Category Archive

I feel caught in my web of lies!

No, not really. But I think the time has come to tell T about this blog. It started really as a hobby and I sort of anticipated it dying after a month or two. I mean, I’ve always loved to write, but how much could I write about personal finance? Read any of my early entries and you can see how much effort I put into it. (Heck, even read some of my current entries!) But it hasn’t died yet. I don’t see it dying any time soon. So… now what?

I have many good qualities, but being a completely open book simply isn’t one of them. I occasionally keep weird random secrets about things that don’t even matter. Like a book I’m reading, or a store I visited, or something totally weird. Not secrets, per se, more of a “if they don’t ask, don’t bring it up” sort of thing (and no one has asked “Do you write a blog?), for no reason whatsoever.  This isn’t to say I don’t try to be better about this. I do try to be open., though it goes against my nature. I guess I’m afraid of being made fun of for it, even though I know his character and I know he wouldn’t. I don’t know where I got this neurosis, but it is in my head that writing=weird, and writing on the internet for strangers to read = extra weird. And you know, maybe it is, but everyone is a little weird.

My desire for privacy is very much ingrained in me. Middle child syndrome? Perhaps. I’ve always had secret hiding spots for my diaries, poems and other writings when I was a kid. I don’t like to share my goals/dreams with people until I know that I’m really going to go after them. I simply don’t like people to know all my thoughts.

Maybe he secretly already knows. One day we were talking about some TV show, I think “The Office” as we were walking together, and he said something like “Why don’t you start a blog about it?” My heart jumped into my throat, and I wondered where it came from. Maybe I was just being opinionated about something random. Sometimes when my dad gets on a political rant, I tell him he needs to start a blog, “www.creedthoughts.com” (reference to the Office, again, which he loves).

It just is reaching a point where I should retire my blog or tell him about it. (Or maybe that point was like… 9 months ago.) Of course, this means revealing the nitty gritty details of my finances, which we haven’t exactly done, but isn’t a big deal since we’ve talked about it in non-detail enough.

So how do you do this? How do you say, “Honey, I’ve been writing a personal finance blog. For the past year.” Advice appreciated!

Many twentysomething bloggers have spoke lately about what it is life to try to get through the quarterlife, and why we try to feel in control our lives by controlling our finances. Personal finance isn’t hard. Spend less than you earn, and watch the balances increase. I know that if I save $400 each month, my efund should be about 13k by the end of the year. Easy breezy. I can find answers to my money questions, but what about life questions?

Will the graduate program I applied to accept me? I think they will, but if so, when? It is a distance program, so it is on it’s own wacky schedule and I am tired of waiting.

Will T and I be engaged this summer? It certainly seems that way from conversations and his attitude, but I’ve learned not to try to plan for something like that. Are we ready for this huge next step? Now that it seems so probable, it also seems much scarier. I never worried it would be a mistake, but what if it turns out I’m wrong? How can you know for sure?

Will my parents be ok in their retirement? Or even less certain, will I be ok in mine? Will I even make it to mine?

Will I really get a chance to live abroad in a few years, or is that just something I say I want? Will we really do peace corps in our retirement as we claim, or have I traded that dream in for another?

Does my boss think I’m catching on? Does anyone at work think I’m adding value? What will I be doing in my career in 10 years? Am I smart enough to be successful?

Everyone seems to have it so together, but inside, so many of us are wondering… Am I doing this right?

Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language. Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them. And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.
~Rilke

There are no guarantees in life, at least not for the stuff that matters. So no, that extra money in the bank is no guarantee of anything. It doesn’t answer any real questions, at least not the important ones. However it sure is a lot better than being confused and wondering and also being broke.

