You are currently browsing the monthly archive for August 2008.
Whew! We made it!!
That is what I have to say about August. My net worth increased by about $1000, but only in my retirement category. Most of my short term savings isn’t tracked in my net worth, but my car fund is, so that hurt my cash for the month.
My budget spreadsheet is ugly this month, so I’m keeping it to myself. The goal for next month to bring all my short term savings account into the black. A few are red (clothes and travel).
Here are my August goals. I didn’t do too bad on them. I need to be more focused in September. Fewer goals with more meaning!
1. Continue running, get new shoes, run in the a.m. before work at least three times (hey, I’m not a morning person, it is a start). Yes, but only once in the a.m. Did not go well!
2. Stay in vacation budget while having a blast. Yes
3. Start side job. No, not really. Not my fault though.
4. Schedule doctors appointment, and dentist too. Yes, for Thursday
5. Figure out cable/internet situation. Yes, new bill is $36.
6. Fill out transfer credit request form for school No
7. Oh, and get a student ID card Yes. Well no. I got the photo taken.
8. Have a happy interim review Yes, it went well
9. Get my free miles No, but I will this month
10. Work extra hours before and after vacation to flex time. Yes
11. Sign up for career development class. Yes, it was pretty interesting
I’m excited for a fresh month!
An unemployed man who off has a PhD and 13 years of experience: “Well, I’m making about $110 now, but that isn’t necessarily firm. I’m really just hoping to find a job I like.”
Ok, I guess in this economy, that isn’t awful to admit.
Except he followed up with: “Maybe at least $80k.”
Woah. What? You are willing to take what entry level PhD’s are (probably) making?? And even if you ran your budget numbers and calculated that you could live on $80k, and you decided for yourself you would accept as low as $80k… don’t tell them that! Especially not at the phone screen stage!
Yikes. I think he was caught off guard, but you should be prepared to answer that question (or rather, to deflect it if possible).
You know those “how to handle a windfall” posts you sometimes see? I would never have the question! I have a million options of what to do with a windfall, and I sure go for one right now. Instead, I’ve create my own by slashing my Roth IRA contribution for September to $0. An instant $308 windfall for the month of September! (Yes, I know this isn’t really a windfall. Leave me alone, it is the best I can do!)
I looked at how much I have contributed so far this year ($4055), and realized that I’d only have to put about $315 in Oct.-Dec. to reach the max (and my goal). My budget states $308 already. I can manage that! I put some extra money in one month this summer when I was feeling flush (May?) with the idea that I’d be thankful in December. Turns out, I’m thankful much sooner.
The magic of compound interest? Of course, the market could turn around any day, but I am feeling less secure about my savings stash than my retirement stash, so the e-fund contributions will stay and the Roth will be put on hold. I wish I knew more about the security of my job, but I’m young, bright, and talented (if I don’t say so myself). If I was let go, I could find something else. Right? (By the way, I do not find compound interest magical. It is powerful, but magic??? Come on, it is just math!) Besides, my E-fund has compound interest as well, with equal amounts of magic (none).
That $308 will be diverted to the travel fund, which still may be slightly below zero until November, if I buy my plane ticket. Travel spending should decline heavily after that, and be built up to a respectable level, even if I do buy some hiking gear. No vacations/trips are planned until roughly next spring (except Christmas and minor camping trips).
By the way, the next extra paycheck month is October, not December. I have no idea where I got that idea, but that makes me happy. I’ll easily be able to replenish some of my short term savings accounts that month. I also emailed my bank, and my student loan might be differed as soon as October 1st, but no later than November 1st. That is $141 that can be allocated elsewhere, though I (sort of) plan to allocate $75 to go in my dedicated student loan payoff account so my payments don’t rise when I complete school.
I’m not a tax expert, nor am I sure why I’m thinking about taxes in August.
Well, actually I am sure. I’ve had two married couples tell me how great of a tax deal it was for them to get married, and I was confused. I’d heart that there was once a marriage penalty, and I’ve heard that it was eliminated, but a marriage tax break? I wouldn’t be surprised, given the favorable tax treatment the government uses to promote homeownership and families.
I researched it a little online, and got confused. Intuitively, I thought marriage would be transparent to taxes, but that is not the case. I suppose it would get complicated when you had shared deductions, but to me it would just make sense for two non-marrieds to have the same tax burden as before, once they tied the knot.
