Birthday Month Budget

This time, for work, I traveled over the weekend. It was nice having work pay for food, because I am stretching my July budget very, very t h i n. Behold:

I made $3,340.82 and spent $3,323.84. Eek!

I have $16 left for the month, and that is only because I have $18 a week coming in for renting out my garage!! If I didn't, I would have spent more than I made this month. Gasp!

Firstly, you may notice that my rent was much higher than usual, it being a 3 rent check month.

Rent:  $1260. Normally $840/mo. Two months of the year are 3 paycheck months, and 2 are 3 rent check months. My paychecks and rent due dates alternate weeks, so these are never in the same month, unfortunately.

Groceries: $340.97. Budget $450. Yeah, I don't know. Under budget but still WAY TOO MUCH. Esp. given that I ate out so much...

Internet: $54/$70
Electricity: $88.65/$115 Winter...plus a houseguest using the heater every night in the lounge.

Eating Out: $175.80/$100. Yikes...just...too...many...dinners. two thai takeouts to bring to get togethers ($19), italian with the grad students one random Friday evening when we all wanted to hang out ($35), an amazing steak dinner for my birthday in Ohakune ($43.50), another amazing meal out in Ohakune the next night ($20), fast food to/from Ohakune on the car ride ($9.40), another takeout chicken fried rice ($9), subway when I forgot my lunch one day ($9.90), and a yummy mexican dinner for my and my friend's birthday dinner (different group of people than the other birthday dinner) ($30).  Crazy!!

Charity: $25/$50. I owe $75 in August.  Just can't swing the full $50 this month.

Cell phone: $40/$80. Vodafone topup; v8 top up.

Medical: $200/$65. $74 grabone deal for thyroid check up using Thyroflex, and $126 for fissure sealants for my teeth.

Misc:  $724.42/$550. Eeeeeek!
     Alcohol: $100.98.  drinks one night with two lovely guys after a REALLY hard week at work ($45); drinks with a friend who had just gotten back into town after 3 months away ($9); and liquor for the ski trip ($46.98)
     Exercise/Fitness/Health: $129.  Two Grabone deals:  one for a gym membership ($30) and one for a nutritionist ($99)
    Goods and Wants: $92.17 Ski gloves ($24.90); eyebrow wax ($18); plants for my new office ($22); AAA batteries ($5.99); baking pan, body wash, toiletries, mop head ($21.28)
     Taxes, tips, fees: $23.30. Tip for bartender ($2) who helped with our pub quiz; $1.30 penalty for not telling the bus driver that I was going less than one stage (whoops, they can't cancel transactions--dude wouldn't give me the correct change back); tip for beautician (they DON'T tip here!) ($20).
     Transportation: $48.60.  Taxi from a pub one night ($15); taxi to a friend's house in mission bay ($24); bus fare ($4.60); taxi from a pub ($5--shared).
     Travel: $416. $30 for ski pants and helmet for 2 days; storage locker at ski field ($10) for two days; two nights at a hostel ($160); ski and snowboard lessons ($216). I also owe my friend for gas money but she hasn't told me how much it is yet. That will go in August's budget. :)  I could have shared a room in the hostel, but I wanted a room in the lodge where you don't have to go outside in the snow to use the bathroom, and plus it was my bday. :)

And, my normal monthly savings: $415.

Ooooh yeah. Looks like Project Spend Everything in July and August is well on its way.

Uh-Oh

Um. Yes. I took a vacation for my birthday and spent about $500 on it, total. I'm OK with that part. I had an absolutely amazing time over my birthday weekend at Ruapehu! Probably one of the best ever, in fact! It was really nice that my birthday fell on a payday this year, and that I got my permanent contract at work set up for it, too.

I ended up taking a ski lesson on Saturday and a snowboarding lesson on Sunday.  Saturday was a beautiful day on the slopes--sunny with no wind. I actually had just my t-shirt and rainjacket on with snowpants and was very warm that day. My ski lesson was incredibly fun. I only fell maybe twice, and uncharacteristically, picked up the sport quite easily! And therein lies the problem.

