do this from the sidelines very easily.

Also, you should look for funds with low expense ratios (under ~1% or so). These are basically the 'operating costs' of managing the fund, and are taken out of any dividends or profit you would make for investing in the fund. You can see why the lower these are, the better for you.

I like index funds because they are no muss, no fuss for an early investor. You don't have to sit there and figure out which stocks are likely to go up or down--these funds follow the general trend of the market. I read somewhere (reputable) that the stock market has returned an average of 10-12% since the 1920's. The past performance is no guarantee of future performance, but I'd be happy with 12%! In contrast, several studies have shown that 95% of actively managed funds (the manager sells and buys stocks for the fund based on his market analysis) don't outperform index funds. Why pay more for something that probably won't net more money?

Watch the fees: management fees for funds, fees for index funds, low balance account fees--they all add up. However, just because a fund is no-load, has low expense ratios, and no fees, does NOT mean you should put your money in it. Make sure to research the fund and find something with a solid history of good performance, and funds that have been around a while and have a past--even index funds...they are made to mimic the market, but they aren't guaranteed to follow it exactly and there are bound to be adjustments as the fund gets older.

Anyway, you don't have to take my word for it. You should check out Morningstar.com for funds that fit you and your goals, and to check out their expense ratios, past performances, and overall morningstar rating. You'll also probably want a less aggressive mix of funds.

I know this is alot, but start looking these terms up, and it will start making sense.

***Disclaimer: I'm not a financial advisor, but this is what I have learned the past few years. Everybody, please feel free to dispute/correct my advice.****

You Decide My Money's Fate!

My poll is going to be up for 6 more days. I really want to know what you all think!

No spending today so far...and I think I'm going to be too tired to do any tonight.

(Wrong: I spent $6 on dinner, $15 on movies, and another $3 on snacks...ugh)

Tell Me What To Do With My Money Poll!

As you may have noticed, I have some progress bars to the left of my page. I heart them, as they are B-E-A-yootiful. (thank you for the code template, Wanda!)

I had my 6 month emergency fund ($9000) and new car fund ($6000) funded a couple of months ago when I started school--all a big net to catch me and support me while I was in school. But as you may have noticed, I haven't had to dip into it yet--and I've had a big month this month, with anniversary presents, a brake job, and 3/4 of my Christmas shopping done. As I only have two more weeks of my fall semester, and I have more than a month off to work full-time between semesters, it's not likely that I will need to dip into it! What better news than that?!

I have been saving about $100/mo in my savings account, as well as earning interest. So now I'm faced with a dilemma--with my emergency fund well funded, new car fund well funded, what should I do with this overage of $700?

I have faithfully been contributing to my Roth IRA at $100/mo., but I'm not going to make the max before April 08, at this rate. Should I put all the extra money into my Roth?

It is almost Christmas time. Should I spend that money on something extra fabulous for myself or someone else?

Should I add that 'extra' money to my monthly budget?

Or should I do nothing and let that money gain interest in my savings account in case there is a bad month and I need the $$?

I'm too close to it, so I'm taking a poll-SEE TOP LEFT.

Update on My Classmate

I found out today that my classmate that I posted about here is going to be fine. A couple of my other classmates are going to get a house with her, and one of the classmates' fathers is going to cover the first/last months rent and security deposit.

A) Must be nice to have a dad that can (and will) do that.
B) It's great to have friends like that.
C) I love happy endings, especially around Christmastime.

AghBlah

I woke up VERY late today for class, resulting in the titled feeling for the rest of the day. Not fun. It's all good, though--I borrowed notes from some people to catch up on the first half of class, and made it in plenty of time for the lab associated with the class.

I WILL be spending some $$ today if I find papaya seed dressing at Trader Joe's. I have some homemade from a mix kind, and it is the yummiest stuff I've ever tasted on a salad.

Looking at the raw data, I've blown my budget for the month, but I feel like I didn't do TOO badly, since $140 of it was a present, another $130 was fixing brakes, and another $140 was Christmas presents. The margin of error is about $125, which should be covered by the cushion in my checking account. It was all worth it in my world...I hope next month isn't the same, but it's ok if this month is a little off.

I just transferred $215 to my savings account today, too, so even though I'm off by $125, I still managed to save about $85 this month. Oh! and counting purchases made with gift cards and my mad money (coins and the stash of about $200 I have in my wallet that is not counted in my net worth/any accounts), I came UNDER what I earned by about $7. Boo-yah. My cushions are saving my budget.

Spending

$130 to replace my front brakes.

spending...

$21.62 Groceries for the week...
Returned $28.02, spent $28.19 (all on a gift card)...random items (socks, snacks, cards for secretaries at work, tape, etc...)

I could use an extra day to recover from my 5 days off. Luckily, Christmas break will be here in less than a month!

Two weeks of class left, then a week of finals, then a full week of work. It seems like there's always more stuff to hurry up.

No spending today

nope, none.

Xtreme Xmas

I, miraculously, did 3/4 of my holiday shopping last night on Amazon (i heart free super saver shipping!). I had budgeted $400 for 4 people--and I have presents on the way for 3 of those people, and came in under budget by about ten bucks. Here's how it breaks down:

Present money:
$150 AMEX award points
$50 cashback credit card points
$56.58 for a return causing a credit to a cc
~$18.80 from FSA
$115.87 from fatwallet
$10 bonus for referring boyfriend to ING DIRECT

That totals approximately $401.35. All of the $$ is in my hands, save the AMEX gift cards.

Last night I bought for my family:

Mom--
-gold hoop earrings, $29.00
-a gold cross pendant, $47.21
-Hoyle 2008 card games for PC, $19.99
-Carol King CD, Tapestry, $4.99

Dad--
-Home Depot gift card, $50
-learn how to type CD for PC, $24.99
-computer basics for beginners book, $14.99

My sister--
-shopping spree at the place of her choice while I'm in town, $100

Total: $291.17. All has free shipping except for the gold cross (price includes shipping here).

So, now I have to get a present for boyfriend, for about $110. What in the world can I get him? we'll have to talk about ideas...I don't want to get him something he wouldn't want.

On another note, I'm thinking seriously about CD laddering, esp. in light of the crazy rate cutting going on...

Giving Thanks.

