My Financial Life

June Spending

2008-07-15T10:28:00.003-04:00

Once again I spent more than my budget. The primary culprit was the pet category and groceries. I spent less on allowance but the slack was tekn up in other areas of my budget.

Annual performance reviews

2008-07-07T13:30:00.002-04:00

It is that time again at work and for the past several years I have dreaded it. Maye because I know I am not working up to my potential. Due to the downturn in the economy among other things, I am not expecting to receive a bonus this year. Last year I got a $7,000 bonus but I have prepared myself to not get one this year, although I could use it.

I have also been giving more thought to changing jobs. The idea really scares me but maybe it is time to move on. Anyway, it is just a thought.

A day of no spending

2008-07-03T15:07:00.002-04:00

I am happy to report that yesterday and the day before I did not spend one dime. I need more no spend days. Today I did go to the pet store and get food, cat litter, and a new bed for one of my cats so I spent about $42.

One Year Blog Anniversary

2008-07-01T09:06:00.004-04:00

Last Sunday, June 29th was the one year anniversary of my blog. In the past year I have learned much about my financial habits. I mostly realized that I have a harder time NOT spending money than I thought I did. As you can see above, I have only managed to add a measly $907 to my emergency cash funds in 12 months. That is a real eye opener.

My net worth did increase more than $21,000 but that was mainly due to the paydown of debt. My assets increased but the increase was tempered by the downturn in the stock market.

This is just another reminder that I need to buckle down and SAVE!!!

I have enjoyed blogging this past year. My original goal was to blog while I was paying down debt and now that I have done that I have paid my credit debt down I plan to keep blogging at least until I get $10,000 in my emergency fund. I project that it will be in the first half of next year before that happens though. Even then I will probably keep blogging along to hold myself accountable for my financial actions.

To those of you who may enjoy reading about my good decisions and bad decisions, please feel free to comment whenever you like.

What about personal accountability?

2008-06-25T09:59:00.004-04:00

I am constantly amazed by the stories of people who get themselves into incredible amounts of debt but blame the credit card companies for making it too easy. That is like blaming McDonald's because you are overweight.

There is an article in today's USA Today that demonstrates my point. Yes, people were granted more credit but just like the 400 lb man driving past the fast food restaurant...he doesn't have to stop and eat.

See the excerpt below.

"Kenna and Richard Baker of Des Moines say that as their home's value rose, they were barraged with offers for home equity loans and credit cards. They opened up new credit cards.
They also refinanced their mortgage twice and withdrew cash to pay off existing card bills and make home improvements.
But as the economy weakened and Richard's pay as a delivery driver fell, they used their cards again for necessities. "We had to pay the gas bill on cards one month or we'd get cut off," says Kenna Baker, 44.
Today, the Bakers owe $30,000 on credit cards and $105,000 on a home worth only $63,000. They blame themselves but also say lenders share responsibility for "making it so easy" to borrow."

My Upromise account update

2008-06-24T09:51:00.002-04:00

I joined the Upromise program in April 2007 with the hopes of helping to pay down my student loan. In the 14 months since joining I have earned $10.77 with another $3.00 not yet posted. I am earning less than $1 per month but I get that is better than nothing.

I do not use the Upromise branded credit card and that appears to be a way to accumuluate a lot more in an account. Hopefully within the next year some of my savings will transfer to my loan account.

A weekend of spending out of control

2008-06-23T09:30:00.002-04:00

This weekend I felt like I had no control over my spending. It was my onw fault really and I need to learn from it.

The problem started on Friday morning when I decided that I "needed" to buy 2 new pairs of jeans because they were half-price at $29.50.

Later that day I bought a $149 subscription for the local Broadway series. Admittedly, the $149 covers 6 shows over the next year and will get me in to shows for less than $25 a ticket. Maybe that was not such a bad purchase.

Friday night my girlfriend treated me to a concert at which I purchased a bottle of wine and two bottles of water. In retrospect, I could have done without the wine.

