Stormy weather ahead: Increasing my emergency fund

Meg at World of Wealth wrote a post sure to put a little black cloud over your day. She is advising us all to stockpile cash now. While I don’t necessarily agree with all her points, I can’t make a convincing argument against them either….. Everything mentioned is a possibility.

In short, Meg’s post scared me! These thoughts have been festering for some time now and her post brought them back to the surface. I’m not one to panic and am generally optimistic, but it did prompt me to evaluate my goals for the year. I don’t think this is an irrational panicky reaction to all the doom and gloom as of late, but let me know if you think I’m going overboard.

Let’s talk about my emergency fund goal of $10,000. I think this is quite a respectable little emergency fund for someone my age. Especially if I were still living in Iowa and paying $575 in rent each month, and using about one tank of gas each month. However…. My rent went up by, oh, $900 each month, and my efund goal stayed the same. Is that realistic? Hardly.  I could always go to my family for money, but I don’t really think my parents stockpile cash. I wouldn’t be shocked if I have a bigger emergency fund than they do. They aren’t exactly pf role models, though they are hard workers. Anyway, who wants to borrow money from family? Total last resort. Like, after scrubbing toilets for a living and moving under the bridge. (Well, maybe before that… But only slightly.)

So, what is a more reasonable emergency fund? I’m much more comfortable with at least $15k, probably closer to $20k. I don’t think I’ll regret building up my cash. Eventually, I will want to purchase property, and it takes years to save up for a down payment.

I’m going to alter my 2008 goals. I can leave the $15k retirement contributions as a goal, but count my employer match in that. It is vested immediately, so I’m not counting chickens before they hatch. I wasn’t planning on counting it because it is transparent to me, but it is part of my overall compensation package. I’ll contribute 8% and get a match on 6%, and also fund 5k in a Roth IRA. That’ll bring me in just under $15k.

Next, I’ll knock down my 401k (currently at 14%) by that same 6% and put the difference into my emergency fund. My 2008 year end goal is going to be $15k in my efund (increasing it by about 7k). After that, I’ll evaluate if I want to increase my cash reserves further. Sidebar has been updated

I seem to have problems with yearly goals. I must have goal ADD, because I always change them mid-year. I’m changing them in March, and I didn’t even set them until late January at the earliest. Still, it is silly to stubbornly stick to those goals when these goals make more sense.

Side Note: Mrs. Micah has created a personal finance wiki! Check it out and add your blog if she missed it.

Sink or Swim: New job anxiety

My new job has been making me really anxious. Being new is never fun, and the learning curve is extremely steep. I’m not certain what I’m supposed to be accomplishing on a daily basis. While the overall goal of our project is somewhat defined (though not concretely), where I fit in isn’t. And where I fit in today most certainly isn’t. Worse, I’m not sure who to turn to in order to find out. It is really frustrating.

I have started a new job before, and I have felt this way before–like I’m not being given appropriate tasks and goals. It is frustrating to not be immediately talented at (or even capable of) my job. However, at my last company, I never felt so much like I was thrown in the deep end without a goal or a life raft. Sink or swim! Here is what I”m doing in order to, hopefully, swim.

Hanging in there: This is my current strategy. I’m going to the meetings, and my name is attached to a block diagram I’m supposed to produce by Friday. I feel lost, but at least I have a task this week. Each week is slightly better than the last. These waves of anxiety hit hard, but I have to remember that this feeling is normal in a job like this. When I left my last job, my manager kindly stated that I was one of the top performers, despite having these similar feelings a couple months into my job. It will get better!

Seek Help: I need to do more of this. I have task lead, and even though he seems somewhat inaccessible, I really need to get more direction from him. I also need to work more closely with those on my team–there are some really smart people that I’m working with. I also need to find a mentor (informal or formal)–perhaps the woman I mentioned in this post, truly a self made success. She seems very smart and nice–I think if I offered to buy her a coffee once a month in exchange for some advice, she’d be up for it. It is a little awkward to approach someone and ask for a formal mentorship, but it could pay off.

Find a better fit: The management structure is set up in a way that if this project ultimately does not work out for me, I can talk to my manager and ask to be moved to something else. They had a spot for me to do more traditional work on another program, but I opted to work on this. If we win, this program is the future of our company and I have the chance to get in on the ground floor. This task is a pain, but the whole program is really key to our company. Still, I can’t help but wonder if I would be making more of a meaningful contribution on the other (easier) program. I recognize that this specific task is only through June. If it doesn’t work out, we will find something that does.

Recognize that I’m learning: I’m stretching the limits of my knowledge, and learning about an area I’ve always been interested in. It is stressful and hard, but when/if I get a handle on things, it will be extremely rewarding.

Did you ever feel like this in your job? Did I miss any other things I should be doing?