June 2024 Budget Review

Another easy month, money-wise, since I don't have much going on aside from staying home, number crunching, and writing up my three papers for my dissertation.

Income: $4,279.82 ($1819.72 salary, $1269.24 PhD stipend; $159.75 NZ tax return, $577.05 Lending Crowd payments, $260 garage rent payments; $194.06 overage from May)

Spending:

 

Groceries are over budget, but that is just par for the course these days, esp because my Eating Out is under budget. I spent $20 on Cell Phone data. My Misc spending is detailed below. My dedicated Savings is extra high this month because I topped up my Kiwisaver contributions to ensure I met the $1042.86 employee contributions threshold to receive the $521.43 annual government contribution for 2023-24. The Power + Internet bill hasn't come in yet this month, and my Charity and Medical spending was $0 in June 2024.

Misc spending:

 

For self care I got a spa gel pedicure, massage, brow wax and tint, lash tint, and chin wax. 

For gifts, I sent my old flatmate some of her fave things from NZ overseas for her birthday. 

For goods and wants, I bought a new pair of earbuds for my work computer (it is annoying and very time consuming and glitchy to pair/unpair one set to different electronics, so I now have a set for my laptop, one for my phone, and another for my work laptop! Trying to reduce the annoyances in my life by throwing money at them when I can). I treated myself to an early birthday present by buying my fave snack foods from an international food company based in NZ. Finally, I spent some money on e-scooters to/from the grocery store and for Mevo to take 1 trip out west to see a friend and 2 trips to the mall/errands/grocery store.

 

New Savings Goal & Fund

On top of my regular savings, I saved the remainder (what I did not spend) of $1805.12. This money goes into a new fund I just created, centered around my future rental bond and return of my flatmates' security deposit ($5.2K). As I've pointed out a lot in my recent posts, I have no idea what to save for next.

My next place will require me to pay four week's security deposit and 1 week's rent in advance. I'll be getting my security bond back for my current place (hopefully?) - that will be $2200, but I probably won't get it before I have to pay out the bond for the new place...I'll also have to pay back my current flatmates' bond when we move out ($1440). Maybe I could save for that?

The places I'm looking at are max $750 per week - that is on the absolute highest end, and assumes that I get a place with 3 bedrooms/2 baths. Four week's bond + 1 week's rent in advance would be $3750. Paying back my flatties' bond will increase that to $5190.

 

Overall Net Worth

I'm sooooo close to hitting the $300K NZD mark!! At ~$296K, a few more months should do it, esp since my income will be relatively high in July, August, and September and the $521 government Kiwisaver contribution will be coming in in July. Crossed fingers my complex doesn't sell anytime soon and I can get there.

Lifestyle Creep

Even though my income isn't very high, I can no longer deal with certain situations. Here are a few lifestyle upgrades I will be making now that I'm in my mid-40s.

• On my flights home in the US, only choose 1-stop itineraries. This actually sometimes saves money, because the more flights you take, the more expensive the itinerary seems to be.
  
  
• Spend the night at the stop, paying ~$200 or so on a hotel close to the airport to get some good rest. I can no longer deal with 24+ hour itineraries where I do not sleep at all (because I cannot sleep sitting up, I am unable to sleep on planes. I MUST be on my side to fall asleep, which is impossible on a plane unless you are in a business class lie flat seat). It would mean spending the night in San Fran, LA, Houston, Dallas, Chicago, Honolulu, or NYC, which I can't complain about. Compared to the thousands that flights cost, $200 or so is a drop in the bucket. 

Future lifestyle upgrades to aspire to:

1. For my next apartment, I would LOVE to have my own bathroom with a bathtub. I feel like it is time. 
2. Buy a gym membership at a place with great work out classes, tennis lessons, pickleball, and amenities. 
   
3. Go to all of the medical appointments I've been meaning to go to, including physio, getting the shingles vax and starting therapy again. I have some questions about ADHD and anxious-avoidant attachment style... 
4. Hire a professional to do my NZ & US taxes.
5. Go to a fee-only financial advisor/fiduciary and take stock of my current status in light of my financial goals, including how best to diversify my NZ and US investments, rebalance my Kiwisaver, and consider my tax obligations.
6. Find a better place to get a pedicure. The place I go to smells heavily of acetone, the employees put in a half-a$$ job, and the massage chair never works properly. 
7. Get pants tailored. I'm a weird in between height and pants never fit properly!
8. Time for volunteering and donating.
   