I am thankful for:

my memories of my dear departed grandparents, and all the wonderful memories they gave me.

my mom, dad, sister, my crazy cousins, and the rest of my family who are still alive.

the touching friendships I've made through the years, especially the one that changed my life forever.

that I'm smart, motivated, funny, and talented enough to get the life that I want.

this blog and everyone who decides to read some of my self-centered obsessive rants.

all the other pf bloggers out there who make it possible to spend a half hour a day reading about their lives.

that even though I'm 3000 miles away from my family today, I spent the day with several other friends and families who kindly took me in.

This one's for you, my dear grandparents. Thank you for all the wonderful Thanksgivings you provided, and for being in my life.

Well, That Sucks.

I slept in today because my class was cancelled and work is very slow, after gloriously staying up late to re-read a Sedaris book I recently added to my collection. There are only a few books I bother to actually buy and own, and this book is one of them. I love staying up late, but that meant I had less time to do my errands today.

I went to my first stop of the day, the ONLY full serve gas station in a 200 mile radius. I miraculously discovered it unwittingly when I lived two blocks away in my first living situation here. I needed to get my tires filled with air pretty desperately, since I ran over a curb the other foggy night trying to avoid a car that braked suddenly to avoid another car. The plan was to get my fluids/tires checked/refilled for free (I knew a guy there from when I lived there), then go on to Midas to get my oil changed and tires rotated and balanced. However, at the service station, they said I had NO OIL and I couldn't drive any further without causing damage. So, I let them change the oil and rotate and balance the tires. It turned out to be 8 bucks more than what Midas would charge me. Plus, the guy I knew there doesn't work there anymore and I had to get gas to get them to check everything out in the first place.

So:
$29 gas
$69 Car maintenance--oil changed and tires balanced and rotated

While I was waiting for my car, I got plastic cups for my Thanksgiving hostess--

$6 misc.

Also, I now have more work to do on my car. They said my front brakes needed replacing. I have gotten the brakes replaced in the last three years at Midas, and they have a life-time warranty on them, so I decided to go to Midas on Friday to get them replaced. I'll also get my car cleaned out and vacuumed at a nearby place afterward. My car is getting gross and it desperately needs it. My family is coming mid-January, so hopefully the cleanliness will last until then.

You all have a great Thanksgiving!!

Wanting to Give...

There is a girl in one of my classes: she's smart, she's outgoing, she's one of the nicest people I've met in a while, but she is having a really hard time. I can't say that I know the whole story, but I do know a few things--she's sleeping on her friend's floor, she's maxed out her student loans, she's a senior about to graduate next spring, she's taking a full load AND holding down a part time job making about $15/hr, working the one full day she has left over after classes every week. Working on the weekends is not an option because we have field trips every weekend for our class. The problem is, the friend who's floor she is sleeping on is keen on getting her out...and she doesn't have the money to do so.

She's bewildered as to what to do. She'll be fine after January, when her loans come in, but between now and then, what should she do?? Oh, and she's in her lower 30's, divorced, and spent the little money she had left after her husband left her paying her mom's medical bills...her mom died recently. Her dad lives ten states away and can't help her out financially. She doesn't have the money to come up with first/last month's rent and security deposit.

What in the world can a person do in this situation except for rely on the kindness of her friends?? I would totally offer her my couch for a few weeks if I thought my BF wouldn't go crazy--plus our place is tiny. I still may offer her our place, with BF's permission, if both of us go away for Christmas week. I need someone to water my plants. :)

Actually, she's pretty lucky: this situation is very temporary--she'll be fine once her loans come in in about two months, and then after that she'll have the time to get a full-time job. It's just sad that there's nowhere for her to go right now. I feel so horrible for her, I wished I were rich enough to do a random act of kindness and send some $$ to her to get her started, like this lady does with her lotto winnings.

New, Improved Taste!

I've redone my page a bit--new colors mostly. I lost all my links when I switched over (it was an accident; I'm such a newbie at webpage reorganization), so if you were inadvertantly left off, please let me know.

I also added a bunch more links to websites that I peruse nearly daily. Love you guys!!

Let me know what you think!

Splenda

$10.08 Gas
$43.85 Groceries (supplies for my Omi's famous mac n cheese, and more banana bread!)

The boyfriend dilemma is resolved--I hope. He decided he didn't want to deal with the details (which I already knew), didn't want to deal with paying the bills (knew that too), and I should just do what I've been doing--write him a rent check for my half, less the amount he owed me for the bills (yeah, my original suggestion. Guess he just had to come up with it on his own after dealing with the details of paying the bills!). So...my rent for this month is $550!

Sunday/Monday Spending

$22.81 Groceries ($12.12 on gift card)

BF bought me a ticket to his sister's wedding next January for my anniv. present. yay!

$25 to the Fire Relief Fund (charity) on Monday

Me-Spending

Friday is my only day off from school during the week, therefore I should go into work all day instead. What usually happens is that I get in enough hours during the rest of the week that I don't feel I need to go in (for $$, anyway), unless there's a big project going on. So, on Friday, I woke up ten minutes before the concert tix were to go on sale and bought the tix!! It was around $97 total but BF will pay me back for his ticket. That makes me hate ticketbastard, 'cause the tickets were REALLY $37 but I ended up paying $13 extra for their stupid fees and such.

~$50 concert


Saturday I had a field trip, yet again. This field trip wasn't nearly as brutal as last week's. However, I'm coming down with something causing a sore throat, and one of my co-workers had pneumonia (sp?) recently. After our first big climb up a steep hill, I was dizzy, thought I was going to vomit, and couldn't catch my breath. I told the prof that I was going to have to sit in the van for the rest of the day if I felt any worse. Luckily, we hiked up near the vans next, and I felt better, so I trekked on. I was tired at the end of the day, but proud of myself for continuing on even though I was feeling subpar. The prof said he was impressed, and I know I got some respect for that, so I'm pretty happy. Plus the contact between the two types of rock on my map was not too bad, and I gained an extra credit point for knowing where we were on the map, bringing my total test grade to 100.5! We walked back 3 miles to the vans on the road and I had a good conversation with some people in my class, which continued on for another hour and a half while riding in the van back to school. Most of my friends in my city have moved away, so I don't get much social interaction anymore, and it felt GREAT! to talk to people who listened and are new and are interested in getting to know me. Life has been lacking that lately.

Anyway, as luck would have it, my BF was in a good mood when I got back from my field trip (that is a rare occurrence these days--his mom just died), and we had fun being goofy and silly. This has continued on to this morning. No money was spent on Saturday, but it was one of the best days in a while that I can remember.

