Happy Independence Day to all the Americans out there (and Happy Friday to everyone else)! Celebrate safely, and enjoy the fireworks. As for me, I'm spending my 4th of July singing backup for people like Hayley Westenra and Huey Lewis on the Capitol lawn. Should be a good concert if you want to check it out!
Back to regular posts next week. I'm on my way to being healthy again, and as I'm sure I've spent a fortune on various cold remedies, probably on my way to a very tight budget for the rest of the month!
Friday, July 4, 2008
Thursday, July 3, 2008
June Net Worth (-2.0%)
Across the board, it seems like PF bloggers who post their net worth are seeing a loss this month. My investment and retirement accounts dropped by 7.61%. It's a bit disheartening, to be honest, but it doesn't mean I'm going to change anything. For the most part, my investments are designed for the long haul. I won't need my retirement accounts for years, so I will continue my normal contributions.
I finally became eligible for the matching in my TSP this last pay period, so that was an exciting moment. It's almost like getting a 5% raise, if you think about it. Just a 5% raise that I can't touch for a number of years.
I showed a very solid increase in my cash accoints, which means that my plans to spend less and save more are going well. I do have a few big bills coming up this month (car insurance, for example), but because I've been using YNAB and setting aside a small amount of money every month in preparation for the bill, so I'm not concerned.
The plan for this month? Just keep on keeping on.
I finally became eligible for the matching in my TSP this last pay period, so that was an exciting moment. It's almost like getting a 5% raise, if you think about it. Just a 5% raise that I can't touch for a number of years.
I showed a very solid increase in my cash accoints, which means that my plans to spend less and save more are going well. I do have a few big bills coming up this month (car insurance, for example), but because I've been using YNAB and setting aside a small amount of money every month in preparation for the bill, so I'm not concerned.
The plan for this month? Just keep on keeping on.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Under the weather
No new post today. I've been battling a cold for a few weeks now, and it's really got me knocked out, so I'm taking the day to relax on my couch before I head off to rehearsals for A Capitol Fourth.
I've discovered that while finding a doctor in D.C. is hard, once you actually have one, it's still not easy to get an appointment. However, I seem to have found a great doctor who was willing to get all of my symptoms and then prescribe antibiotics without me having to go in. I cannot complain.
I've discovered that while finding a doctor in D.C. is hard, once you actually have one, it's still not easy to get an appointment. However, I seem to have found a great doctor who was willing to get all of my symptoms and then prescribe antibiotics without me having to go in. I cannot complain.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Yearly price increases
Thanks to Diet Blog for pointing out this article over at The Cattle Network: The Price of Food: 2007-2008.
Some things aren't a surprise. Eggs up 28.32%. Milk up 15.37%. The price of meat hasn't gone up as much as I thought though. Not that I buy much meat to begin with. The price of celery has doubled, which seems surprising. Some things are down: tangerines, oranges, bacon, and other things. And bacon makes everything better, right?
(Side note - I was in college when McDonalds was having its "Make it bacon" promotion or whatever it was called where you paid an extra amount and they'd put bacon on whatever sandwich you got. A friend of mine convinced them to put bacon in his milkshake. I believe it was just stuck in, not blended. But he ate it anyway.)
Net Worth update to come. I'm a little afraid to see what's happened to my retirement accounts this month.
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $3200
This one was easy. MacBook Pro and all sorts of accompanying software. I've been a PC user all my life, but worked in a Mac lab in college and really would like to try out a Mac for my next computer. It'll be a while before I have the cash saved up, and hopefully it will also be a while until I need to buy a new computer. But hey, if $3200 fell from the sky today, I'd be first in line at the Apple store.
Some things aren't a surprise. Eggs up 28.32%. Milk up 15.37%. The price of meat hasn't gone up as much as I thought though. Not that I buy much meat to begin with. The price of celery has doubled, which seems surprising. Some things are down: tangerines, oranges, bacon, and other things. And bacon makes everything better, right?
(Side note - I was in college when McDonalds was having its "Make it bacon" promotion or whatever it was called where you paid an extra amount and they'd put bacon on whatever sandwich you got. A friend of mine convinced them to put bacon in his milkshake. I believe it was just stuck in, not blended. But he ate it anyway.)
Net Worth update to come. I'm a little afraid to see what's happened to my retirement accounts this month.
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $3200
This one was easy. MacBook Pro and all sorts of accompanying software. I've been a PC user all my life, but worked in a Mac lab in college and really would like to try out a Mac for my next computer. It'll be a while before I have the cash saved up, and hopefully it will also be a while until I need to buy a new computer. But hey, if $3200 fell from the sky today, I'd be first in line at the Apple store.