I am absolutely addicted to skiing. I might be in love with it.  Crazy, I know, after such a brief affair. But it is exhilarating, fun, challenging, and a bunch of other positive adjectives. AND I look good doing it. I know I'm gonna do this every winter from now on, if I have a choice in the matter.

But skiing is expensive!!! I always thought I had rich blood, but this confirms it. Daily ski lift passes alone are out of my usual entertainment budget. All I know is, I have to make room for this maybe twice a winter. Skiing is easily my favorite sport.

Snowboarding was really really fun, too--and I'd bet it would be even more fun if I had more experience. My lesson was kind of terrible, though--one of the people in my class absolutely sucked at it and the instructor spent most of the lesson with her, only to have her quit 3/4 of the way through. We strapped both of our feet onto the board only in the last 10 minutes of the 2 hour lesson! I spent the rest of the day trying to teach myself how to turn and stop, wiping out 3-4 times each time I went down the bunny slope. I listened in on snatches of the 2 o'clock class and they spent the last HOUR with both feet strapped in, doing turns and stops down the slope. Sunday was also snowy, cold, and breezy, but I was so focused on mastering snowboarding I barely felt it. Then, my training was derailed when they closed the slopes an hour early because the road up the mountain was icing up.

On Monday, we woke up early in Ohakune to drive back to Auckland, around 5 or so. It was snowing!! There were about 2 inches already on the ground. It was really beautiful. We spent the next two hours driving through the snow, very slowly. The desert road was closed, so we took the National Park road, and there were big mack trucks that had slid off of the road everywhere. But we made it safely, thanks to my friend who had driven in conditions like that growing up. It was a gorgeous drive through the snow.

Ski Trip!

As you read this, I'm off skiing for the first time ever!!! (If the weather is good, that is.)  I expect to pay for a third of gas to get down there (??), ski lessons and rental gear ($108), as well as food and accommodation ($160+).

Get Your Credit Score for $1 OR FREE

Experian is offering a deal right now: get your credit report AND SCORE for $1. Normally getting your FICO score costs a bit of money.  The report is usually free through one of the three credit bureaus (annualcreditreport.com) once a year, but checking your score is another matter altogether. I've been slacking on checking my US credit since being in NZ, so I'll sign up, get my score and report, and cancel the subscription immediately.

From their website (ie, THE CATCH):
IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
When you order your $1 Credit Report & Score, you will begin your 7-day trial membership in Experian Credit Tracker^SM. If you don’t cancel your membership within the 7-day trial period**, you will be billed $14.95 for each month that you continue your membership. You may cancel your trial membership anytime within the trial period without charge.


TransUnion is offering nearly the same deal for your credit score, but for free.  Same subscription deal.

p.s. my score is 774!  Hurray! I would qualify for the best interest rates on any loans I took out. All that airmile gaming doesn't seem to be making much of a dent.  :)
p.p.s. and my report looks clean.  Everything looks correct. GOLDEN!

Quarter-life crisis-ers: There is hope.

I had a conversation with a friend who came into my office today and asked me what my current problems were. She ended up staying over two hours as we discussed our various issues. She is roughly ten years younger than me, and her major problem was that she didn't know what she wanted out of her life--she is so full of ideas but unsure which were worthy to commit her time to. I, however, have the exact opposite problem: I know exactly what I want, and more than enough intent to commit, if I can figure out how to make it happen for myself (but that's another post altogether).

After a decade of thinking and analyzing and quarter-(and third-) life crisis-ing it, I think I know what would make me happy. I think I know how I want my life to be in many of the major components (family, friends, relationships, children, pets, finances, living situation, goals, career, travel destinations, hobbies, you name it...[but I'm still working on the health and spiritual bits!]). Based on my experiences until now, I can identify the times in my life when it was working and figure out if a particular future move would work with my goals and personality. And that is AWESOME. It means confidence and faith in myself. That means that even when my life changes drastically, I can easily figure out what will and won't work for me, and take steps to correct anything that makes me unhappy (IF I can figure out what those steps are...still working on that part). As a tiny example of change, this strategy worked for my office dilemma recently. Basically, if you know what you want, you know what to fight for.  And how to get what you need to be happy, even if you don't get what you want.