Oh! but I did get paid on Saturday--around $950. That brings my total earned income for November to $1701.31. That is plenty, if I'm good for the rest of the month. :)

Also, despite my worries about my pulmonary test last week, I was approved for field work. So that's another worry off my brow.

Lazy Thursday

Today is a lazy day. Boyfriend is out of town so I have the house to myself. I do have a big project at work to finish, but...that can wait until tonight. Right now I'm lazing about watching tv and perusing pf blogs. Ah...so nice. Later on I'll go through my notes from my classes to make a study guide and do my homework. I may buy a pizza and watch The Office. Yum!

pizza $9.65

I have to make a decision about attending the concert or not. Tix go on sale tomorrow at 10 am. Hmmm...$37 x 2. I probably will do it.

Goal Update

This week's goals:

1) call Midas
2) call rent place
3) copy and send in form to get rest of my HSA moneys
4) make sure I receive us bank refund
5) November 13-14: check rewards balance; order $50 check from CC
6) November 13: order $115.87 from fatwallet!!
7) stick to weekly budget
8) go to swing class
9) work 20 hours

Still need to do 1 and 2.

#3,4,5, and 6 are done, garnering me about $250. Sweet.

#7: done so far.

#8: My BF and I basically are done with swing, for various reasons. Forcing ourselves to go to something that we ended up not really enjoying was becoming a burden. I don't know why it wasn't fun, it college it was great. $70 wasted...oh well. Live and learn. Scratch #8.

#9: I've already put in about 10 hours this week. I need to put in as much as I can Thurs and Fri.

Also, BF and I decided to go to a concert in December. Tix cost $37 for 5 or 6 good bands, so I'm stoked. It takes place the day after I finish my last final of the semester. Awesome.

Spending:
$63 at Target...all on gift cards (books, fruit bowl, and snacks). Call it an I'm bored splurge 'cause my BF's out of town for a grad school meeting. Bought some Sedaris books, which I've been thinking about buying for a while...Gift cards are fantasmic.

Over $200 for...nothing

I've been running my game for a while now--cashback and discounts for everything I buy, through fatwallet or ebates. Today, my last purchase went from pending to available, and my final tally is $115 and change. Suh-weet! I cashed it out today.

I received over $56 back from a credit card that I had a credit on for returning something. doesn't exactly count as money for nothing, but it's nice to have that coming to me.

My cashback credit card's statement period ended today and I've accumulated enough points to get $50! I'll order it tomorrow.

My paycheck should be fat, too--I've put in over 40 hours so far, and I have two more days to go. Good month...

Tues spending

$27 gas

$12.88 groceries (on gift card): salad leaves, premade salad, feta cheese, one more frozen dinner (they are on a great sale!, my freezer is now full)

Mo money mo money

$32.67 on groceries

Purchased 9 dinners, a chicken (3-4 dinners), potatoes, popcorn, and fruit.

Had the day off from school; went into work and added even more hours to my timesheet! Should make my budget even though I spent lots o $$ on my BF's anniversary present.

Goals?

Here were my goals for last week:

1) study for tuesday exam every possible second on monday.
2) call midas for return $$ on Wednesday.
3) call Rent place; ask for $$ back Wednesday.
4) finish project for work by Friday.
5) spend only designated budget amounts for week--$31 misc; $43 groceries; $12 eating out; $20 gas for car
6) make it to swing dance class at 6:30 on tuesday even though I will be worn out and tired from my exam.

1) check; received 99.5 on exam!!
2) nope
3) nope
4) mostly; will be done Monday
5) Over on the misc; under for groceries and gas; broke even
6) check

Not so good. This week:

1) call Midas
2) call rent place
3) copy and send in form to get rest of my HSA moneys
4) make sure I receive us bank refund
5) November 13-14: check rewards balance; order $50 check from CC
6) November 13: order $115.87 from fatwallet!!
7) stick to weekly budget
8) go to swing class
9) work 20 hours

All of my goals are geared towards more income or making the best use of the money I already have/have spent.

Espending

$1 parking for annual physical Friday
$8 parking Saturday at school for field trip
$9.10 picked up Thai food for BF on Friday
$5.38 on gift card at Long's for card for BF and I's anniversary
$17.65 for snacks for BF on Thursday, b/c he was studying for exam
$140 TOOL tix for BF for anniversary
$20 for 4 movie rentals for anniversary Saturday


Most of my expenses the past few days have been for BF and the celebration of our first year together, I notice. I just hate making a big deal out of some of those things--they are just things I DO because I love him. Picking up and paying for the Thai food, for example--I was already out, it's on my way home, and he was at home. Picking up snacks for him because he's studying for his big exam and I'm on my way home from work anyway. Things like that. It seems dumb to come home and present him with a receipt to be reimbursed for, like we do at work. He hates details, and especially money details, it seems. I pay all the bills and keep track of how much he owes me on a spreadsheet. When I mention that he owes me money, he gets moody and belligerent--"why don't you just let me pay the bills?" he asks. Because he doesn't CARE. He'd get mad every time he'd have the hassle of paying them. That's why. It's for my own peace of mind AND it's for him, too.

The last time I presented him with the amount he owed me after a few months, instead of writing me a check for the amount (as calculated in rent money, he just paid more one month), he rounded off the amount to the nearest thousand and gave me that. So I ended up having to owe him money after that. We've now crossed into he owes me money again, and he got mad again when I mentioned it. It's wierd, because we have discussions where he is psyched that he doesn't have to deal with the bills, and loves that I love it, and then when he owes me $$, he freaks. We have to change our strategy, what we're doing isn't working.

The problem is, I think he gets mad at details, such as keeping track of the pennies. But I don't know how else to split the bills fairly--one of us is going to pay alot more if we use the 'you pay for this, this, and this, and I'll pay for this and that' method.

Cable/internet: $120 to $135
sewer: $40
electric: $25 to $40 (towards low end now that we're in winter and don't have to use A/C)
gas: $15-$20

There's really no fair way to split it up so we're even, which I care about even if he doesn't. If I pay more, I (and my budget) will be painfully aware of it. If he pays more, I will not be paying my share. What to do??

At my old house, I paid the bills and just left the bill on the counter with the amount they each owed me on the counter. They'd write me checks for the amount, and all was well. It worked beautifully. I doubt this would work here.