I came to the conclusion that the reason both couples saw being married is a tax perk is because only one of them is working. Their logic of saying that it is a tax benefit is a little skewed, because they pretty much forfeited one person’s salary for this so called “break”. It’s like quitting your job to save $8000 a year.
I did glance at the brackets, and I’m not exactly sure where they came from, but I’m sure someone did some math and decided these were fair. I hope so, at least.
In summary, here’s what I think about taxes:
- Our tax system is complicated and confusing
- The mortgage interest tax deduction is not good, and did not originate for the reasons people assume. Our tax treatment fuels the idea that everyone should be a homeowner as soon as possible. However is too ingrained in the system to be done away with.
- Some redistribution of the wealth is good for a stable society. Communism is not, but a strong middle class makes for stable and strong countries. I’m not talking Robin Hood, but people shouldn’t go hungry.
- Taxes need to go up and/or spending needs to go down. We can’t fund a war and all our social programs
- Single does not equal to married/2. Tax math is not so simple.
The numbers aren’t adding up very well this month. I think I said that last month! The next couple months are looking (financially) bleak as well.
I pretty much demolished my car fund with a new tire and new front breaks. You don’t mess around when your breaks make noise, but I hated swiping my card.
I also finally got my hair cut, and regret not going to a less expensive place. The stylist did a good job, I probably could have got by paying half as much.
Earlier this month, there were the running shoes for $140, then vacation, for $450 of this month’s budget. We also have been buying a lot of camping/backpacking gear. A lot. Probably over $200 this month (!) and I still am eying a camping pad. Backpacking, once you have the basics, does not have to be an expensive hobby. You can make it expensive by always buying the latest gear and gadgets, but you don’t have to. Unfortunately, getting the basics is not cheap, and you can’t buy the lowest quality. After the pad, I still need a better backpack and footwear, but I’m still unsure of what I want, and I don’t want to buy wrong. That will be the end of it, and I’m thinking of putting it on my birthday/Christmas wish list.
Still, we should be able to fulfill our wanderlust by exploring the wilderness of the west coast for the next couple years. There are a ton of places we could drive to within a day, and we both love camping, and are really excited about backpacking. We are doing a trial overnight trip this weekend (excited!), our first attempt at camping without a car!
This is total bad pf blogger ethics, but I’m thinking of skipping or lowering my Roth IRA contribution for September to help balance things out. I will make up the difference with the extra paycheck in December, or sooner. I haven’t committed to that yet, but I can’t stand to operate with my travel fund in the red, and I shouldn’t need to buy any more tickets/hotels Oct-December. Another option is to slash the e-fund contributions for the month, or see what happens with my student loan. I don’t think the deferment (0% interest) kicks in until November. There really aren’t any actual spending areas that could be cut too much at this point.
This won’t be an entertaining story, as nothing entertaining happened related to personal finance. That is, nothing entertaining that I feel like sharing on a blog!
Our first day in Vegas we were going about seeing the hotels. We had discovered the night before that even though two hotels may be right next to each other, they could still be a 20+ minute walk due to them being absolutely GIANT. We opted to take my car, due to the heat. If we didn’t have the car, we probably would have taken the shuttle.
We drove to New York New York to ride the roller coaster, but opted out when we discovered it was $14 (well, I knew this and already planned on not going). We decided the rides at the Stratosphere tower would be much coooler (and they were! Go at night!). We toured around a bit, then walked back to the parking garage, where we discovered my passengers side front tire was completely FLAT!
Oh, remember how I got my tire repaired a few weeks ago? Same tire! The repair had failed (probably due to the extreme heat + long car trip)! I offered to call AAA (still under my parents), but the boys said that was silly and put on my spare for me.
I used my trusty GPS to locate a tire fixing place, and called the number to verify the location and hours. You wouldn’t beleive how many times I’ve showed up at an address to a place that had moved or closed, especially restaurants. (Life lesson? Remember GPS maps are often a couple years old and verify that places still exist.) They said to come on over, and they immediately recommended a new tire, due to the location of the nail hole.
Being me, I had no clue what tires cost, but they told me it would be $80 for tire and installation. I asked T if I should get a second tire, so I don’t have one new tire and 3 older ones, but he said no. Turns out the store only had one matching tire anyway, so we bought it.
It makes me annoyed that I paid $17 last month to repair a nail hole, when I could have just got the new tire then. However, it makes me glad that the flat happened in the parking lot, not while we were driving through the Arizona desert miles from anywhere that would fix the tire.