On Saturday, we used gift cards to to get into see the movie Ironman and then I felt I "needed" a soda and popcorn for another $10. I could have done without them. We then went to the mall where I spent $30 on a case for my iPod. I didn't really need it but I may protect it from damage. After the mall we went over to a friends house and I brought side items for $5. The $5 in side items were not an issue because I did not have to purchase my dinner.

On Sunday I had lunch at a local eatery for $9. I guess that is not a problem either as I had just been on a long bike ride and was 20 miles from home.

As I write this post I see that I should have saved the $22 from the concert and the $10 from the movies, and the $30 iPod case. The jeans will last me for several years and I really did get a good deal on them. $62 of questionable spending. I need to get these kinds of spending leaks under better control. Feeling bad about the spending is a good sign to me though because there was a time in my life when I would not have thought twice about it.

T. Rowe Price Familiy Organizer Offer

2008-06-20T13:48:00.003-04:00

I do not have my retirement accounts or any other account at T. Row Price but I have taken advantage of their generous offer to send out a Family Records Organizer CD-Rom.

It can be used with a PC or a Mac. Basically, it is a great tool to organize your financial and medical records in one place. It also lets you store online user names and passwords so that if anything were to happen to you your family members could access your accounts.

This tool is not a replacement for a will or anything of that sort but I have found it to be useful.

Click on the link and order one for yourself if you are interested.

Real estate values

2008-06-20T10:40:00.002-04:00

As I have mentioned in this blog before, I plan to sell my townhouse early next year. My next door neighbor has hers on the market right now. She originally listed it at $270,000 but now it is sitting at $265,000. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she doesn't have to go much lower.

We both bought our places in early 2006 for $247,500. We live close to downtown in a desirable historic neighborhood. Those are pluses in this market especially with gas at $4 a gallon.

I am being pessimistic with my anticipated sales price and figuring out how much I will lose when I sell it. On the bright side, when I move into my girlfriend's house, my monthly housing costs will decrease by about $1,200 per month. That will make the loss on the townhouse a little easier to swallow.

My car value

2008-06-19T09:54:00.003-04:00

I have recently updated the value of my car in my net worth schedule. According to Edmunds.com my car is worth about $15,400 in its current condition and with its current mileage. I have rounded the figure down to an even $15,000. That is about $1,000 lower than last time I checked the value about 9 months ago.

I owe less than $7,400 on the car and plan to pay it off when I get my federal tax refund early next year. The scheduled pay off date is October 2009 so I will be paying it off about 7 months early.

Many people do not include the value of their cars in their net worth due to the fact that cars are depreciating assets. My feelings are that yes they do depreciate and wear out but it is still something that I could sell for cash if I needed to. I plan to keep this car for quite a while. I am looking forward to not having a $510 monthly car payment!

My emergency fund

2008-06-17T09:50:00.002-04:00

I hate to even admit it but I have nowhere near 3 to 6 months of expenses in my emergency fund. In fact, I only have about 1 month of expenses in it. For the past year I have been trying to stash money away somewhat unsuccessfully. I have managed to payoff my credit cards so now I need to focus on my emergency fund.

This needs to be a priority of all of us who do not have adequate funds set aside n the event of a sudden expense. I need to talk to my girlfriend and tell her of my goal so that she will understand if I am reluctant to spend money. One thing I need to do is to get my spending under control. I seem to regularly exceed my monthly allowance. Spending and saving are all inter-related..

The $5 Plan

2008-06-16T08:57:00.002-04:00

I recently read about a couple that saves every $5 bill that comes in to their possession. I think that is a great idea and I am considering doing the same. My only issue is that I feel strapped right now as it is between the $1,210 every 4 weeks that goes into my 401K, the $100 a month that I put in my Roth IRA and the $600 a month I am trying to put in my emergency fund.

You would think that an income of over $100,000 per year would make it easy to save. It is so true...it is not what you make, but what you save. I have an expensive (by my standards) mortgage of $1,843 per month including homeowner dues and taxes and a car payment of $510 per month along with a student loan payment of $140 per month. It all adds up.