I remember being in the same boat as my young friend. It is really nice to be on the other side of that and have that part (what I want out of life) figured out. Which side do you think you're on, and why?

Does this divide along age ranges, 20's vs 30's? I'm also interested in responses from those older than 20's/30's: what happens next?

Rewards

If all goes well, I have met one of my new 2011 financial goals (#10)--I just applied for another credit card that will net me 50K airmiles on United/Continental (details below). This will bring my total airmiles to 125K, which is more than enough to get a free return flight to my family's home next year (they currently require 80K). If I get 10K more, I'll qualify for Business Class. Oh...wouldn't THAT be luxurious!! (I'm a little afraid that I would never be able to go back to Economy after experiencing it, though!).

I have already saved up for that trip in my $3K 2012 US Trip Fund, but I'll let that accrue interest until I have the credit card approved, the points deposited, and my flights all booked. That $3K can then go towards another fun goal.

I have to tell ya, not having the burden of a $3K+ flight every year will be a blessing. As I see it, I don't have the luxury of NOT going home to see my family. It is non-negotiable to me.

If the credit card companies keep giving out the rewards like these, I'll keep applying!

I ended up applying for the Chase Sapphire Preferred card (link goes to Jonathan's MyMoneyBlog post about this card, with app link, great comments and FAQ). I need to spend $3K in 3 months to get the points. That should not be hard at all, because I have my $2K Wish List to spend while in the US in August-Sept., plus gas, food, and other bits I'll have to charge on several trips around the East Coast during that time period. The extra $1K should not be hard to spend by November, especially because the card doesn't incur foreign currency conversion fees when used overseas. I can easily use it in NZ to pay for groceries, work trips, etc. to top up the balance to $3K.

=====================================================================

I also just bought my plane ticket to NYC to see at least 6 of my friends in the US! I'm going over the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11. It should be pretty incredible. I CANNOT believe it has been nearly 10 years since my world changed so drastically. Sigh. I miss the days when plane travel wasn't such a horrendous, stressful event full of disrobing and suspicion! Oh well. Bring on Broadway, the Empire State Building, Times Square, and...NY pizza! I'm also renting a car one day when my friends are working and investigating the famous cranberry bogs and Pinelands of NJ. My life is pretty darn amazing!

=====================================================================

p.s. After looking at the Business class amenities on Air NZ, I've decided that one of my 2012 goals will be to amass the remaining 10K points to qualify in time for my trip home next summer. I'm 100% certain that it will change my entire travel experience! In Economy, I can never sleep during the 24 hours of flying required to get to my parents' house, mostly because I am not allowed to sleep flat in the stupid awful upright seats. Being able to sleep to/from NZ would be so incredibly amazing! They just need to make a Rico video about the new lie-flat seats!!

A Way to Not Dread Birthdays

I'm approaching my next birthday with astonishing speed. I look forward to it only because I have organized a ski trip for myself on the day and weekend it occurs. It will be the first time I ever ski!

I've also arranged to redeem one of my Grabone vouchers for a facial, manicure, pedicure, and massage the day before my big day. I've never had a pedicure or facial, and I've only had a manicure for my prom night.  I have had two massages, both in Thailand--once was when I was in the beginning stages of food poisoning, so it was awful, and the other was traditional Thai massage, where they basically beat you up to get you to loosen up (that one was rather nice, actually--everything was stretched!). (Oh yeah--Kiwis, do you tip your beauticians? I know the story is that you NEVER tip here, but I want to make sure...)

I'm also just going to give up on saving much beyond my normal $415 this month, what with the birthday expenses and 3 rent checks coming out of my salary.  Gives me some freedom and time off from my usual high pressure saving pace.

I think I need to make this a tradition, giving myself something to look forward to on my birthday, like presents and birthday cake and parties were when I was a kid. I hate turning another year older without feeling like I have anything to show for it. I also hate the birthday 'teas' that are thrown at the office--simply awful events. You know that this year, Cheaterette and XBF are finally out of my company's building and have basically no business with my company? And what did my idiotic admin do, but send out the email invite to the ALL-STAFF list, with those two's addresses tacked on separately! They were the ONLY ones she added to the email list. She has never done this for anyone else's birthdays, and she knows that XBF and I are, well, X's on not-good terms. If I were a paranoid person, I would say she did that deliberately. It is great that I don't care about them anymore, but I also would never invite them at what is supposed to be my party. Just odd...and cruel if deliberate.