Personal finance lesson? When it comes to tires, be sure to ask whether or not the repair actually is the best option. My car fund is really pathetic, considering it isn’t just for repairs, but also for (someday) a new car. I don’t think $300 is going to go far. As soon as the year is over, I need to reevaluate that goal.
Ok, one more story! The second night at the grand canyon, there was a huge storm. You might have heard of hikers in the Canyon being airlifted out! That was not us, we were on the rim. I say I miss midwestern thunderstorms, but not when I’m in a tent! At one point, when the storm was at its heaviest, a bolt hit somewhat nearby, and T exclaimed “Woah! Did you see that!” From under my sleeping bag, I replied, “No! I’m hiding!!” We moved to the car when the rain tapered, and another round of lightening came and went. We awoke to an incredibly muddy campsite, but our tent kept us nice and dry. Did you know that there are monsoons in the middle of the desert? I didn’t either!
Personal finance lesson? A $50 tent can keep you dry! (We did have a tarp on the ground to help.) With that in mind, we are still shopping for a nice 4 season lightweight backpacking tent.
I have mentioned before I sort of hate buying shoes. Except, I actually kind of love my new brown work flats, and I got them for just $31! I really liked the shoes suggested by a Money Maus, the Dafa wedge, but found the Moisha flat to be $40 cheaper. I like flats, so I went with those, and I am no longer ashamed to be wearing my shoes in public. That is a good first step!
Now my question: Would it be dumb to get it in black also, assuming my size was also $31 $25? Should I wait, and try to find a different style shoe in black? Should I also get them in a silvery/grey color for $26 $21? I found these for about $50 $40, which I like, but I’m not sure I like them better. Still, they are likely better quality shoes, retailing at almost $150. And they are European, how chic! 
I’ve bought the same shoe in multiple colors before, but somehow it seems like I should add some variety.
What do you think?
Update: I think I’ll go with the other black ones. I do like the silvery gray, but I don’t really need shoes in that color (though I want them!) and I’m really trying to stick to clothing I need.
Vacation == good. Spending analysis to come, once I feel like my head is screwed back on straight.
My kitchen is a mess, though I did leave it clean before we left. I guess I made it messy in the short time I’ve been back. My laundry basket sits at the foot of my bed, full of camping dirty clothes.
This week is going to be busy. Work is busy, we are preparing for some sort of little review next week, and since I was gone four 4 days, I’m feeling behind. Luckily, I’m trying to work some extra hours to keep my vacation balance at a maximum level. Oh, and that second job thing… I can probably start to do some small amounts of work this week, though to be really effective I need my coworker to ship me something.
I also signed myself up for a little after work career development class. My manager forwarded the e-mail to me (and others), so I figured I may as well go to it. It is just four nights for 3 hours each night. It is supposed to be for young professionals at my company, and in theory, I’m trying to meet new friends my age, so it can’t hurt.
I say “in theory”, because it takes so much energy, and I just am not interested in the normal things I see people my age doing to meet each other. (Namely, sports. I hate sports, and I can’t help it, and I don’t want to!) I like running/swimming/outdoors activities, but should I really join beach volleyball just to meet people? It isn’t that I hate beach volleyball, I just don’t love it enough to devote an evening a week to it. You know? I’m a nice person. I’m fun and reasonably normal (T may disagree…). I don’t talk about personal finance in inappropriate situations. It just is difficult starting from scratch, and sometimes, doesn’t seem worth the social effort. Also, there is a bit of what I consider a “boys club”, still. Maybe that is just an excuse, but I swear I always see groups of guys hanging out. It just seems easier. A larger, more prevalent pool of similar people to meet.
Oh, is this a personal finance blog? Well, let me steer back towards career development, at least.
The class will likely be worthless in material (maybe not though!), but all I have to sacrifice is my time. It can be one tiny mark on my year end review. We had mid-year check-up reviews, and all the feedback was positive. It is good, but I still feel new and I have a difficult time quantifying what I do.
By years of experience, I should be eligible for a promotion this fall, but I’m not sure how to ensure I get one. I’m not sure how difficult it is. I know the company policy, but I don’t know the politics. If I ask, I get a BS answer like “do the work of the next level up, then you’ll be promoted.” But the description for one level up is essentially the same, except do the job with more expertise and experience. So, what specifically do I have to do?
I sort of liked college, where you’d get regular homework and grades with constant feedback, and it was clear what needed to be done in order to ace the class. I guess it is sort of the same in the work world–do what you do better than everyone else. Excpet, in school, you actually could just do the best, and it was objective. At work, you have to make sure the higher ups know (or think!) that you are the best.