Day off for Matariki!

It's only the third time Matariki (the Maori New Year, marked by the rising of stars in the Pleiades constellation) has been celebrated as an official holiday in Aotearoa. The day/spirit of Matariki is meant to be one of reflection on the past and hopefulness for the future: remember, reflect, and reset, as detailed in the text below. 

I do the same thing near the Western / Northern Hemisphere's New Year, and Matariki provides an excellent time for a mid-year check-in. It's been so nice to take the day off to relax and think about things other than work. It's a lovely tradition to add to my year.

1. Remember loved ones who have passed away. I have a photo of my beloved grandmother on my dad's side up next to my bed. I think of her often, and it is very comforting to see her there, watching over me as I sleep/go about my days. I also celebrate my aunt, uncle, and grandparents on my mom's side, as well as a dear friend who died on a maunga here in NZ in 2013. I also remember my grandfather on my dad's side, who passed away when I was ~10 - I don't remember a ton about him but I know, while he was kind and loving to my me and my sister, he was quite abusive to my dad and the rest of his siblings, which has caused a lot of generational pain and suffering, and very much explains why my father is so terrible to my mom, and me and my sister sometimes.

Anytime I think of death, I wonder how I've gotten this far in life without losing my dad, who has been battling ill health for decades, and my sister, who was diagnosed with severe congestive heart failure two years ago.

2. Enjoy a mid-year feast. I have some yummy food in the fridge, ready to go for the week ahead, as well as plenty of stocked food for next week's menu. 

3. Write down your hopes, dreams, and aspirations for the year ahead.  

• My aspirations for the next year don't extend much further beyond submitting and defending my PhD.
• I hope that my complex does not get sold and I do not have to move, but if I do have to move, I find a lovely, large, sunny, furnished flat with two bedrooms, two bathrooms (one with bathtub), with car park that I can rent out, within my budget and easy walking distance to my office. Bonus if the complex has an outdoor pool with sun exposure, a hot tub, gym, and a workspace or rooftop. 
• I also hope that my family makes it through the next year intact and without getting more ill than they are right now. 
  
• My dream would be that at next year's check in, I've successfully earned my PhD, have more financial avenues to pursue to increase my income without increasing my stress levels too much, and that I have had the time and mental and emotional space to address the non-work goals I've been ignoring for the past 10 years, particularly my physical health. 

4. Go out and see Matariki. I will try but have no idea where to look!

5. Grow a garden. I may have to move soon so I'm not planning on reviving my little patio garden, but once I'm settled into a new place, I'll definitely get back into it! There's nothing I love more than tending my garden. For the meantime, I'll settle for keeping my houseplants alive. 

6. Return home and reconnect with loved ones. Well, I cannot do that right now, but I have plans for my family to come visit me here in NZ the month after I submit my PhD. In the meantime, I have a family phone call this Sunday, and will send or return the emails, messages, and texts to everyone that I keep in contact with regularly.

7. Offer up food to the stars. I probably won't be doing this, I'll be honest!

8. Improve your relationship with/take care of nature. That is, be more environmentally aware. I just turned off the fan I usually use to create white noise at night. I tend to keep it on, but I can definitely turn it off during the day from now on. This will help the electric bill as well!

9. Enjoy entertainment. I certainly have been doing this! Today has been about watching people play board games on Youtube, of all things. Quite enjoyable.  

 

Overall Reflection: Recent weeks have seen me motivated and hard at work on my PhD, which is a relief. My ADHD means that my motivation is like the wind - fickle and fleeting. I can never predict when my motivation will strike or how long it will last. This past week has also seen my sleeping schedule become "normal," in which I wake naturally at 6 - 9 am and feel tired enough by 10 pm - 1 am to voluntarily go to bed and fall asleep easily. 

However, I'm sure will not last long. It never does. Every single time I think I'm getting on the right track, I have one night where I get hyperfocused and screw my schedule up again, or I get engrossed in something other than work and shirk all responsibilities except for the most urgent and important ones for the next several weeks to a month (or two...or three).