The move to wordpress wasn’t quite a smooth as I wanted, but it is (mostly) done. I can’t figure out how to make the permalinks to individual posts redirect themselves (anyone who is savvy on that sort of thing is welcome to clue me in!), but the redirect from the main page works, and your RSS feeds should be unaffected (with the exception of some old posts showing up even if you read them). Let me know if this isn’t true!
Also, I have a blogroll, finally! Let me know if I missed you (I’m sure I missed a few). If you have me on your blogroll, update your link if you so desire. I should have moved to wordpress BEFORE I solicited spots on blogrolls, but… I’m not perfect.

There are still updates to be made. My savings progress bars make no sense and my “About me” is blank… But I like the themes available here a lot better. Much prettier, don’t you think?

I’m quite certain that I wasn’t tagged for this, but I saw a few other bloggers doing it and it seemed fun. I don’t use a traditional wallet. For better or worse, I use a little wristlet that my sister gave me. I stick it in my purse, or if I’m traveling light I put it on my wrist and don’t carry a purse . While it doesn’t have the organizational capabilities of a wallet, I don’t carry too much with me, so it works well.

What is there?

• Drivers License: I just got this about a week ago. I heart California! Also, I so wish I wouldn’t have worn red, as it sort of clashes with the yellow background.
• Cash: I usually don’t carry any cash, but I happened to hit the ATM a few days before, so I have $23. I also have some quarters, which I hoard for laundry money.
• Credit Cards: My awesome pink Discover Card, and a Chase Visa. Also a seldom used Wells Fargo debit card, and a Health Savings Account debit card from my HSA at my last job.
• Library Card: Brand new! No, I’m not afraid that you know that I live somewhere in the vast LA area.
• Ralph’s receipt: It is for Orange Juice. Trader Joe’s was all out of OJ (well, out of the $3 kind, they did have a $5.50 jug) so we swung into Ralph’s. I don’t need this receipt. We don’t need to bring ink and paper into this. I can’t imagine a scenario that I would have to prove that I bought OJ. To some skeptical friend, “Don’t even act like I didn’t get that OJ. I’ve got the documentation right here. It’s in my file at home. Under O.” (So much funnier coming from the late Mitch Hedberg, but if you got that reference, I automatically like you extra.)
• H&M Gift card: It has less than $5 on it, but I put it in there hoping I’ll use it someday…
• AAA card: Because my parents love me and got it for me. Personally, I’d probably join the much greener Better World Club.

I don’t tag you, but if you think this seems fun, feel free to participate!

So…. If you are observant, you might have noticed earlier this week I requested to be added to the blog roll of anyone who regularly reads this, yet didn’t follow through on my promise to create one myself. I’m a bad person! But I have an excuse: I think I’m moving to wordpress, but I’m just not quite ready to move in over there. I hate that you can’t edit the CSS for free, but let’s be honest… I don’t want to deal with editing the code anyway. I’ll get this taken care of SOON, either way.

I’m thinking it is (way past) time to add a blog roll to this site. If I’ve ever commented on your blog, that means I read you and probably will be adding you to the list of blogs I read anyway. But perhaps I have a reader or two whose blogs I have not yet discovered. I have a special interest in twenty-something females, particularly unmarried ones, because I relate best. But of course, I do read all sorts of blogs!

If you want to be added, you can comment on this post, or send me an email.  (See about me for contact.)
I also need to update my sidebars and goals to be current. I like writing, but the backend part of blogging is so unappealing to me. I have a mini-dream of getting a prettier site (wordpress?), but it seems like a lot of work. I also don’t think that I can justify shelling out the cash to pay someone to figure this out for me… So I will do it myself, eventually!

Also, if you do read my blog, please consider adding me to your blogroll if you have one and if you feel like it. Thanks!

In the begining…
Roughly one year ago, I graduated from college and realized that money was more difficult to manage when there was more to do than just show up for financial aid dispersement and spend the money they gave me. I started taking an interest in personal finance, starting with a “Personal Finance for Dummies” book (which really, wasn’t incredibly useful, later sold on Amazon) and listening to Marketplace Money every weekend (which has been useful). From a segment on there, I discovered the blog world. After spending about a month as an avid reader, I decided to start my own blog.