Anyway, the $5 idea is something to strive for so I am going to give it a try.

Are we headed for a recession or already in one?

2008-06-11T15:52:00.003-04:00

The news is so mixed on this subject. Economists say we are not in a recession but the average American is feeling it. As for myself, I feel a general unease about the price of gas, the housing market, and job losses. I feel my own job is not at risk but that does not put me out of the woods.

The stock market has been very rough the past week and I am not hearing anything positive in the news. I do know that I need to buckle down and save more for a rainy day. I don't have any revolving credit card debt but without an adequate emergency fund that could change in an instant.

I think most Americans are feeling the unease that I feel. I drove my car to work today but I have been riding the train once or twice a week to save gas. CNN has an article on their website today discussing how more people are using public transportation at anytime since 1957. The $75 a month I budget for gas will now only let me fill up less than 1.5 times per month.

My current living arrangements

2008-06-10T12:27:00.004-04:00

I have been dating someone for several months now and at the present we spend most every night together if we are not traveling for work. Basically, I spend my time at her house for a variety of reasons and I am fine with that. I am still having to pay a mortgage and utilities at my own place though. I have raised the thermostat and unplugged the televisions to save electricity.

The plan is to eventually move in together in 8 months or so. I am going to have to sell my townhouse and I will probably take a loss on the sale. I am fine with that because once I do sell my place and start paying half of her mortgage my housing costs will decrease about $1,200 per month not including utilities. It will take my about a year to recoup a $15,000 loss at that rate.

I am keeping my fingers crossed with the housing crisis. My townhouse is in a historic neighborhood close to downtown and that should be a plus with the price of gas. I am able to take the train to downtown from where my girlfriend lives and that is a really good thing with $4.00 gas. I am thinking about canceling my monthly parking which should save me the $110 monthly parking fees less the daily cost of parking at $4.00 a day if I drive. The train cost $3.50 round-trip. I have to admit I have gottne spoiled with the in-out priveledges of the monthly parkers.

May 2008 Spending

2008-06-09T12:01:00.003-04:00

My income for the month was higher due to having 3 paychecks in the month as apposed to the usual two paychecks per month. My father also sent me a $25 check for my birthday. The big category for the month was Pets. Due to my travel I had to spend $396 to have my cats boarded and I also had to refill the insulin Rx for my diabetic cat ($156 for insulin and syringes). My car expenses were higher than normal due to my having to renew my car tag.

I am still spending too much in the allowance category and I am not sure what to do about it. I spent less than I brought home for the month but my year to date spending exceeds what I have brought home on a year to date basis. I have a ways to go. My savings is really suffering too. I really need to revamp my thoughts on what is important to me as far as spending goes.

Here today gone tomorrow

2008-06-09T09:27:00.002-04:00

Thanks to the 394 point drop in the Dow on Friday, I am sure my net worth has dropped off dramitically. I am afraid to even look at it. I will wait until the end of the month to tally up the damage.

Transportation costs

2008-06-05T10:18:00.004-04:00

At $4.00 for a gallon of gas I have been finding alternative ways to work. Twice this week I have worked from home and once I have taken public transportation at $3.50 a day. Due to travel last month I only had to fill my tank once and spent $50 on gas for the whole month. My current budget calls for $75 per month on gas. The only way I will be able to comply with that is to continue to take public transportation and work from home whenever possible.

May 2008 Net Worth

2008-06-02T19:02:00.002-04:00

What a jump in my net worth in May. The primary reasons are the improvement in the stock market, my annual 401k match was added (approximately $1,600), and the gradual pay down of my outstanding loans. At this rate I may actually reach my year end goal of $135,000 in net worth. I will keep my fingers crossed.

Sorry for the lack of posts

2008-05-29T21:42:00.002-04:00

I have been traveling a lot the past two weeks and have not been able to keep up with my blogging. Next week I am hoping to post my budget to actual expenses and my May 2008 net worth information.