On another note: hmmm, what shall I do next year?!  I have a whole year to think up something amazing.

The End Result

So how did my office drama of last week end?

I was super proud of myself on Friday when I fought for a better deal, but the ordeal wasn't over.  Not by a long shot.

I went into the office early today to prepare for battle, if you will. I knew Boss 1 was on my side, but I also knew that Boss 2 was on the warpath to get her way, no matter the consequences.  The wild card was what the Big Boss would say as the final word.

I just don't understand why Boss 2 doesn't listen to me when I say that I don't work well in certain circumstances. I'm not trying to pull one over on her or completely resist change or anything. It just became a battle of wills at the end.

So I had a meeting with the sympathetic boss, and she completely understood my situation, the points I was trying to make, everything. She was so supportive and awesome about the entire thing. She had her own opinion--she, like me, thought I should stay where I was--but told me that whatever happened, she just wanted to make sure I was happy. How cool is she?! She mentioned that she would go up to bat for me (and had had a word with Big Boss), but she advised me stand up for myself if things turned sour. It's good practice, because now that she is moving offices down the road, I won't have her as a buffer at my company anymore--not really. And she was the one that kept everything so stable for me thus far.  My other boss is turning out to be a bit on the unpredictable/bad communicator side. Since the good boss is in the field I want to work in in the long run, she also mentioned that she'd slowly try to 'extract' me from the field that I enjoy but don't feel quite as passionate about.

That boss had been talking to the other one about the situation, and for some reason, Boss 2 had told her that the situation was resolved and decided. Uh, whaaaaa? Very confusing--no one had told me that!

So then it was time to go to Boss 2. I told her that Boss 1 felt the same way that I did, and Boss 2 got confused at that point.  She obviously heard something different than what I heard--she said that Boss 1 agreed with her (no, she didn't--she simply said that she could understand theoretically what Boss 2 was thinking when they made the plan--they were using false information--not that she agreed with her, especially in light of the fact that the information was WRONG). There are major communication issues here.

I presented what Boss 1 and I decided that I should present:  I move, but into an office with fewer people/distractions and MY OWN DESK, or I stay where I am. In no uncertain terms, I said I'd be unhappy with the other office as originally planned.

Boss 2 looked doubtful and said she had to discuss it with the BIGGEST Boss--even bigger than Big Boss--like, the CEO of my company. Yikes. I got the feeling that she would fail me. I didn't trust her to present my side of the story at that point, so I tried to find someone who would be at that meeting that would represent me (since I obviously wasn't allowed to be there?!).

In the end, I couldn't find the Big Boss to discuss it, so I wrote yet another demanding email. I swear, I'm getting really good at these. I cc'd my two bosses on it for completion's sake, so no one would feel like I was going over their heads or whatever.

Big Boss came into my office about an hour later after reading it and agreed to move me to my own desk in an office with less people. This office also has my favorite person in the company in it, so I'm kind of psyched at how this turned out, actually!  I will miss being right next to the printer, having a view of the Sky Tower, and having the kitchen right next to me for snacks, but I guess I will deal with it somehow.

I also kind of salvaged the other situation that was bothering me today, too. Boss 1 kindly agreed to pay for me to take the course in addition to the other person.

Meanwhile, during the crazy up in the air conversations about where my office would be, Boss 2 kind of freaked out on me about something unrelated. I talked to her Friday about a task, and operated on the assumption that what she had said less than ONE business day before was still true. Guess what? NOT TRUE. I got in trouble for doing what she told me to do. What a nutter! I was going a little crazy myself at how she and I were suddenly NOT getting along. She is a very kind person, but is way too cautious and passive, and obviously not a great communicator. I also think she has a lot of experience, which makes her know more than I do, of course, but as a scientist on the whole, I can see myself hitting the ceiling of what I can learn from her in terms of basic good science practice. Basically, working with her doesn't make me a better scientist.  I don't want to say it is because we are equal in that category, but maybe she doesn't challenge me? or inspire me? to be better--it's like she doesn't know any better, herself, sometimes. The quality is more consistent and much, much higher with my other boss, who accepts nothing less than absolutely perfect.