Our landlord likes to receive one check instead of a check from both of us for the rent, so we switch off paying it each month. It's a hassle, since she doesn't cash it until the end of the month, so I end up having to mentally subtract a large amount from my bank balance to figure out how much money I REALLY have in there. That's a method that works, maybe we should just switch off everything?? That seems like a plan that I could be ok with (even though different months will have different amounts, it shouldn't vary by TOO much). However, I don't know if I can handle someone else having full reign over making sure the bills get paid.

So I don't know what to do. I trust him, so I should do this. I know I'm a control freak, but I like knowing that the electricity isn't going to be cut off 'cause I paid the bill myself.

My annual physical: Implications

I had my annual physical for work Friday morning. The usual battery of tests: hearing, vision, vitals, urine and blood collection, pulmonary (breathing) tests. For the past 3 years, I've sucked at the pulmonary test--you have to take a deep breath and blow it out into a large diameter tube for 6 seconds. It's harder than it sounds. Most of the time, I don't have enough breath after the initial blow out, and then I nearly asphyxiate myself trying not to breathe in.

So, every year, the doc just chalks it up to not being able to take that test very well, since I'm otherwise healthy--very low blood pressure, good vitals, no other ailments that usually accompany lung deficiencies. This year, the doctor said that I wouldn't be able to use a respirator at work. While my fieldwork doesn't usually require a respirator (as a matter of fact, I've NEVER worn one in the 3 years I've been working in the field), we have to be ABLE to wear one if an emergency occurs.

I think this means that my work is going to be notified that I am not eligible to do fieldwork. What are they going to do with me now? I'm interested to see if I get fired due to this, or if they'll try to work around it. Luckily I've pretty much paid my dues in terms of fieldwork, and I was hoping they'd transition me to more officework soon. However, if I can't do ANY fieldwork, I become somewhat of a burden. What would've happened if I weren't in classes and was doing fieldwork now? Would they have to yank me off the schedule and ply me with busywork?

This could be very bad for me, since I am also well below my billable hourly goal for the year, by enormous amounts, due to my grandfather's death earlier this year, a dearth of work in the middle of the year, and my classes taking up alot of time the last few months of the year. My review is always in January--now that I have two strikes against me (didn't meet my bhg by a LARGE margin AND can't do fieldwork), what happens now? Are those things firable offenses?

to do:

$60 from midas. call
$68 from Rent. call/fax over lease
Get last $35 or so from HSA reimbursed. check time limit on that.
last week of nov., order fatwallet $$ check ($115)
nov. 13, check cc rewards, order $50
check on amex gift card from thrifty (not arrived yet at work) $25
get $125 from amex/or $250 in banana republic/whatever gift cards

done:
ordered $60 from REI cc, should arrive in ten days

Money Back

I got an REI Visa a while back for the $30 gift card and the great rebates (I was planning on buying lots of camping equipment anyway). So far, I show that I'm getting around $25 back. I'm done buying camping gear, and I have a $60 credit on my account, so I called them to get a check back for that amount, and to ask about my rebate. I should receive the check in the next 10 days (in time to start X-mas shopping!), and the rebate check will come in April of next year. So, therefore, I'll keep my REI Visa until then and cancel the card.

As for my Amex, I'm cashing in my points and canceling it. I really want to get my credit cards down to 2--my cashback Visa and my oldest card, a Bank of America Mastercard. That should really be enough--I have $16,000 credit with my BoA card and $6,000 on my Visa.

October 07 Update--nearly at stasis

Haven't done a Moolah update in a while--since August?? Wow, I've been busy.

Checking: $1650 (oof, this is getting low, especially once I pay rent for next month)

Retirement:
401(K): $6,919.05
Roth IRA: $1400.91

Total Retirement Fun (12/22/06): $3,485.99
Total Retirement Fun (2/07): $4,479
Total Retirement Fun (3/07): $5,820
Total Retirement Fun (6/07): $6,965
Total Retirement Fun (7/07): $7,153.37
Total Retirement Fun: (8/07): $7,113.74
Total Retirement Fun (10/07): $8,320.32


Total Emergency Savings (09/06): $2,035
Total Emergency Savings (10/06): $2,583
Total Emergency Savings (11/06): $2,977
Total Emergency Savings (12/06): $3,225.97
Total Emergency Savings (2/07): $4,260.16
Total Emergency Savings (3/07): $6,750
Total Emergency Savings (6/07): $7,815
Total Emergency Savings (7/07): $13,151.28
Total Emergency Savings (8/07): $14,756.25
Total Emergency Savings (10/07): $15,485.60


Total Net Worth (Emergency Savings + Retirement Fun): $23,805.92

Net Worth (9/07): $21,870.18. Almost a $2000 change! I was expecting about a $500 increase, since that's all I've been able to save from my paychecks since starting school. The stock market must have rebounded alot, plus I was able to save $100/month in my Roth and at least a hundred/month in my savings accounts. Huzzah!

I still plan on getting around $50 cashback and $125 in Amex points for Christmas, but I plan on spending ~ $400, so $225 of that Christmas money will come from savings...

Still haven't completed some of my goals for the week. studying, check. swing dancing, check. designated budget amounts (i think this will be a check). call midas/rent place? nope. finish work by friday, no way that's happening, i postponed it to next wednesday. oh welllllll....gotta get on that!

Why...So...Tired??

This week has found me exhausted. I don't know if it's all the midterms plus lots of work-work to do, or the weather (it's been cloudy and gray, almost raining, with the temperature hovering around 60 (ie, COLD for SoCal) for the past few days), or if I'm fighting something off (??), but I've come home every day after school, eaten dinner, and immediately taken a 2 hour nap in my oh-so-comfy bed. My annual physical for work is tomorrow morning, so if anything is majorly wrong, it'll show up on the myriad of blood tests and physical tests that they do. Honestly, I can't think of one thing it could be, besides my mono coming back or fighting off some kind of infection.

The great news is, I feel smart again. Thank God. Last week I took my science test and got a 99, one of the two people to get that highest grade in the class. Today, I found out that I once again got the highest grade on my other exam--99.5 after all the points and extra credit were doled out. And this is a very intense, difficult class. I'm very proud of my hard work paying off...even though none of these grades go on a transcript or count towards any sort of degree.