The college years
Let’s review my situation. I did a few things right in college and a few things wrong. There wasn’t a penny saved for my education (nor do I think I’m entitled to it). My parents helped out some, providing me with a car and insurance, along with little bits of money, but mostly, it was funded on loans.

Here’s what I had going for me in those years:

• I had $2000/yr in scholarships and went to a relatively inexpensive state school.
• I worked part time throughout college
• I lived at home for 3 semesters (for free! Thanks mom and dad!)
• I opened a credit card to build credit history, and never carried a balance
• In the later years (once I became smarter with my money), I used money I was eligible for from subsidized federal loans (0% interest) to pay back most of my “alternative loans” that I took out my first year or two.
• I didn’t go on spring breaks. Though some would say I missed out, I haven’t regretted it yet.

Here’s what I could have done better, had I known:

• I took summer school my first two summers and while I worked, I didn’t work full time. This allowed me to get some difficult classes out of the way (and they were a bit easier in the summer), but was a financial mistake. Not only did I not make much money those summers, I also had to take out extra loans to fund them.
• I worked jobs that didn’t pay well when I could have done something better. I worked in retail when, at minimum, I could have been making much much more waitressing.
• I didn’t apply for internships related to my major until after my junior year (these paid around $15/hr), when I might have been able to get one sooner.
• I studied abroad. Worth every penny, but realistically probably added at least $5000 to my student loan debt, maybe more.
• I didn’t finish in four years, but five. To be fair, I took one semester off for an internship (paid), so it was really 4.5 years. And I could have squeezed it in in 4 had I not studied abroad. Also, few people in my major get out in 4 flat, though it isn’t unheard of by any means.
• I could have spent less money (but who couldn’t?)

The after effects of the college years
Here’s where things stand now. My base salary is about $56k, and I’m contributing 10% to my works 401k plan and getting a match on 6% of that. I have a Health Savings Account which I’m contributing $200/month to for the first half of the year, then it will be fully funded for the year. I’m contributing $350/month to a Roth IRA I opened in January (but I started out just contributing 250) with plans of maxing it.

I started working full time in June, and paid off about $6000 of student loan debt in the first six months. The interest rate was around 8% for that chunk of non-federal loans, so I was glad to get rid of them. I consolidated my federal loans through Wells Fargo, and I must say I’m really unhappy with how the process went. In fact, it is still not complete–somehow about $5500 was “forgotten” in the consolidation. I’m waiting for them to finish adding it, but Wells Fargo has left a bad taste in my mouth. Now I’m stuck with them for the life of my student loan.

I opened a savings account at INGDirect after realizing Wells Fargo was paying me .5% on any money I kept there. Later I switched to HSBC for their “new money” at 6% deal, and plan on sticking with it for now. I’m paid bi-weekly, and have $300 from each paycheck automatically deposited in that account.

Here are the numbers, neglecting credit card balance ( always paid in full) and checking account (less than 500 anyway):

• Student Loans at Wells Fargo (currently at 0% interest): $14,800
• Student Loans waiting to be consolidated: (7.14% interest… thanks for screwing up Wells Fargo!): $5446
• Roth IRA: $1100
• 401k: $9057
• HSBC: $4130

The numbers won’t add up exactly, but this includes everything:
NET WORTH: $-6,300

Oh look, it is still red!

I have roughly $2000 coming to me in tuition reimbursement (once I finish my last project) and $300 coming in mail in rebates (what a pain!) from my laptop, so that brings the pretty red number to about $-4000.

Changing those numbers
I’m trying to set a goal for when I’ll see that number turn black. I just recently started tracking everything, and I really have no idea how much each paycheck will affect it. I imagine it’ll be very soon–within months. Today is May 9th, and I think it’ll take at least 4 paychecks to get in the black… so let’s go with June 22nd as the date to be “in the black”.

Let the learning begin!