Oh well.  That was my day, basically. I am SO GLAD it is over. Fighting for what you deserve is thrilling but quite exhausting.  How was yours?

Wish List Fund Moved

More boring housekeeping...

I moved my $2,500 NZD Wish List Fund to USD recently.  I was able to salvage $2040.98 USD with the current phenomenal exchange rates. This money will sit in my US bank account until I come home in August and use it to buy the things on my sidebar.

Can't wait to do some grand old American shopping!

Throwing Hissy Fits at Work...Works!

Ok, I did not get the resolution I wanted from my confrontation at work, telling my bosses how unhappy I was with the desk situation--in fact it is still largely unresolved, as it is up to the directors of the company what to do in the long run.

But do I regret standing up for myself, touting my achievements, and making my own luck?  ABSOLUTELY NOT.  Not even when I count not sleeping at all last night and barely eating today because I was so anxious about the result of my confrontational email.  :)

It turns out that my one boss and the directors were incredibly misinformed about the desk situation and how my work was going to be split between the two bosses. My email clarified this, and I expect changes to occur just from that fact. Basically, one boss is being moved to another building, and my company thought that I was going to go with her 50% of the time--not so. Just think if I hadn't said anything!

Once this is cleared up, I think my main issue is going to be solved--I will have a permanent desk and I won't have to share with a part-timer.

After talking to both bosses, it became clear that one boss was completely, 100% on my side, as she said, and thought I should stay where I was.  The other was in favor of the crazy split-work, share desk plan because she was severely misinformed, even though Boss 1 very clearly stated her plans for herself and me starting a month ago.

The two bosses didn't have time to meet to come up with a compromise, but I spoke to both and I think one boss and I came up with a solution to make us all (mostly) happy:

I will move desks and floors, but I won't be placed in the office with the 12 other temp people.  I will have a permanent desk with one or two people, maximum, in my office. One of whom I completely adore and have a huge girl-crush on, so that is pretty awesome. I may lose my fantastic view and window and perfect office, but I will be closer to the boss that initiated this move, and she will be happy with this compromise.

The other boss that wanted me to stay where I am may not be on board with this compromise, but I don't know how else to handle it. She will have to battle my other boss to figure out something that makes her happy.  All I know is, I stood up for myself, and maybe made a few mistakes along the way, but the end result makes me exponentially happier than the original change. Also, one boss respects me more for standing up for myself, and the other maybe lost a little bit of respect for me, but I respect the boss that respects me more, so...WIN?  I would much rather get a recommendation from the boss that was on my side than the other one, and that boss is in my line of work, so I don't feel like I lost any ground for that potential mistake of touting my achievements.  I also apologized to the boss that was a bit affronted at my American-I earned this-attitude, because I know, as she is a Kiwi and they DO NOT (typically) DO THAT, she thought I was getting too big for my britches (Look up Tall Poppy syndrome--she definitely tried to lop me off today during our talk--so culturally fascinating and ludicrous from my American standpoint).  :)  I thought it might offend her a little, but dammit, I have worked EXTREMELY hard to get where I am.  I don't intend to lose ground without fighting for every little inch. I am happy that I listed my credits compared to others and fought for my rightful place with slightly more benefits than those that have not put in the time and effort that I have.

It takes a lot for me to say anything at all in my defense, but the change was so out there that I was forced to stand up for myself.  I'm glad it was a bit crazy, because I went out on a limb I don't often go on.

I celebrated with two of my favorite mood-boosting, complimentary male friends over a liquid dinner. :)  I think I even got a European travel buddy out of the evening!

On Throwing a Hissy Fit At Work

Well, from the title you can assume that this isn't going to be about great news, right?

Something surprising happened at work today, a major change for me, and I'm still angry and annoyed about it. My first reaction was to email my bosses about how unhappy I was about it (they were both working from home today--no face to face possible, otherwise that would have been my first choice). One responded to the news with a 'How bizarre! We'll talk and fix this tomorrow." and the other told me that she not only knew about the change, but she helped initiate it. Without consulting me or my other boss about it. First strike.

