Revised 2015 Goals

I am not going to reach all of my stretch goals for 2015--that much is clear! And that is OK, they are stretch goals for a reason. I've revised the remainder of my goals to something a little more reasonable, deleting those that have been crossed off or moved to 2016 to make things a little more digestible and less daunting.

2015 Goals

1. Get at least 8 hours of sleep every night. Sometimes...

Stretch goals:

Financial

1. Save $500/mo to long-term goals: House DP and Retirement, $250 each.
   
2. Track every penny and stay out of debt.
3. Apply for 20K qantas points. 

Travel/Experiences/Social

1. Beat Stranger Danger: go to one meetup event where I know no one every quarter (Jan - Mar; April - June; July - Sept; Oct - Dec). Q1 Q2: meet up with dance class; Q3: accidentally stumbled onto a meetup at a bar and chatted to randoms for an hour;
2. Find something to do for Xmas and New Year's Eve 2015. Plans in the works!! Going home.

Learning/Projects

1. Take an Artstation course. Booked!  

Career

1. Update my CV, LinkedIn, Twitter, blog, staff page, and Researchgate profiles for work in January, April, July, and November.
2. Write and present PhD proposal.

Medical/Physical/Mental Health

1. Meditate a few minutes every day.
2. Treat yo'self! Every month, get a massage or other deal via grabone to have some luxury me-time in the midst of super stressful PhD life. 
1. October: Float voucher? Massage voucher? Hmmm...
2. November: Artstation course (booked)
3. December: go home!

Other

1. Back up computer 4 times a year: March/June/September/December.

Checking in on My Credit Score and History

Did my annual check in of my credit score and report! My Citibank credit card makes this really easy--it tells me my credit score whenever I want it to, and links me directly to the free annualcreditreport.com site to check all of my reports.

Credit score: varies from 787 to 827. Currently it is 787, probably because I just requested a credit cards, and (they tell me) because I do not have revolving debt in the form of a mortgage or student loan. Sigh. Since when is having that kind of debt actually good?? Also, yes, please rub it in my face that I do not own a house!! :)

Checked my credit reports! However, only Transunion was available. Can't get access to Experian and Equifax for some reason (maybe because I am in NZ). I'll put it on my list next year to request my credit reports when I am in the US.

Got an error message for both to mail in my request:

Internet Delivery Unavailable - Mail-in Request

We're sorry, for your protection we are unable to deliver an Equifax Free Annual Credit Report over the Internet.

Request by Mail

To request your Free Equifax Credit File by mail, please fill out the attached form (PDF file), along with the documents described below and mail them to:

Annual Credit Report Request Service
P.O. Box 740240
Atlanta, GA 30348-0241

Please include with the attached form a copy of one item in EACH of the categories below in order to enable us to verify your identification and address. The item you submit from the "Identity" category MUST contain your Social Security Number and the item you submit from the "Address" category MUST contain your current home mailing address.

Identity

Social Security card
Pay stub with Social Security Number
W2 form

Address

Driver's license
Rental or lease agreement/house deed
Pay stub with address
Utility bill (gas, electric, water, cable, residential telephone bills)

To ensure that your request is processed without delay, please enlarge photocopies of any items that contain small print (i.e. driver's license, W2 forms). To avoid additional delays, keep in mind that if photocopies you submit are not legible or contain highlighting, we may ask that you resubmit your request with more legible documents.

Life Update

I'm back!! Back in NZ, back at work, back in the thick of it. I was very worried about how I'd feel once I returned. So far, I've been taking it really easy. I have about another week and then the pressure is on again. Sigh. I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts.

I'm currently dreaming of 2016 goals. My 2015 list was good to refer to, and it felt good putting a line through many of them. There are still so many that I haven't been able to cross off (though I'm trying to get a few more before the end of the year!!). Should the remaining ones stay on the list, or should I rotate in some new ones?? I can't decide, but it's fun to think about.

Has it really been 9 years? The XBF drama continues. It seems as though somewhere along the line, he and the girl he met at my work (who he married) got divorced, because he is now dating YET ANOTHER girl from my workplace. How sad and annoying, that he can't seem to find someone to date in a place other than from the teeny tiny pool of females that I work with! There are literally like 5 of us! I'm super glad I didn't give in to his requests to hang out again (this happened recently--we kept seeing each other around and I finally just said hi to be done with the awkwardness; he took it to mean something that it was not). That whole interaction and what ensued afterward proved to me that he hasn't changed one bit over the past decade! I cannot be around people that are that much of a mess. I feel for the girl, but she'll learn. I hope they are happy. As for me, seriously, can't I get a break from relationship drama/having to see him in my office canoodling when I can barely even get one date? It's been 6 years since I have had a boyfriend, I haven't even done anything to be in this situation. AGAIN.

