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I do not come from a wealthy family. My parents do alright–a nurse and an electrician–but probably lean more towards working class than middle class. I’m from the Midwest, and a chunk of my relatives are from a small town (about 20,000 people) in a relatively unpopulated typical Midwestern state. We went back to visit for the hoidays this year, and apparently my dad had been talking about my new job with his relatives.

Aunt: So, the big move is coming up! You are going to be a California girl! Did they give you a large enough starting salary?
Me: Yeah, I think it should be enough. It is expensive there, but I’ll be okay.
Aunt: Oh yeah…. Well your dad was just saying that he didn’t think that they gave you enough. With the rent increase and all.
Me: :::awkward silence::: No, no… It should be enough. I mean, where I live now is really cheap, but I’ll be able to afford to live there.

In this blog, I have no problems stating how much I’m making. Yet this conversation with my aunt made me extremely uncomfortable for a couple reasons. First, it is someone I know in real life, and I’m not anonymous. I don’t particularly like sharing salary information with friends and family. However the biggest reason was the particular audience. My aunt is in her late thirties and is a substitute teacher. She has a 5 year old son which she raises, though the father is still somewhere in the picture. I don’t know how much money she might make in a given year, but I would venture it’s roughly 1/3 of my new salary. Maybe less.

When I got my first job, my dad shared the exact numbers with his family, probably only because he was so proud. After that, I asked him not to discuss my salary with his relatives, and I don’t think he gave exact numbers this time. He’s just a talker, and he’s proud of me. Besides, what she was saying is partially true. The salary increase just barely offsets the rent increase, and with taxes and other expenses, I’m probably coming out slightly behind. I don’t resent that. There is some price to pay for perfect weather and the great nature, being blocks from the ocean. There is a price to pay for not having to scrape ice off my windows and wear three layers of pants. But it isn’t as though I’ll be struggling.

I think each generation hopes that the next will be better off than them. At the same time, it might be difficult for them to see without some twinge of envy, even if they truly are proud.

It has been a hectic few weeks, and I hope to have some serious posts as life returns to normal. However, normalcy probably won’t truly settle in for awhile–I’m moving over 2000 miles to a new home this month! Still, vacation mode is over and things should be more normal around here. Here is a round up of my financial status for the past couple weeks.

I spent roughly $410 on Christmas presents

• $60 for my mom: Contributed to a GPS with my sistesr
• $55 for my dad: XM radio subscription
• $25 for my grandparents: Applebees giftcard
• $20 for a drinks for my friends
• $60 each for two of my sisters: Mostly clothes and make-up
• $40 for my boyfriends family (including shipping): A nice blanket and random treats
• $70 for the boyfriend: A nice zip up university sweatshirt he had coveted
• $30 for my sisters boyfriend: Sweatshirt
• $30 for my brother in law: Gift card to best buy
• $20 for my nephew: A baby bible and color book

There was an additional $100 in other random Christmas expenses: Gas to get to my sister’s and back, a cheap Christmas day train ticket, and a few meals for me and my sister.

I spent $555 (not including previously purchased $400 plane ticket) on new years eve vacation which lasted about five days. About $100 of it was due to me paying for my boyfriends share of things, since he is a poor grad student and I have a real job, and I wanted him to join us on all activities. Luckily, there was no hotel costs since we stayed in his apartment. (I do not currently live in the same city as him, hence the move.)

• $170 on food
• $125 on car rental and gas
• $200 on alochol and going out (yikes!), including a somewhat pricey New Years Eve
• $60 on general entertainment

My net worth increased by about $3000 in December despite all that spending and despite my $500 security deposit for my new place being taken out. Not only did I have my regular paychecks, I had about $5000 in a year end incentive bonus as income. That definitely helped things along. Anyway, I did update my NetworthIQ page, so feel free to click on over for details.

Did I meet my year end goals? What are my new goals? I have to review whether or not I met my 2007 goals. I think I met some of them, but not all. I need to rework my 2008 goals and decide what I want to do financially this year.

The last thing to mention is today’s small impulse buy. In a spur of the moment decision, I raced to Walmart and picked up a humidifier and cold medicine at about 11:00 pm tonight. Yes, I’m a little sick. The humidifier was only about $25, but I obviously did not buy quality, nor did I research the best deals. I also sort of dislike Walmart, but nothing else was open and I felt really crappy. Now, time for bed, as it is back to work tomorrow for my last few days.

I went out and about today and completed the majority of my Christmas shopping. I picked out a really cute sweater/shrug and tank top for my sister and bought one in another color for myself as well. I usually never pay full price for my clothes from stores like Express, and I feel horribly guilty about it. Anyway, I went back the store and returned one sweater, but with the idea that I’d come back and buy it with the coupon they awarded me (which isn’t valid until tomorrow).

Now I’m having doubts. First, I really should return the tank top because it is over priced, even for a gift. Second, I shouldn’t buy myself a set. Should I? If I buy myself a set, it’ll cost $135 for both of us, so about $68 each. Or I could spend $80 total (what I currently have spent) and not buy myself one. Though the “gift” budget was only supposed to be $50 for sisters. Or I could spend $105 and get two sweaters but only one tank top.

I obviously do not need the sweater. I recently got to buy some clothes from H&M using a gift card I received for my birthday. On the other hand, I rarely buy myself new clothes, and when I do I don’t buy anything over $30 usually. I think in my head, “I deserve this! I got a big bonus this year and haven’t spent any of it on myself.” Which is true. . . But that doesn’t mean I need to buy this. Perhaps I would get more enjoyment out of saving the $68. Or spending it on something else. I am going on a nice new years vacation where plenty of spending will happen. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow, which usually runs me about $110 (including tip) if I don’t get my eyebrows waxed…

I think I’m going to punch in my numbers for December spending so far, and from there decide if I should keep it or not…

Do any of you agonize so much over an $80 purchase??

• Resume tracking of spending!
• Limit groceries to $30/week or less and restaurants to $75 total
• Study for and do well on midterm for my grad class

Pathetic as it is, that is all I am going to do for goals. I have to buy Christmas presents starting this month, so I don’t think I’ll be able to save as much as I would love to.

In better news, my company announced it’s profits for last quarter, and it looks like my year end incentive bonus might be about $3000 after taxes, and should arrive in very early December. That could be the final kick I’ll need to meet my goal for 10k in my high yeild savings and 4k in student loan repayment!