I was wondering what was wrong with me before this--these kids in my class are third and fourth years in undergrad, and I already have my master's degree. I SHOULD be getting the highest grades, in other words. And before this past week, I wasn't. I mean, I was doing well--high B's and A's, but I wasn't at the top. It feels good to be back where I'm used to again. I expect alot from myself.

But in any case, I feel like even though I'm not paying for the class or the books, I'm getting my money's worth, in terms of lost time/pay from work. This should help alot when taking my licensing exam. AND I'm really, really enjoying being in class and learning again.

an October update on my net worth is coming up soon.

Banana bread excitement!

I got groceries today, mostly banana bread stuff...and rented SiCKO.

$30.87 loaf pan, flour, sugar, vanilla extract, chopped walnuts (expensive!), shortening, margarine...
$4.95 entertainment (video rental)
$10 pizza for movie enjoyment

Nada once again...

no spending today, none anticipated, at least. I am wiped out from my exam earlier today. I was the first one done and I was there from 9:30 am until 1:30 pm! There were only 19 problems on the test! That's crazy. I still have a swing dance class this evening, but I don't think it'll cost anything except gas.

need to make a grocery run pretty soon; running out of milk and bananas, and I want to buy ingredients for my first loaf of banana bread.

Part time is simply awesome.

Today i was thinking about how great it is to only be working for the absolute minimum money I need. I mean, if I needed more money, I could go in on the weekends and do some work, or request more hours. I love that I can equate each hour with a specific part of my budget. No fuss, no muss. As it stands, I've been just about breaking even on the income/expenses chart. $100 to Roth, $100 to savings, and the rest is used for food, gas, cable, cell, utilities, entertainment. I'm close to bare bones here, but it really doesn't feel like it--cable/internet/the occasional treat almost feels luxurious. I don't know if it's that I have myself trained well enough to straddle that deprivation-just enough line, or what. I don't feel that deprived, now that I have TIME to do the things I'd like to do, and the pressure of 8-5 daily work and impromptu out of town fieldwork at any time is gone.

So, I was thinking...why even go back to full-time? Life is miserable...and for what? so I can sock away half my paycheck in my bank account but never have time or energy to spend the money on anything worthwhile?? It's certainly nice not to have to worry about paying for my car breaking down without dipping into my savings-- all of the 'emergencies' I ever had were a tiny fraction of my leftover income each month. Yeah, that was nice, but that's where working a little more can help, if still part-time. If given the choice, I would stay part-time in a heartbeat!

Let's think of the logistics here:

1) I'd have to get my employer to agree. ummmm, not sure I could do this, but asking is ALWAYS worth a shot.

2) My health insurance is ok now, albeit a huge deductible, but I'd bet I could figure out a way to use my HSA to cut that back a bit.

3) I could definitely get back on my 401K plan at work...

4) lose paid vacation days and holidays.

What else is there?? I pretty much get to make my own schedule, work as much or as little as I need to (as long as I tell my employer what's up), and spend the rest of my days how I want. I could figure out a budget that included everything I wanted to do (travel, house, entertainment, gadgets, work out/art/whatever misc classes), and just work that much. How awesome would that life be?!

Without these very time-consuming official classes I'm taking, life would be even more free.

Next semester (last semester of freedom!), I am only going to take one class, but keep nearly the same schedule as I have now with two classes. I will tell my employer I need the time to study for my registered geologists' exam (which I do, until March), but then I think I'm going to use that extra class's time on myself. A little experiment, if I will.

A few ideas:

classes:
cooking class
Kickboxing or Tae kwon do classes
yoga/pilates
photography class
hip hop dancing class/cardio pole dancing class (!)
any sort of dancing
baton twirling class (do they make these for adults??)
more socialness

US trips:
to SF to visit 2 friends
to Montana to visit friend
to NYC to visit friends
to Hawaii to visit friends
to Texas to visit friends
to Grand Canyon
to Utah
to Puebla, Mexico to visit cousin working there
to northern CA (devil's postpile, Yosemite)
explore southwest/Mexico...

personal:
eat healthier,
work out
learn how to cook

Espending Hoy

(that's spanish for spending today): nada.

congratulate me, I got a 99/100 on my mineralogy test I took last week! My structure exam is tomorrow (shudders)...but I've been studying alot and think I actually have a good handle on things. We'll see...

I'm back! spending

Boyfriend bought me a new power cord for my laptop on ebay. it just arrived yesterday. thank Goodness, I was going crazy without it.

Here's what I've spent so far in November:

Thursday, nov. 1:
$6 eating out--got steak and potatoes and beer with friends from work; learned how to country line dance.
Nov. 2
$9.74 groceries
Nov 3:
31.42 gas for car
11.55 take out thai
$3 for parking at school for review session
$8.40--share of household gas bill for oct., due in november
$12.81--share of household electric bill for oct., due in november

P-syched! about that electric bill. but ugh. otherwise, not a great start...but I made $749.63 in income from my first november check (for Oct. 16-31). With my cashback I'm expecting from my cc ($50), my fatwallet money ($115), plus maybe a refund from midas (please???) ($60) and refund from that rental place (doubtful) ($60), AND maybe $125 from my AMEX rewards points, I will definitely be in the black this month. December...well, that's another story. However, class and exams will be over on Dec. 14, and I can then work a few full-time weeks, which should give me a large jump in income for December and January.

Goals for this week

1) study for tuesday exam every possible second on monday.
2) call midas for return $$ on Wednesday.
3) call Rent place; ask for $$ back Wednesday.
4) finish project for work by Friday.
5) spend only designated budget amounts for week--$31 misc; $43 groceries; $12 eating out; $20 gas for car
6) make it to swing dance class at 6:30 on tuesday even though I will be worn out and tired from my exam.

Offline for a awhile

I have two exams and an all-weekend camping trip in the next week, PLUS BF and I were fooling around and the power connection to my computer broke in its socket, so I won't be updating much in the next week--I only have ~1 hr of computer time left!!

Time to Cash In My Rewards...

I know I said that I would use my rewards/fatwallet/cashback money for Christmas, but honestly, I don't know that I'll make it until then. I think I need to cash them in for my November budget. I have so many field trips and so much school work that I'm just not sure I can work enough to make my budget break even...

So, in that effort, here are the rewards I think I can get:

$125 in AMEX gift cards...taking a hit from $250 for some merchandise. Cash is more valuable to me right now.

$50 in cashback rewards from my Chase card. Gotta love those credit cards!