Monday, June 30, 2008
What I Wish I Had Known
At work, there has been an influx of fresh faced young employees over the past few weeks. Some just out of college, others just out of grad school. I’m enjoying meeting all these new people, and it’s always great to have new, enthusiastic employees.
There has been a lot of talk as of late as to what sort of personal finance information recent college grads and recent high school grads should know, and as I watched these new employees arrive, I started to think about what I did and didn’t know when I started my first job after college.
I was lucky in that I knew a fair bit about personal finance when I first started working. I had held a credit card for four years, I was good about paying my bills, and I understood the benefits of a 401(k) plan. I didn’t contribute to my employer’s 401(k) plan at my first job for a few reasons – I knew I was leaving in a year to go to grad school, and I needed every penny for grad school, and they didn’t start matching until you had worked there for over a year, so I knew I would never meet eligibility.
Perhaps not the best decision, but not a bad decision and not one I regret. The one thing I wish I had known though was that I could contribute to a Roth IRA. I really didn’t learn about Roth IRAs until I was 26. I could have made contributions to that instead. Sure, I did need money for grad school, but I could have contributed a few hundred dollars at least. I didn’t make much during grad school, and again, I needed that money to pay for fun things like textbooks, but I wonder how much a few hundred dollars might have grown over the years.
I’m not sure how I missed the boat on Roth IRAs. And I don’t think that not contributing for those few years really hurt, because the contributions wouldn’t have been huge. But I still suggest Roth IRAs whenever I get the chance.
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $1600
$1600 would go to a year long gym membership along with a bunch of personal training sessions. I've been sick the past few weeks and I can tell by how my clothes fit that I'm quickly falling out of shape. I could use someone to kick me into gear!
There has been a lot of talk as of late as to what sort of personal finance information recent college grads and recent high school grads should know, and as I watched these new employees arrive, I started to think about what I did and didn’t know when I started my first job after college.
I was lucky in that I knew a fair bit about personal finance when I first started working. I had held a credit card for four years, I was good about paying my bills, and I understood the benefits of a 401(k) plan. I didn’t contribute to my employer’s 401(k) plan at my first job for a few reasons – I knew I was leaving in a year to go to grad school, and I needed every penny for grad school, and they didn’t start matching until you had worked there for over a year, so I knew I would never meet eligibility.
Perhaps not the best decision, but not a bad decision and not one I regret. The one thing I wish I had known though was that I could contribute to a Roth IRA. I really didn’t learn about Roth IRAs until I was 26. I could have made contributions to that instead. Sure, I did need money for grad school, but I could have contributed a few hundred dollars at least. I didn’t make much during grad school, and again, I needed that money to pay for fun things like textbooks, but I wonder how much a few hundred dollars might have grown over the years.
I’m not sure how I missed the boat on Roth IRAs. And I don’t think that not contributing for those few years really hurt, because the contributions wouldn’t have been huge. But I still suggest Roth IRAs whenever I get the chance.
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $1600
$1600 would go to a year long gym membership along with a bunch of personal training sessions. I've been sick the past few weeks and I can tell by how my clothes fit that I'm quickly falling out of shape. I could use someone to kick me into gear!
Friday, June 27, 2008
Whoops
I have a confession to make. Yesterday, when I paid my credit card bill, I realized that my balance on my YNAB spreadsheet didn’t quite make sense. After some quick math, it was clear that I had forgotten to enter a few transactions. I hadn’t been reconciling YNAB with my credit card statement, so the mistake was easy to make. It wasn’t a lot of money – a little under $30. But it was also more than one transaction.
I went back through two credit card statements and found the missing transactions. Two small online transactions and one transaction where I distinctly remember not getting a receipt. So that threw off the budget a bit. Not a big deal, but definitely a reminder to make sure I’m logging EVERYTHING. Part of the problem was 99 cent iTunes songs. I need to either be sure to flag the receipt when it arrives in my inbox, log the purchase immediately, or just buy myself an iTunes giftcard and not have to worry about it.
I’m considering trying to tighten my financial belt for July and see how much money I can save. July isn’t the best month to be doing that, as I have family visiting and will need to spend a bit of extra money while they’re here. But I can always tighten my spending except for things related to their trip. But I think I’m going to try to see how many no-spend days I can have this coming month and how much I can pad up my budget for August.
Spending Spree - $800
With a spare $800 to toss around, I would buy plane tickets to Seattle to visit a friend who I only get to see about once every few years. It would be a cross country flight, which I hate, but with $800, I could likely get a direct flight, and it would be great to see her and her husband.
I went back through two credit card statements and found the missing transactions. Two small online transactions and one transaction where I distinctly remember not getting a receipt. So that threw off the budget a bit. Not a big deal, but definitely a reminder to make sure I’m logging EVERYTHING. Part of the problem was 99 cent iTunes songs. I need to either be sure to flag the receipt when it arrives in my inbox, log the purchase immediately, or just buy myself an iTunes giftcard and not have to worry about it.