Because of the above situation, I started thinking what a mistake it was to follow XBF to NZ. Yes, it got me to my current job, which I love, but I wonder if I would have found my way back to my current profession at some point anyway. Given how right it feels (it's my purpose in life, it just is) and how much of a passion I feel for my subject, I think I would have figured out a way to get to it in the US. In the meantime, I don't want to be here. It is basic fact that I'll never be able to settle down here without a miracle. I don't have the means to buy a house, which means I can never own a dog. I apparently can't meet and attract an interesting, decent guy I like, so I'll be alone while I live here. I don't mean to be negative, but the evidence and facts don't lie: I just can't be who I want to be here. There is no next step in NZ for me, though I'm searching and keep hoping for it. At what point do I cut my losses and admit defeat? Honestly, it feels like all the major life decisions I've made since I was 26 has been a collosal mistake.

I think I need to start running again; I'm really negative these days!

Net Worth Aug & Sept 2015

August 2015:
 

NW since tracking began (DEC 2014)
	NW Dec 2014	This month	Difference ($)	Difference (%)
NET WORTH (same)	104128.75	112589.2	8460.45	8.12
NZ Net Worth	82442.59	91696.5	9253.91	11.22
US Net Worth	21219.15	20641.7	-577.45	-2.72
Change from last month:	Last Month	This Month	Difference ($)	Difference (%)
NET WORTH (same)	114109.64	112589.2	-1520.44	-1.33
NZ Net Worth	91952.42	91696.5	-255.92	-0.28
US Net Worth	21906.22	20641.7	-1264.52	-5.77

Sept 2015:

NW since tracking began (DEC 2014)
	NW Dec 2014	This month	Difference ($)	Difference (%)
NET WORTH (same)	104128.75	112,921.42	8792.67	8.44
NZ Net Worth	82442.59	92021.61	9579.02	11.62
US Net Worth	21219.15	20,648.81	-570.34	-2.69
Change from last month:	Last Month	This Month	Difference ($)	Difference (%)
NET WORTH (same)	112589.2	112,921.42	332.22	0.30
NZ Net Worth	91696.5	92021.61	325.11	0.35
US Net Worth	20641.7	20,648.81	7.11	0.03

Chart:



As usual, as slight dip in the ol' Net Worth over my trip, however this one is because the US and NZ stock markets dipped.

I expect there to be another slight blip downwards in the months to come as I recover from my spending spree in the US! Hopefully it will be minimal because I didn't have to dip into my savings account this year. Here's to the markets recovering!

Amazing Saving

So I spent with abandon when in the US and Europe. Luckily, my work grants covered most of my work-related expenses like food. However, US expenditure was all me. I don't even have a number, but the total for the 7 week trip was something around $6K USD. Yikes!

However, my NZD bank account was pretty well stocked before I left, and it just exploded with my salary deposits and no NZ debits while I was away (I used my US cc's for 99% of my expenses). I ended up being able to cover all of my credit card bills using what was already in my bank account. That means that I didn't end up transferring the allocated money from my 2015 US Trip Fund at all!

I had $3K set aside for my trip that I didn't have to transfer to my checking account to pay bills, so that now just gets allocated to 2017 travel (I already have money saved up for travel to the US in 2016). That was easy, though it's very tempting to put it towards something fun right now. Oh well. I'll suffer through October and see if my bank account lasts. If not, I can always move some of that money over. It shouldn't be more than $1K though, so that puts me well toward 2017 travel. I'm doing well!

That takes off some of the pressure off for next year's financial goals. Yay!

Speaking of goals, I had a bunch of ideas while I was away, for how I can use my PhD fund to reduce my stress:

1. I need to go see a therapist/life coach. 

2. I desperately need to work out on the regular. I'm getting back into tennis and pilates and stretch and running again.

3. I need to see a physio regularly and maybe a doctor, too. My body is reacting to the pressure in very weird ways.

4. I need to see a dermatologist. Major stress = major eczema. 

5. I may hire a maid. Eff cleaning when I'm so busy!

6. Ditto on hiring a cook or getting meals delivered for the week. I could buy a freezer maybe. I need to eat better.

6. I am going to Chile in April. Supervisor doesn't get a say, because he will always say no.

7. I'm going to take a public speaking course. I desperately need to feel more confident up there. It's my most feared part of the PhD.