$115 in fatwallet cashback.

That gives me an extra $290 for November. Along with my existing gift cards, hopefully that will help alot. Classes end Dec. 7 or so, hopefully I will get enough hours in in December after school ends and before Christmas break to make December a happy month budget-wise.

spendah

$5 to have transcript sent to CA board of geologists for my RG exam.

November Budget

This is what I want my November budget to look like:


Category Budgeted Amount
RENT: 750
Car/Rental Insurance: 0
Food 175
Clothes 0
Travel 0
Gifts 150
Car/Gas 75
Cable 60.27
Roth 100
Electricity/Gas 35
Eating Out 50
Water/Sewer 20
Charity 25
Cell phone: 48
Medical 47
Misc 125
Total 1660.27

I switched some things around this month, based on last month's results. For example, I was under budget on groceries, but over on eating out, so I reduced the groc. by $25 and stuck that in my eating out $$. It works out the same either way, but this way is more similar to how I actually spend my money...so I can aim to come under budget in both categories now.

I had to add water/sewer since we are now responsible for that bill. It's only an extra $20 a month, but oy. I could use $20 on something else.

Gas is also reduced--I only spent $75 in October. I don't expect November to be a big driving month since I have field trips EVERY SINGLE WEEKEND. Hopefully camping out every weekend also reduces my misc. spending.

The gift cat. is big, simply because of the TOOL tix for BF for the anniversary. Tix are $140, so that makes up the bulk of that category. I also need to do things like get him a card. My friend whose bday is on Halloween just got a card...sorry, things are tight these days, and she got a huge present from me last year.

He asked me what I wanted, and I want to split or have him cover my plane ticket to his sister's wedding in January. They are running about $300 now--and I don't know proper protocol, but I believe you should pay for your date's travel costs when you invite them to a wedding. This is just my way of getting that. :)

I also will try to use gift cards as much as possible for things like groceries to try to cut down costs.

Looking at my budget, I see that most of it would be hard to reduce further: rent, electricity/gas, sewer/water, medical insurance, and some of the food categories are necessary items. Some of it is almost necessary (but could be argued otherwise): cell phone, cable/internet, Roth, charity. Very little of it (eating out, misc., gifts, some groceries) could be reduced, but with a huge hit to my quality of life. And there's not much of it left--I don't go out, I don't buy clothes, I don't travel often--so I guess this is as good as it can get, without moving to a LCOLA.

In addition, looking at my October spent money, I highly value the misc. money I do spend. $70 was on 7 weeks of swing lessons, which I will love (worth it). Another $32 was on a 2 month supply of my favorite snack ever (white cheddar popcorn). Most of the rest was on Halloween stuff (candy, pumpkin, costume). So, I'm happy about most of my misc. category spending, which was what I was worried about in the first place.

I'm pretty bare bones here, but it really makes me think: four years ago I was living as a grad student, making $1200/month. How in the world did I survive?? (some of that is b/c my rent was $575/mo, utils and landline included...and I rode my bike everywhere). Hrmph.

A little return action...

The Halloween party last night was fabulous. Even though NO ONE ELSE wore a costume. I wore my Claire Bennet outfit, and about half of the people there 'got it.' Oh well. I looked cute in my cheer outfit nonetheless.

AND...I didn't spend a dime. Hoorah!

Today I was able to return some stuff I didn't end up using for my costume.

So new tally:

-$15.51 return to Charlotte Russe for the skirt I didn't wear.
-$27.22 return to Target.

Now I'm only $45.30 overbudget for October. At least $51 was on gift cards this month. So yay! just need to make it 3 more days without spending any more money...

On another note, my November gift giving is going to go crazy overbudget...my BF and I have our 1 year anniversary on Nov. 10. He looooooves TOOL, and their last show is in LA soon. Tix are sold out, and he tried to get tix but failed, so I want to buy some of the tix on ebay. They are EXPENSIVE!! Try up to $200 each! but it'll be worth it 'cause the venue is small and he will be so excited for an up close and personal experience with TOOL. Also, my friend whose birthday is on Halloween (how cool is that?) finally wrote me back and gave me her address, so I'll need to buy and ship her gift soon. Yeah, Target gift cards!

Overboard...It's Halloween!

I totally went overboard this evening while Halloween shopping. Here are my purchases:

$11 hot red knee socks, sports chalet
$11 fake gash wound, spencer's
$27 hot little cheer skirt and red/white baseball T, Charlotte Russe
*$39 face paint, fake bones (makeup wedges), elmer's glue, mounting tape, colored sharpies, pumpkin carving kit, cheerleader's outfit for pom poms and extra skirt in case the slut-skirt was too...slutty. Haven't decided which I'm going to wear. On one hand, Halloween is the only day of the year I give myself permission to slut it up (and even though I'm a 'smart girl', I rather like stepping out of my normal identity once in a while), on the other, the official cheer skirt looks more like the real thing. Oy. Target
$5 pumpkin to carve, albertsons
$27 gas, Von's fuel

*used 2 $25 gift cards, have $11 left on one of them.

This evening I modeled my outfit for my BF, confirmed it's hotness, and wrote "Claire Bennet" and "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" on the back of the t-shirt. Yeah! I heart Halloween.

$88 over budget for October so far...but that's including the $100 I saved to HSBC--I expect I'll have to take that right back out when this credit card's period ends--should be due Dec. 13. I may be able to make that $$ up by then. If not...oh well. I refuse to let $88 ruin my day.

Actually...I suspect that $88 will not go missing out of my budget/bank acct. I've spent around that much on gift cards this month. Hooray for gift cards!

Oh, I suck

Yeah. Waaay overbudget. This is what I mean when I say that I am terrible about restrictive budgets. It's all fine and dandy to have a target, but if I place absolute limitations on myself, I blow it every time. And that leads to feeling like a failure, which makes me less likely to keep track of my spending/budget/etc. later. I know what works for me, and I have over $15K sitting in the bank right now, so I'm not going to sweat going $50 overbudget this month, ok?

$57.54 on groceries today (as opposed to the $40 I was supposed to spend--but ALL of it was on rock-bottom sale or on my list...what was I supposed to do?? AND it includes alcohol for the halloween parties I'm going to this weekend)

a little over $19 on Save Karyn, a GREAT book about a girl who got deep into debt and was very creative about getting out of it. (See sidebar, "Pretty in the City" to link to her current blog). Been dying to re-read this book for a while.