2008 Goals Review

2008-05-20T12:30:00.002-04:00

I have taken a look at my goals for 2008 and it appears that my goal of having a net worth of $135,000 by the end of the year may be attainable if the stock market continues to slowly improve. My goal of $15,000 in emergency savings is probably not going to happen but I will be happy with having $10,000. I will be able to meet my goal of contributing $1,200 to my Roth and I have been able to meet my most important 2008 goal by paying off my credit card debt.

All in all, I am not doing too badly but I need to buckle down on the savings front.

Tax refund receivable

2008-05-14T14:44:00.002-04:00

I am toying with the idea of including my tax refund receivable in my monthly net worth calculations. I figure that I will get at a minimum a $4,000 refund from both my federal and state returns for 2008. That equates to $333 a month to add to the receivable. It is money I am assured to get so I don't see a problem with including it in my net worth.

Many people will say that it is better to have less withheld from my paychecks. I have actually reduced my withholding to keep an additional $100 per month that I have added to my bi-weekly automatic savings. As of April 30th my tax refund receivable was $1,332.

GPS Navigator Deal!!!

2008-05-12T09:29:00.002-04:00

This past Saturday I went to Best Buy and bought my girlfriend a Garmin Nuvi 200 GPS navigator. I feel like it was money well spent because she is so bad with directions. Anyway, the regular price was $219 but it was on sale for $169 then I had a 12% off coupon and $20 in Best Buy Reward Zone certificates.

The entire purchase including sales tax, a carrying case, and a 2 year extended warranty was $195. I think I got a really good deal!

It was an unexpected purchase for the month of May...I did plan to purchase her one later in the year but she is getting ready to go on a long drive so I wanted her to have it for my piece of mind.

I took the train to work today

2008-05-08T10:01:00.003-04:00

In the next 12 months I plan to move in with my girlfriend who lives approximately 20 miles from my work location so today I did an experiment and to the train to work. All in all it was not bad. I think it took a little longer from a time perspective but it was less stressful not having to deal with traffic.

When I start doing it regularly I will buy 20 trips at a time and they will cost me $1.50 each way as opposed to the $1.75 it regularly cost. Yesterday I filled my gas tank up and at $3.79 per gallon it cost more than $50. Not too long ago it cost me less than $30 to fill my tank. That alone is a good reason to take the train to work.

Currently I pay $110 per month for parking in my building. I think by July I will stop paying the monthly parking and use a daily lot at the rate of $5 to $7 a day when I drive in to work. Now I take advantage of the pre-tax parking program so the parking really only cost me about $92 per month but I can also take advantage of the same type of program with the public transportation cost. If I take the train 20 days to work and make 40 trips then the regular price at $1.50 per trip is $60. Using the pre-tax program would make it about $50.

Something to think about.

April 2008 Net Worth

2008-05-06T09:31:00.003-04:00

I broke the $110,000 level in April primarily due to the $5,496 increase in my retirement accounts. I contributed $1,312 and the rest were gains. The accounts still have a long way to go to catch up with last fall and undo the losses that I have experienced over the past 6 months.

I had to borrow from my savings and I hope to put much of that back in the month of May. We will see. My student loan balance finally fell below the $10,000 mark. Hooray!

All in all I hope to have more good months like April soon.

Free at Last!!!

2008-05-02T10:59:00.003-04:00

Today I paid off the last $373 owed on my Citibank Mastercard. I am officially free of credit card debt. I still use my Skymiles Platinum American Express for everyday purchases so I can earn miles toward free flights but that card is paid off every month.

I am wondering what portion of credit card users pay off their balances in full each month? I have had my Citibank card since 1990 and this is the first time in 18 years that I have not had a balance on either my Citibank or some other credit card. Wow!

My next debt goal is to pay off my car loan with my next year's tax refund. Once I pay off my car loan in 9 or 10 months it will free up an additional $510 per month that I can put towards my savings goals.