This second boss decided she 'might not' come into work tomorrow to talk to me or my other boss about this change, and listed her reasons for the change, which was enacted by one of the higher-ups that I dislike (this doesn't help my opinion of him).

What was the change, you may ask? They're moving me from my lovely office with a window beside my desk and a view of the Skytower and one other officemate to TWO desks, one in a hallway in one building and one a building 15 minutes away from the first, in the basement with 12 other people. Oh, and I was the only one in that second room that had to share a desk with someone else, meaning, when he's around, I have to find another place to work.

Hell.  NO.

I kind of lost it at that point.  Not only was I offended by the change being OK'd without my input or my other boss's input, but my second boss knew I was upset about the change and wouldn't come in to talk to me about it to work it out. If she wouldn't come to me, well, then, I'd go to her. I wrote out an email to my bosses, listing all the reasons why I couldn't work productively like that, and the fact that I was upset and felt insulted about the change. It felt like a demotion to me.  It IS a demotion to me.  Everyone else in that office is just out of college, doesn't have the experience that I have, either with my company or with any job, in fact. I have more degrees than they have.  I am getting a permanent contract with my company, and they are all temporary, 3 month contract people.

Maybe I'm flying off the handle for little reason here, but I am totally insulted. I hate change, but there is more to this than just changing offices.

The old me would have gone with it and sucked it up, afraid to lose my position in the company, or been too timid to convey any negative feelings to my bosses whatsoever, scared to lose my reputation as being happy go lucky and a team player. But I guess I'm not that girl anymore. I couldn't stay quiet.

Would you write something like this to your bosses?   Just to clarify, my work is 50-50 between Boss 1 and Boss 2.  Currently I am on Boss 1's floor.  I was very worked up when I wrote it...maybe I should have waited to send it, but I would have been up composing the email in my head all night anyway.  I think it adequately covers all of my feelings. But is it appropriate??

(email removed for privacy's sake--sorry)

I am really hoping that this gets resolved tomorrow!  I feel almost sick at standing up for myself and wonder what will happen.  I've never had a conflict like this at work before!

Recognize Her?

I got this message in my email inbox today at work:

My niece Jozie & her husband Toby were burgled & their computer was stolen.  The new ‘owner’  has accidentally posted her picture onto  Jozie’s facebook page. The  police are eager to identify her to help with their enquiries into this and a spate of burglaries.

Anyone recognizing her, please write a comment below and send me an email at sensetodollars [insert at symbol here] yahoo [insert dot symbol here] com.  I don't regularly check that address, so the comment is just to let me know that you have written me an email.

Please feel  free to repost! Let's catch some burglars!!

What Does 'Short-Term' Mean?

As I start ticking off my 'things I want' list, the phrase 'short-term' is starting to encompass longer and longer periods of time in the future. At first, it included the immediate wants and needs I could think of to save up for, like an emergency fund, traveling home this year, a new laptop in the next year or two, that domestic NZ trip I wanted to take in a few months. Then 'short term' meant saving up for that trip home I'm going to take next year, saving up for my dream Australia trip (taken this past February, but saved up for a year or two prior), and my family's trip to visit me later this year. Most recently, it has come to mean saving up for the things that I wanted but didn't think I had the money to buy (my Wish List items) and things that will make me and my family feel more financially secure:  insurance in case of disaster, and a long-term plan in lieu of contributing to US retirement (as it is not allowed for me in NZ).

Now that I have started to save up for everything I could immediately think of to want, plus some, and have a concrete plan to get those things in place, I am free to dream up new short-term wants. They are all within the realm of what I dreamt up for myself in the past, just additions to make myself more set up to have my dream life in that fantasy future. I feel like I have saved up for everything I could want in the next few years, so I'm free to ask myself, "What do I want my life to look like in 3-4 (or more) years?" And then I can start making those dreams financially realistic.

So I've been thinking about my future. As I pretty much have everything I could want here in NZ and I am happy with my lifestyle and experiences, my new short-term funds and wants will be mostly in preparation for moving back to the US and setting up my life there, and what I'm now formulating as my 'in-between' plan.