Several bloggers thank their top referrers and commenters on a monthly basis. I’ve never done this, and I don’t know if I’ll be doing it monthly, but I do want to say thanks to those who have sent readers my way! These are my top referers this quarter (however wordpress defines a quarter):
1. An English Major’s Money, whose superb writing skills and unique entries make her blog stand out.
2. Give Me Back My Five Bucks, where Krystal has frequent and entertaining updates: a recent debate about bridesmaid “duties”, and lots of talk about job searching.
3. Well-Heeled, who not only has been working hard to further her career, but also manages to find great deals on cute shoes!
4. Chicky Finance, who describes her journey out of debt with upbeat posts.
5. Need To Be Debt Free, where I’m always a little baffled at his approach to finances, but admire the strength they’ve had to try to get on track.
6. Not Living On Ramen, where E.C. is starting a new adventure participating in Teach For America!
7. Saving My Bacon, who I admit, I haven’t actually read yet. Oh no!! Will subscribe now and check her out!
8. World of Wealth, where Meg writes well thought out posts on a variety of personal finance issues. I admire her ambition for success and the fact that she already has two real estate investment properties!
9. Frugal Bachelor, who always has unique things to say about personal finance topics. Lately his posts are smattered with mentions of his recent adventures traveling around the world. His style may not be for everyone (sort of the anti-”Simple Dollar” in tone), but I find it quite amusing.
10. Fabulously Broke in the City, always entertaining with pretty much the best link round ups out there (food+money+fashion+decorating+whatever). Even when I’m not included!
Thanks guys! Also, thanks to everyone on my blogroll, and everyone who comments regularly! Or anyone who comments at all! I really appreciate it! And as you read this (or as, this goes live) I’m likely sweating my butt off at the Grand Canyon!!!! Have a great weekend everyone!
Have you heard of the College Money Network? A group of college students and recent grads have banded together to provide YOU with helpful posts. They are running a sweet contest, asking bloggers (and blog readers) to share their best money management ideas for students. Check out the various members of the network for more ways to get extra entries. I am feeling lucky, and would really love a new Ipod Nano, so here is what I think every college student needs to hear to help your finances long term
The most important thing you can do while you are in school is make yourself employable for graduation. Don’t spend four years of their life (and who knows how much money) with nothing to show for it but friendships and photos (which are invaluable, but won’t pay your rent). Here are my tips for preparing for life after graduation. Feel free to add your own tips in the comments!
Make a resume as soon as you can. I didn’t make one until I was at least a sophomore. My boyfriend made one when he was a freshman. Because of that, he scored an internship after his freshman year, something that few people in our major are able to do. Take advantage of your career center and helpful friends and family members who have done a resume before.
Join some extracurriculars that interest you. Sample many activities, but you’ll likely end up spending most of your time on one or two. Look within your own department, there can be good networking opportunities there.
Get to know your professors, if possible. Some schools are good for this, and more, some classes. You may not have luck in a lecture class with 300 freshman, but in your major classes you should have better luck. Through chatting with my professors and doing well in school, I got the chance to be a paid lab researcher for a semester, a paid lab teaching assistant for another, and some nice letters of recommendation when I applied to graduate school.
Keep your grades up. I had a lot of classmates say that employers prefer well rounded students to high GPAs to justify less studying. This may be true, depending on where you are applying. However, there is no rule that says you can’t have a high GPA and be well-rounded! Find the methods of studying that work best for you. Sometimes it helps to study in groups (other times it is distracting, at least it was with my friends!), sometimes it helps to redo all the homework problems, and sometimes it is brute memorization. Don’t be afraid to use the professors office hours, and not just the day before the exam.
Study abroad. This isn’t for everyone, but I highly recommend everyone at least consider it. Think you can’t afford it? It is likely your school has exchange programs that make it almost equivalent. You may even be able to get a scholarship. Not only will this give you something interesting to talk about in your job interviews, it will be the time of your life.
Consider working part time, if you can, particularly if you can find something in your field (see “get to know your professors”). Not only will this provide extra spending money, it’ll force you to organize your time, and it demonstrates to a future employer you’ve got your stuff together. During my first interview for an internship, they commented not only on my school work, but the fact that I worked as a waitress and was used to dealing with, well, pretty much anyone. Don’t do this if your grades, activities, or happiness will suffer too much, but I knew a lot of people who were able to pull off part time jobs.
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