I’m considering trying to tighten my financial belt for July and see how much money I can save. July isn’t the best month to be doing that, as I have family visiting and will need to spend a bit of extra money while they’re here. But I can always tighten my spending except for things related to their trip. But I think I’m going to try to see how many no-spend days I can have this coming month and how much I can pad up my budget for August.
Spending Spree - $800
With a spare $800 to toss around, I would buy plane tickets to Seattle to visit a friend who I only get to see about once every few years. It would be a cross country flight, which I hate, but with $800, I could likely get a direct flight, and it would be great to see her and her husband.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Could you go cashless?
As I am sure you’ve read across the blogosphere, a lot of people who are working their way out of debt or have worked their way out of debt have chosen to not use credit cards at all. Some still use debit cards, others have gone to a cash-only plan (though I assume there are still checks written for bills – I can’t imagine mailing an envelope of cash to the cable company).
Is it possible, however, to do exactly the opposite and use a no-cash plan? A plastic only plan (meaning no checks)? I’m sure there are people out there doing it without realizing it. And it seems that every movie and book about the future seems to think that we will be a cashless society at some point.
When I first sat down to write this post, I thought that a no-cash, plastic only plan would be difficult, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s doable.
Personally, I could do it, but it wouldn’t be worth it. First off, while I can pay my rent electronically, there’s an additional charge. I also believe there is a fee associated with doing bill pay direct from the bank to my particular apartment complex. Until that fee is waived, I will be writing a rent check.
I don’t use much cash, though I don’t like to be without it. I try to always have $20 in my wallet, just in case. In case of what, I’m not sure. What do I spend my cash on? I’ll use it if I’m making a very small purchase where it seems ridiculous to pull out the credit card, but mostly it goes to the Farmer’s Market or for splitting bills when I go out for drinks with coworkers.
Without cash, I could still go out for drinks and split the bill, it would just be more complicated. I would likely end up with the cash from everyone else and then have to deposit it. The Farmer’s Market is a different story. While a few of the vendors do take credit cards, that’s mostly those selling higher priced things. The vendors I buy from, the ones selling fresh fruits and vegetables, don’t take anything but cash. Do I need to shop at the Farmer’s Market? No. But it’s something I like.
Eventually, I think we will go to a cashless society. I have no idea when that will be, but it seems likely. Of course, that just adds to the risk of people being able to overspend and rack up extreme credit card debt.
Do you think you could go cashless? Would you want to?
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $400
I bet you thought I was going to go for a Kindle after yesterday's post. Nope, today's random purchase, if I had $400 to spend would be a new iPod and an Aerogarden. Yes, I realize the Aerogarden isn't all it's made out to be, but hey, this is $400 that I'm supposed to be throwing around!
Is it possible, however, to do exactly the opposite and use a no-cash plan? A plastic only plan (meaning no checks)? I’m sure there are people out there doing it without realizing it. And it seems that every movie and book about the future seems to think that we will be a cashless society at some point.
When I first sat down to write this post, I thought that a no-cash, plastic only plan would be difficult, but the more I think about it, the more I think it’s doable.
Personally, I could do it, but it wouldn’t be worth it. First off, while I can pay my rent electronically, there’s an additional charge. I also believe there is a fee associated with doing bill pay direct from the bank to my particular apartment complex. Until that fee is waived, I will be writing a rent check.
I don’t use much cash, though I don’t like to be without it. I try to always have $20 in my wallet, just in case. In case of what, I’m not sure. What do I spend my cash on? I’ll use it if I’m making a very small purchase where it seems ridiculous to pull out the credit card, but mostly it goes to the Farmer’s Market or for splitting bills when I go out for drinks with coworkers.
Without cash, I could still go out for drinks and split the bill, it would just be more complicated. I would likely end up with the cash from everyone else and then have to deposit it. The Farmer’s Market is a different story. While a few of the vendors do take credit cards, that’s mostly those selling higher priced things. The vendors I buy from, the ones selling fresh fruits and vegetables, don’t take anything but cash. Do I need to shop at the Farmer’s Market? No. But it’s something I like.
Eventually, I think we will go to a cashless society. I have no idea when that will be, but it seems likely. Of course, that just adds to the risk of people being able to overspend and rack up extreme credit card debt.
Do you think you could go cashless? Would you want to?
Abundant Life Spending Spree - $400
I bet you thought I was going to go for a Kindle after yesterday's post. Nope, today's random purchase, if I had $400 to spend would be a new iPod and an Aerogarden. Yes, I realize the Aerogarden isn't all it's made out to be, but hey, this is $400 that I'm supposed to be throwing around!
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