1) $4K USD, which now constitutes my 'Move Back to US' Fund will not be enough for a) a security deposit and first and last month's rent on a fantastic place, b) furniture and all the other little accouterments that I will need to start my life again, since I have absolutely no possessions, and c) a new-to-me car (and believe me, in my mid-30's, I don't intend to buy a beater of the same low caliber as I had in my 20's--some lifestyle inflation is allowed, I think! No more worrying about whether my car will break down on the side of the highway leaving me stranded, thank you very much!).  So there is some work to do there.  Maybe a US Housewarming Fund of $3K? A new to me car Fund of $6K USD? I'd also love to get a dog once I'm settled in the US, so maybe a Dog Fund of $2K USD to start?  Revanche, I'll be following your puppy posts closely...

2) I'm considering doing some traveling in between moving from NZ back to the US...what better time for it?  I'll be rent-less, so that is one expense I won't have to worry about. It all depends on what my financial situation is when I leave NZ...and if I have a job lined up in the US for me to go to, with a deadline for starting that work. I have been dying to go to various places in Europe, and I have several friends in England and Germany, so that seems like the most obvious choice. I've also been wanting to go to Iceland, so maybe on the way back from Europe, I can hit that country. I'll make a travel bucket list and we'll see where I am and what my circumstances are when I finally move from NZ!  I am thinking this will take a lot of planning to do cheaply...although I could possibly get a round the world ticket for pretty cheap if I game the credit card rewards system, and I have several free places to stay in Europe with friends. This won't be the epic Europe trip I'm saving up for in my long-term fund sidebar (I want to do that one with my mom), just a quick taste of it and to catch up with old friends. Or maybe it will become an epic Europe trip? Who knows?

So on this Independence Day, I now realize that 'short term' to me now means means 'freedom.' How fitting!  Because I have set up a plan to fulfill my long term needs and immediate short term wants, my fantasy life is free to become a reality.

Happy Fourth of July!  I'll be setting off a sparkler to celebrate with you all in spirit.  :)

A Little Housekeeping...

Just a reminder to myself and a little update to my sidebar:

1) I now have moved my $5K NZD Move to US fund to USD.
2) A CD matured last month, and I now can add $195.31 to my $4K Vanguard Fund Fund!
3) I need to cancel my Citibank card, as I've redeemed the air miles, paid it off, and don't want to pay the annual fee in November.
4) I should cancel my new Chase card by May of next year to avoid the annual fee.  Great to get the $50 statement credit and the 25K air miles, though!
5) I'm in the market for a great no to low fee cc that offers things like free baggage and lounge access at airports, as well as the #1 thing: no currency conversion fees. Lord knows I travel enough...
6) I need to transfer $1,654.48 USD from my NZ bank account to cover my cc bills from June.  Most of that is from my work trips, which have yet to be reimbursed (expected by next Friday).
7) After those clear, I need to transfer $4,041.09 from my US checking to my US Savings account--this is now my 'Move Back to US' Fund.
8) I need to call Canada Grocer to GET MY MONEY BACK! for an April 25 order that never appeared.
9) I raised the bar quite a bit--literally--for my long-term goals. In the sidebar, it now reflects my lifelong goals, as they stand right now: 1) Have $50K (arbitrary goal) in a House Down Payment Fund; 2) Save up about $10K USD/$13K NZD in a Europe Trip Fund; and 3) have $100K in the bank in a taxable account.
10) I increased my Roth IRA Fund goal to adequately reflect the currency difference between NZD and USD. Where I once had a goal of saving $5K NZD, I now have a goal of saving $5K USD, or $7K NZD. Once that goal is kicked in about 8 months, I can allocate that $255 a month to my long-term Europe trip and House Down Payment Funds, or another long-term goal that I think up in the interim. I don't see a reason to save up for another year's worth of Roth IRA contributions, as I should have a job and be stable enough to cover that after a year or so back in the US.  This means that once I move back to the US, I will have $4K USD to set myself up with an apartment, car, etc., as well as my first year's Roth contributions all ready to go.  That is in addition to all of the other savings and Emergency Fund I'll hopefully have leftover from my time in NZ, as well as anything I can scrape up before I move--I should have plenty of warning about that, after all!