AND I anticipate to fill up on a tank of gas before next Wed., AND I want to buy a cheerleading outfit for Halloween (not slutting it up on purpose, I want to be Claire Bennet from Heroes). I doubt I can do all of that on $20. Not to worry, it'll be close.

Dave Ramsey, how I ...edit thee

Trent over at The Simple Dollar has been talking recently about his future plans, and has mentioned how they've changed D. Ramsey's plan to work for them. Here's a summary of the Ramsey plan:

1. $1,000 to start an emergency fund
2. Pay off all debt (except the home) using a debt snowball
3. 3 to 6 months of expenses in savings
4. Invest 15% of household income into Roth IRAs and pre-tax retirement
5. College funding for children
6. Pay off home early
7. Build wealth by investing

I have done 1, 2, and 3 so far, but that's where I'm stuck. Can I just skip 5 and 6 since I don't have kids or a home? I think not. Dave Ramsey assumes that you've bought a house in his plan--what about us poor young folk who have to save up a downpayment before even dreaming of paying off our mortgages early?

So MY modified Ramsey plan is as follows:

CHECK 1. $1,000 to start an emergency fund
CHECK 2. Pay off all debt (except the home) using a debt snowball
CHECK 3. 6 months of expenses in savings (9K)
CHECK! 4. Save up for new to me car (6K)
5. Max out Roth for year (this should occur every year)
6. Save up for house downpayment (anywhere from 30K to 70K??? Ideally 20% down so no PMI) while still contributing some X% to 401K
7. Contribute max to pre-tax retirement
8. College funds for kids (?)
9. Pay off home early
10. Build wealth by investing

So I guess I have my marching orders...my income for the next...oh, 40 years is tied up in this plan. Hopefully, I'll have a spouse before I need to attempt to save up for a house--having two incomes instead of one should make that 70K fly by. Oh geez. Should I add a step for wedding funds? eeerrmm...let's not get ahead of ourselves.

How am I doing? October Spending Tracking

So it's been roughly three weeks of spending-tracking...how am I doing? I know this is boring, but here's a breakdown of my budget and my spending so far:

I wanted my October budget to look like this:

Rent: $750
Groceries: $200
Travel: $0
Gifts: $25
Gas: $100
Utilities: $110
Eating Out: $25
Camping Gear: $50
School Supplies: $50
Charity: $50
Cell phone: $48
Medical: $50
Misc: $75
Entertainment: $25
TOTAL: $1558

But I changed it to look like this, after looking at it and realizing that I had forgotten some things (ROTH IRA, for one) or vastly underestimated my needs/wants:

RENT: 750
Car/Rental Insurance: 0 (paid for in lump sum already)
Food 200
Clothes 0
Travel: 0
Gifts 50 (changed from $25--forgot had 2 birthdays this month)
Car/Gas 100
Cable 67.5
Roth 100
Electricity/Gas 35
Eating Out 25
Camping Gear 35
School Supplies 35
Charity 25
Cell phone: 48
Medical 106.95
Misc 125
Total 1702.45


Here is how I'm doing on all of this:

Rent: Under budget by $100. Boyfriend negotiated reduced rent this month because landlord hadn't provided the lease and caused us to lose money on something.

Groceries/Food: $136.65 so far. With one week to go, I have more than enough leftover. $63.55 left. should be under budget.

Gifts: $37.95. This includes mailing my sister her care package, and buying my dad his card and gift. I still have another gift to buy and mail, but as she has not provided me her address, I can't really send it, can i? I'll be buying/mailing her gift once I'm provided with an address. $12.05 left. this should stay under budget.

Car/Gas: $49.59 so far. Over half my budgeted amount to go ($50.41). AND I don't have to go to school or work this week due to the fires, so my 3/4 tank of gas can stay intact. Should DEFINITELY be under budget.

Cable/Internet: $60.27 instead of $67.50 for some reason. Under budget by $7.23

Roth: $100. At budget.

Electricity/Gas: $31.51. Under budget by $3.49.

Eating Out: $41.12 OVER BUDGET BY $16.12 so far. Not too worried about this one, as I'm under budget in my groceries category.

Camping gear: $0. Under budget by $35.

School supplies: $31.41. Under budget by $3.86 with a week to go.

Charity: $25. at budget. Donated to Heifer.org. Awesome.

Cell phone: $46.19. Under budget by $1.81.

Medical: $106.95 for health insurance and prescription meds. At budget.

Misc.: $125.92. OVER BUDGET by 0.92. This may get some more entries in the next week--gotta have a Halloween costume! I'm thinking Claire from Heroes...a little bone sticking out somewhere, a cheerleading uniform...voila! Also, a note: Over half of this category ($70) was spent on one thing: swing dance lessons for me with BF. The class lasts for 6 weeks, so technically, I could take $23 of the $70 and apply it to November, but I won't. It's a one-off expense, but if I can swing it (ha ha) when I'm on this strict budget, I should have room for it when I'm working full-time (provided my field schedule stays sane)! After swing is over, I'll look into other classes...pilates, inner tube water polo, skateboarding, yoga...something. I need something active and social in my life.

So, by my count, I have spent $1442.09. With a week to go, I have roughly $260.36 of wiggle room in my budget, mostly because of my reduced rent. I am $17.04 OVER BUDGET but at least $112.53 UNDER BUDGET because fixed monthly bills were less than I thought. Good news.

I have earned $1645.12 in October. So in real terms, not budgeted amounts (I never know how much I'm going to make with this part-time thing), I have $203.03 to spend in the next week. I think I'm sitting pretty, as I've paid my monthly bills and there is not much chance that I'll need $200 worth of groceries, gas, or misc. items in the next week. My challenge to myself is to save $100 of that $203.03 in my HSBC account.

CHECK! I just scheduled a payment for Nov. 2 (when I get my paycheck) for $100. So I now have $103.03 to spend before next Wednesday. Most likely spent on: groceries ($40), gas ($30), and Halloween costume ($33.03).

Spending

Nothing spent yesterday. We hunkered down at home with the fan on to filter the air--the major evac center was not accepting donations because they had enough and the donors were snarling traffic, the air here is FULL of smoke and it is horrible to go outside, and we were ordered to stay home and stay off the roads unless we really needed to, so I didn't get to a store to buy supplies to donate. I am sure there will be more opportunities to donate to the people who lost their homes in the next few days.