8.  I have to make weekends sacred, and schedule in friend time and friends/family Skype time. If I need to buy this time somehow, I will do it (see: hire a maid).

9. I have got to meet more people and start dating regularly again. This means more time/money spent on looking nice and going out.

10. I'm going to Rarotonga or another island at some point.

11. I'm going up north or elsewhere for Xmas vacation.

Even if I only do a third of these things, it will be a MAJOR improvement to my lifestyle. I know what is good for me, now I just have to make myself do it.

Spendy September

Over my holiday, I threw all my financial plans up in the air and bought (almost) everything on my NZ list (carefully constructed over the past year). I spent a lot of money.

The upside of that now is that I finally have the basics of a good wardrobe. Time to buy classic pieces, and add some trendy fun pieces to supplement the basics (2016 goal). I'm ready to start building a capsule collection. Now I just need to learn how to dress! I am usually a jeans/sneakers/tshirt kind of girl. I just recently stopped wearing tshirts with things written on them. When I dress up, the most daring I usually go are form-fitting jeans with a lower cut tank top, with maybe a few sequins on the tank.

I love basic clothes with a tiny detail to make it interesting--a batwing sleeve, a tied-up sleeve, a few beads on the neckline, a unique collar. Stripes are my friend. Preppy is my jam. I'm super boring.

Over my break, I became obsessed with how Joanna Gaines dresses on her show, Fixer Upper. She's all Texan/southern/basics girl but looks stunning in everything she wears. I love the leather, muted earth tones (tan/black/white/navy/army green), and simple yet very polished and chic look she pulls off. She looks like she can stroll straight from her farm to the construction site to the antique shop to dinner out in the same outfits!

Her jewelry/accessories in particular are amazing. I think she makes her own. I love her wrist cuffs! I'm a very simple in my taste for jewelry, but only because I have to be. Anything big or loud looks really crazy on me, because my features are really delicate and I am small boned. Big rings take up half of my hand. Most bracelets and those man-boyfriend style watches are always 10x too big for my wrist. It just looks ridiculous on me. Simple and delicate is the order of the day for me. Lovisa in NZ is hit or miss with jewelry, but I love almost everything in their sterling silver collection. (I--luckily--HAVE to wear almost pure gold/silver, never plated, as I am allergic to nickel and a lot of other metal additives.)

So that is the next appearance goal for 2016. Classic staples! Or cheap, trendy, and fun! I want to continue to build with solid basics while adding a few experimental punches.

Checking in with Credit Cards and Bonuses

Back in the saddle! I effectively ignored my finances while I was on vacation, not having the brain capacity to deal with it even though I had literally nothing else to do...that right there is a sure sign my brain was/is fried. Money is always at the forefront of my mind, and I just...didn't care while I was away. I even paid a credit card bill late! That hasn't happened in...ever?? I was able to get it dismissed but still, I am slipping.

So it's time to pay attention again.

I have:

Chase Freedom (keep for credit history)
Capital One (keep for credit history)

Chase Sapphire (I love this card!)--I have earned 47K points so far. To be cancelled 2016

LANpass--20K points toward flights in S. America. :); cancel in 2016

Barclaycard AAdvantage--50K US Air (now AA) points, to be canceled soon

Air NZ cc--earned 200 airpoints + points for spending, will cancel april 2016

Air NZ Amex--I earn ANZ points on this but really I keep it to establish a credit history in NZ.

Soon to apply for (am now eligible as per the new Chase rules): 

United MileagePlus Explorer Chase Biz--50K points for a $2K spend. Too bad I wasn't eligible earlier--I definitely spent this much on my vacation!

Mileage summary:
Delta--110K points
AA--80K points
United--16,285 (47K from Chase Sapphire to be transferred over soon!)
Air NZ--666 airpoints
LAN--20,001 points

I traveled to Europe and the US by air using work money, that should add some airmiles on random airlines, too--I now have earned points on Iceland Air, Emirates, and Germanwings. I doubt I use them (or rack them up enough to use them) before they expire, though.

I'm hoping the above is enough to get me to/heavily supplement trips to:

• a Pacific Island (Rarotonga??) in 2015-2016
• the East Coast of the US in 2016
• South America in early 2016

Here's to travel!