Getting Complicated...

Man, sometimes I see why people don't track every penny or want to pay attention to their finances...it can get so complicated! Case in point, I now have:

• 1 NZ checking account
• 1 US checking account
• 2 NZ savings accounts, one of which contains:
• ten funds of various natures, some long term, some short-term,
• 3 US savings accounts, one of which contains:
• two funds of various natures, one of which was just moved/converted from my NZ savings account
• 1 NZ Bonus Bonds account
• 1 Kiwisaver account (NZ retirement)
• 1 Roth IRA (US retirement) account, which contains:
• two funds
• 1 Traditional IRA (US retirement) account
• 1 Sharebuilder account, with $100 worth of credit
• 4  US credit cards

Whew!

I need to break it all down to sort it out in my head. I have a special sheet in my budget spreadsheet that I detail everything out.  I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have that!!

June Budget

Wooo, June was kind of a blow out.

But never fear, I was able to complete one of my funds!  In June I had an excess of $453 NZD, one of the lowest amounts I've been able to save thus far in 2011, but it was enough to complete my $2K Mom/Sis Supplemental NZ Trip fund! Yay!

The remainder, $230.46, went to start my $4K Vanguard Fund Fund...the fund I have my eye on to start my first official taxable non-retirement account has a minimum of $3K USD.  I'm on my way to saving up my goal of $100K!  That feels amazing.

I can't believe how much progress I've been able to make just this year already.  I've saved up for basically all of my short-term wants I've ever thought of, even ones I thought were far-fetched (Wish List Fund?). I'm set for next year's trip home, especially if I can get just 15,000 more airmiles--then my flight home next year is free!

I also transferred some of my longer-term funds to USD, taking advantage of the historically high value of the NZD compared to the USD (0.80 USD = 1 NZD).  I need to update my sidebar to reflect that...

I've been slacking on the charity front in prior months...so I added up all of the money I was supposed to have given this year already and donated a big chunk to J. Money's lovechild, Love Drop. I've been meaning to do that for a while now.

Due to my trip to Australia, I went over my budget by about $150.  Not too bad.

Income: $3,340.22

Rent: $840, normal.  This is offset a little bit by the $18 per week I get from renting out the garage. I count that in my income instead of taking it off here.
Groceries: $327.79. Yikers!  That's high for work paying for over a week of groceries...
Internet: $99.87. Again. Yikes.
Electricity: $81.03. High due to the cold making us put the heaters on high!
Eating Out: $78.73. High because I caught a cold...energy levels very low and so was my soup stock.
Charity: $125 to make up for previous months.  :)
Cell phone: $0!
Medical: $51.40. Would you believe that was all from cough drops, OTC cold syrup and pills?!!
Misc: $848.71.  YIKES.
Savings: $435. The usual to my Long Term Funds.

Here's how Misc broke down:
Alcohol: $42.50. One night out. Only bought ciders. Whoa.
Entertainment: $121. Three movies: super 8, Bridesmaids, and Pirates of the Carribbean 4, as well as $72 worth of  music from amazon.
Goods and Wants: $166.04. Laptop adapter (old one broke in Oz), solid perfume, and a 8 GB Sansa disk + from my wish list.
Investing: $64. to sharebuilder to get their free $50 promo.
Taxes and Fees: $43.18. to IRD taxes and a whopping $6 ATM charge in Sydney!!!
Transportation: $4.30 to busfare
Travel: $279.94. Not bad for a trip to Australia! That includes two nights in a hostel (private room), a tour of the blue mountains, 3 trips around Scenic World, a shuttle from the airport, the cost to import my favorite cheese that is sold in Oz but not NZ, some starburst candy that is not sold in NZ, and train fare around Sydney.

July will be another blow out. I'll be very, VERY lucky if I can save anything this next month for several reasons: a) it is a 3 rent check month, Rent will go up to $1260, eating up a third of my income; b) it is my birthday month and I have a 4 day ski weekend planned to celebrate it!; c) I am getting fissure sealants on two of my teeth--that will cost around $150; and d) I will probably buy contents, life, and disability insurance with the money leftover, assuming there is any.

Wish me luck! :)