We did go out a mile down the road to feed our guests--yummy thai food. Luckily they were open. BF bought dinner, so that saved me some $$.

The wind direction seemed to have changed from the fierce, hot, dry Santa Ana's from the east to gentle offshore winds from the west. Unfortunately, this means that the smoke that was blowing off the coast is now blowing back onto the land. But, most importantly, it means that the advancement of the fire is halted and is now reversing direction--not that that is very lucky for the people in that area, but it is retreating from the most populated areas, including us and the home of our temporary houseguests. They hope to be allowed back home sometime today.

What would you save?

With all the wildfires in the news today/yesterday, a quarter of a million people evacuated from their homes in a hurry, I started really thinking about what I'd grab if I were ordered out of my home.

Aside from my new laptop, the things on my list have NO MONETARY VALUE. and I love that. My 'other things' include: my baby blanket (sewn and put together as a joint project by my two now deceased grandmothers; it was what I came home from the hospital in, and is very much my prized, most precious possession. I still feel the love coming off of it whenever I wrap myself in it.), my pictures, my financial folder/info, and that's pretty much it, besides basic toiletries and clothes. I know EXACTLY what means the most to me.

It's so sad...all of those people huddled on pavement/in gyms/churches/wherever, all the while worried about whether they still have a home to go to in the morning. I guess they aren't getting much sleep due to worry anyway, but it's terrible that they have to sleep on the cold hard ground. I wish very much that this wasn't happening. I am so grateful I'm not evacuated or in danger of losing all of my possessions tonight. I'm so grateful that I can offer a private, comfortable, temperature controlled and smoke-free/air-filtered room, bed, and private bathroom to my pregnant friend and other coworkers (and dog). I can't imagine the worry and pain and discomfort...

Classes were cancelled for tomorrow and work is basically cancelled since half the people can't get into work...so I think I'm going to try and go buy some stuff to donate to the temporary shelters around the county. I know this is going to blow the budget but that's ok. It'll be November's charity.

Evacuation!

No spending on sunday...

$6 groceries Monday
$2 groceries

We're actually housing some evacuees from the wildfires out here in SoCal. Don't worry, we're ok where we are, but thousands have been evacuated from their homes. We're lucky to have 2 bedrooms/2 bathrooms and plenty of room to let people (and a dog) stay here.

spending!

I went a little crazy on the Halloween treats...

$26.54..groceries. $25 was on the gift card; 1.24 of own money

$6.18...Subway (lunch for tomorrow while on field trip)...$4.52 on gift card; 1.66 of own money

$29.71...halloween candy/decoration/vitamins/poncho for field trip...$5.14 on gift card; $24.57 of own money

Spending

Nada today...

Another Paycheck

I haven't really figured out what my hourly pay is. I thought from my last paycheck that it was ~$21. Today, I was paid for the past two weeks (October 1-15), and my hourly pay was around $22.82. Hey, it's more than I was expecting, so I'll take it!

So my total October income is $1645.12 (I count the last two weeks of the month toward the next month, since we don't get paid until then. For example, Oct 16-31 hours are paid November 3 or so, so that money is for November. My current budget totals a little over $1700, but this month my rent will be $100 less than normal, so I actually will be making MORE ($1645.12) than I have budgeted to spend ($1603) for October! Hallelujah! I will have to figure out if I want that money to sit in my bank account as part of my cushion, or if I should put it in savings.

Hear hear! for not dipping into savings...and possibly ADDING to it while I'm in school!

Spending

$31.22 in snack foods--my favorite, actually--I ordered a case of 24.
$13.53 in groceries. A chicken (4 dinners) plus 3 frozen dinners.

Spending: Going Green

I spent nothing today. In keeping with the green aspect of blogs today, here are 10 things I've done recently to reduce my impact on the Earth:

1) I live in a solar-power supplemented housing complex.
2) I moved closer to work.
3) I take the trolley to school every day.
4) I placed CFL's in all light fixtures in my house.
5) BF and I agreed to turn down the temperature on our water heater.
6) BF and I agreed to turn off the A/C for the most part and use a programmable thermostat when we do.
7) I drive an old, old compact car that still passes smog-emissions tests and gets great gas mileage.
8) I've bought most of my furniture and clothes second-hand. I HATE that alot of people buy EVERYTHING new. What for??
9) I go to the library to check out books and DVD's instead of buying more crap.
10) I refuse to work for an oil company. As a geologist, these jobs are a dime a dozen and pay extremely well. Even though some of these companies tout their commitment to alternative energy research, I just can't bring myself to work for a company whose main profit is so DIRECTLY tied to the destruction of habitats, ecosystems, and the atmosphere. I'd be recommending where they drill into and strip the Earth if I worked for one of them. And I just could not live with myself while doing that.

I could be better and eat locally grown, organic foods, and less processed foods, as well as bike everywhere, but baby steps, people...

I wish to add to my list "Go to farmer's market on way home from work." this will help my footprint.

Happy Greening!

Blugh. I Feel Disgusting. Or, I'm addicted to saving.

After doing my rounds of blog-reading that I do every day (see left side bar), I feel gross and fat and awful. Everyone's been saving so much--as much as half of their gross pay? and I've saved almost nothing for the past two months. I reduced my 401K contributions to 0% and am not transferring ANYTHING to my HSBC account. Usually, I'm contributing anywhere from 4 to 12% to my 401k, and transferring nearly half my take home pay (~$1500) to my savings account.

My saving grace is that $100 to my Roth every month. It's in my budget, and I think I can keep it up. But I still feel like it's just not ENOUGH. I need everything to be increasing-401k, savings, AND Roth. Sigh.

I guess I'm getting greedy. The first 8 months of this year has been focused on saving up money to use while in school--the aim was to make $500/month and use $1000 of savings each month. Fortunately, my company not only took on the tuition and books costs, but is paying me more than I thought--$21/hr at 20 hrs/wk is $1680. So, I figured out I didn't have to use the saved up money--I could probably make enough to support myself while working part-time. Now, I not only want to keep all the money I've saved, but add more on top of that?

Whew. I'm asking for too much, aren't I? I want to keep my standard of living without making many sacrifices AND save money...I KNOW people out there live off of less than $1680/month AND save. I am TOTALLY addicted to saving. The question is, what am I willing to give up in order to do it?