Part of this recent change is because I stopped caring what time it was when I started work. For too many days/weeks/months in a row, I was waking up late, not taking my ADHD meds because I was afraid it would keep my awake through the middle of the night (even though I would always stay up too late regardless), and then not having any motivation to work, 1. because I hadn't taken my meds and 2. because it was dark outside.

Once I started taking my ADHD meds whenever, regardless of the hour of the day, things started clicking into place. It also helped that I have become completely bored of watching tv shows. Even the good ones! I just don't have that 'oomph' to keep watching certain shows like I used to anymore. The only shows that have enraptured me recently are limited-episode or one-shot documentaries on scammers (I love the ones about Anna Delvey, Melissa Caddick, and other financial scammers) and the impacts from the rise of misinformation (e.g. The Sixth, which is EXCELLENT but seems to be getting buried/ignored by A24 and their advertising execs).

While this run of productivity sounds great, I don't expect this to last too long - the thing that is most motivating to me is change. So once I get used to taking meds and being productive and it's not so novel anymore, I think my motivation will deflate as well. I will keep taking my meds to try to extend the life of this spurt of productivity. 

The productivity hasn't extended to my house chores, which means my house is looking DIRTY. But my flatmates haven't cleaned either, so I don't feel so bad. I can't be the only one doing the cleaning! It shouldn't completely rely on me to clean the toilets regularly!! I know I'll be the first to break because, at some point, I'll get sick of looking at dust and dirt and do something about it. Like everything in my life, I just have to wait for motivation to strike.

Almost Lost $150...And That Wasn't My Biggest Concern

So, the postal service here in NZ isn't very good. I live in an apartment complex in the middle of the city. Theft of mail is very common here, so our HOA board had the mailboxes moved inside our complex. You have to know a code or have a swipe card to unlock the front door to the complex.

That's all fine and dandy - the mailperson clearly has access to get inside, so we get our paper mail delivered just fine. However, the same company that delivers the mail somehow cannot deliver packages inside the complex!!! Why on Earth isn't that info provided to the package deliverers just as it's shared with the mail people?

The package deliverers can't get inside, so they are supposed to call you using the intercom to have you come get the package. I'm not even sure they even try to call me using the intercom when they come, and I work from home and don't really go anywhere, so I'm ALWAYS home. Instead, they leave this 'card to call' leaflet thing outside when they come to the complex, which promptly gets lost, stolen, or is whisked away by the wind. They often try to jam the piece of paper in the locked door jam, but I can't tell you how many times one of my card to calls has been lost.

If you don't have that card to call, you are sometimes out of luck because it has a certain number on it that helps you get your package redelivered or redirected elsewhere. Plus, if you don't ever receive the card to call, you may never know that they attempted to deliver the package! And then the package gets returned to sender or just sits in their warehouse or something. I have had A LOT of issues around package delivery here in NZ.

Anyway, long story short, that is why I get my packages delivered to my office. We have a lovely receptionist who is always there to receive packages and there's no more 'card to call' nonsense. She sends me an email every time I get a package. A few weeks ago, I was feeling very homesick and craving some American food. Once or twice a year I splurge, indulge myself, and order my fave US snacks. Shipping often costs more than the actual value of the food! And my birthday is coming up so I figured this was my present to myself. I spent almost $150 total. 

Last week the receptionist sent me the email to let me know that the package had been delivered. I came by a few days later to pick it up, but the receptionist was out sick and I couldn't find it anywhere!! I sent an email asking where it was, and she didn't reply even when she was back at work. I sent a reminder email asking about it, again, no reply. I looked everywhere for it, and two other people in the office also scoured all of the areas it could likely be - no dice. 

So I gave up. I honestly thought maybe someone in the office or someone off of the street had stolen it. There are a few professors at the University in my department who are absolute trolls and would not think twice about doing something that would make my life more difficult. I kept imagining them strolling into the empty receptionist area while she was out sick, picking up my package, and laughing to themselves in glee at the thought that they were causing me trouble. They've done much worse things to me and others in the past. Or - an opportunistic someone off of the street (maybe a courier's friend or an acquaintance of a student) knew that packages just sit unattended in an unlocked area and decided to go for it. It was common knowledge in the CBD that the Uni campus was mostly empty because of some construction smell causing people to feel ill over the past few weeks.

In a past life, the loss of $150 would have been the biggest loss and worry. But this past week, what has bothered me the most is that I had fun weekend plans to eat my yummy snacks that I was so homesick for, and even curated my weekly grocery shop with the idea that these snacks would be available. I checked the website I ordered from - the snacks that I like the most and had ordered were all sold out. So it wasn't even like I could order a replacement package. That was the most gutting to me.

The $150 loss was secondary, and not very troubling at all. I was even willing to spend another $100 to get the snacks I most wanted, but that wasn't an option. I also figured out that I had no recourse. The company that sent it wasn't liable, neither was the package deliverer, because they had done their jobs - they successfully delivered the package to where I specified. Because I had it delivered to my workplace, my contents insurance wouldn't cover it (also my deductible is too high for that). The receptionist was out, so she's not to blame either. But the $150 loss would have been annoying, but easily absorbed in my budget. There have definitely been some times in my life where a $150 loss would have been a HUGE DEAL to me. It is nice to have come so far.

In any case, the story has a happy ending - I went back into the office today and the receptionist was there. My box had somehow gotten buried in a large stack of office supply boxes with her name on them, and to find my box, I would have had to basically tear apart the entire office supply room. Whew! I am now enjoying my lovely snacks as I type this post, secure in the knowledge that I'm now at the point in my financial story where losing $150 will not break me.

May Savings and Net Worth Check In

In my last post, I detailed how I saved over half of my income in May - $3,050. Where did it go? 

Some went to finishing up my $4K Furniture Fund and some went to rounding up my House Down Payment Fund to $60K. It was something like $57599.32 and that was bothering me. 

I still had about $250 left over after doing that, so I created a Slush Fund until I decide what to save for next. 

I've now updated my side bar with my current funds. I now have: 

$10K Emergency Fund

$5K 2024 US Trip Fund

$4K Furniture Fund (in case I need to move to an unfurnished place when my current apartment complex gets sold)

$5K Post-PhD Hand In Travel Fund

$13K Post-PhD Defense Travel Fund

$15K Post-PhD Life and Hobbies Funds

$60K House Down Payment Fund

$250.87 Slush Fund

About half of this cash is invested in a CD ladder, earning 6.3% per annum (less taxes of course). My first CD is set to mature in October - as long as interest rates are high, I'll keep adding $$ to them and rolling them over for another year. The rest is in a high yield savings account, earning at least 4.5%. A lot of this money will be added to my CD ladder over the coming months. Eventually, I'll have about $5K in cash at any one time, with the rest in a CD ladder, with $5K - $10K maturing each month. That's my plan until I have more time.

Honestly, I'm at a bit of a loss as to what my next savings goal should be, and what to do with the money in my House Down Payment Fund now that I've realized I'll never be able to qualify for a loan with my current income. Help! I have no savings goals!

I can't do much - live, really -  until the albatross of my PhD is off of my back. No amount of money will make that happen, though. I just have to put in the work and do it. I am stuck in a limbo, where I want to do so much, but have absolutely no time to do it. With no time comes little spending. 

I'm enjoying the savings aspect of life right now, but abhor the not having freedom of time. Life comes in seasons, and I suppose this is my Savings Season. ...At least until my apartment is sold or my PhD stipend stops paying out in October. 

Problems for another day. In the meantime, I will keep tracking every penny, trying to keep my expenses down, and dreaming of a Rich, post-PhD Life. 

Net Worth

My May 2024 NW is $294,139.98 NZD, if I convert my USD savings into NZD using current currency conversion rates.

$113K NZD of that is in cash/CD ladders. 

$87K NZD of that is in US retirement accounts and investments. 

$94K NZD of that is in my NZ retirement account, Kiwisaver.

Things are on track - I wanted to hit $250K by 45, and I've done that. The figure below depicts my Net Worth if you count USD the same as NZD - not accurate but currency fluctuates so much that I wasn't sure how to be able to compare NW figures over time another way!