Switching Gears

So I've done a bit of research on Roth IRA's. Currently I just have an IRA Savings account with ING, and a pathetic $10 in it. Since it's just earning interest, it's not working for me, and I wish I'd thought a bit more before opening it. Yikes! 

So, I just opened a Fidelity Freedom 2045 Account, with the Simple Start, so that instead of having to have $2500 now, it's going to be funded with $200 per month of automatic transfers from my checking account. The $2500 number was the only thing holding me back, because I don't have that right now. Then I discovered the Simple Start. Lo and Behold, I am in business! I'm also going to switch gears a little…

• Put entire "extra paycheck" in IRA (January)

• Put an extra $200 per month in IRA, minimum. I still want to focus my efforts on my e-fund, but I'd like to have $2500 in this account before April 15th. If I put in my extra paycheck, and $400 per month (including auto transfer) I'll have 2887 by the end of March. Maybe I can get this up to a nice round 3000 with a few extra bucks thrown in here and there?

• If I'm lucky enough to get a Christmas bonus, I'm still going to put that in my emergency fund. I hate that my e-fund is so small. It's terrifying, actually. 

PLUS!!! that will mean that I'll get a refund (according to the IRS calculator) (and that's without the hopeful deduction!). So assuming that it's pretty close to accurate, it really does pay to contribute to retirement! If I'm lucky enough to get a small refund, I'll put it in my emergency fund. I've got to build that up, especially in light of the oh so lovely economy. 

My goal in 2009 is to fully fund the IRA, like a responsible adult. If I can contribute 416 a month I can do it. My 401k is a profit sharing plan, with no employer match. I have no idea what to expect for my profit sharing portion this year, so we shall see. I'd like to increase my contribution to this by $50 per paycheck, in the new year, but I'll have to crunch the numbers. 

I feel like a responsible grown up now, and that pleases me. Now my boyfriend and I are going to put up our Christmas tree!

December Goals

1. Contribute $400 to my Roth IRA. Minimum. $200 will be in auto drafts, and $200+ will be in manual transfers. 

2. Contribute $400 minimum to my e-fund. I'm slowly building that thing up! If I can get at least $400 in there this month, then I'll have more than $1,000! Except for my Annual Bills fund, I've put all other savings accounts on hold until I get $5,000 in here. It might take longer than I'd hoped because of the IRA contributions, but it'll happen! Then I'll go back to putting the largest sum in here, but smaller numbers in my other accounts. 

3. Find ways to cut back in my budget. Look into reducing our cable package. Cut back on groceries. Drive more efficiently so I'm not using as much gas. Get a couple different quotes on car insurance (since mine is up for renewal anyway in a month). Be more efficient with turning appliances off when not in use (and unplugging), etc. Ride my bike more on the weekends (if I'm doing small errands).

November Wrap Up

November is all but over, so here's my monthly review:

Goals:

Apply for Shell Platinum Mastercard

Done. And I've been earning some rebates! Every little bit counts. And since gas has gone down, my gas bill has been slightly less horrifying. 

Pay off Visa

DONE! My balance has been "0" for almost a month now, and I've been putting the extra payment money into my e-fund. I still keep my card in a drawer at home. 

Set up automatic transfer from checking to savings

DONE! I've set up a $25/month transfer up to avoid annoying fees. I've got an automatic transfer set up on the last business day of the month, until I've reached a $500 balance in my Bank of America savings. This will serve as my mini-emergency fund. At only $25 /month it's going to take a year or so to build up this amount, but I'd rather have most of my savings going to a high interest account instead of a low interest account. 

Contribute $400 to my emergency fund

Done! I've contributed $493.69 this month. I wish this amount was more… but I spent $120 on moisturizer and cleanser… which were desperately needed. I have another $463.00 to push in that fund… but since I prefer to do all my transfers on pay day, I have to wait on that for another week. As soon as I've built up a bigger Bank of America savings, I'll be able to do my transfers earlier, so I'll have access to money if something unexpected comes up. 

So all in all, I'm feeling good about November! I didn't have to spend as much on groceries this month due to a lovely sale stockpile I've built up. Next shopping trip will be a bit more, as I've run out of chicken, turkey (for sandwiches) and turkey bacon. I'm planning a trip to the bread outlet tomorrow or Sunday. 

Looking ahead to December, I'll have to pay for a parking pass renewal. Since I have not yet built up enough in my Annual Bills fund, I have to budget for it in December, but it won't be a big deal, especially since I don't have to pay my insurance again until February. I do have a large utility bill coming up though, since we pay them bi-monthly. However, I think I should be able to contribute a pretty decent amount to my e-fund next month, hopefully more than in November. 

My boyfriend and I might do a little something for Christmas… $20 each or so, but ultimately saving is more important to us right now. Maybe we'll do stockings or something. We've actually did not exchange gifts last year because we had no money (instead we bought a fake Christmas tree)… the year before that he got me an amazing Louis Vuitton purse which I absolutely covet. But we have done that for the 5 years we've been together… sometimes we have money for gifts, sometimes we don't. But we're always together and that's what matters. We're putting up our tree on Sunday and will spend the season watching our favorite Christmas movies and baking lovely treats!

Hmm…

I just did some figuring. Last night I did some noodling around with taxes and have two scenarios.

 1. I owe a LOT. Read, 2-3k. or,

2. Provided I can take a certain deduction, which I'm still unsure of at the moment… (have to hear back from someone) I will either break even, or owe a couple hundred. 

Obviously, I'm crossing my fingers for the second one!

I claim 2, single on my W4, which I'm realizing may have been a dumb move. I hate taxes. Depending on how this season goes, I may have to claim 1, because I just can't bear the thought of wiping out my entire emergency fund to pay Uncle Sam. Yes, I'll be glad I had it… but I'd rather not blow it all on taxes of all things. 

Anyway. I did some math tonight, and according to my estimated calculations… I'll have almost 4k in my emergency fund by the end of January. 5k, if I receive a Christmas bonus this year (which I certainly can't count on, especially in this economy). This means that I have to put my entire "extra" paycheck in January into my e-fund and pay only the minimum on my car next month and hope that my auto insurance doesn't start up until the beginning of February (when I have to renew). I've decided that it will probably be best for me to focus all my energies on the e-fund and hold off on the others for awhile. In February, I'll go back to upping the car payments, but if I could get halfway to my e-fund goal (of 10k) in just two months? It would be amazing. And it would make me feel so much better. Unless of course, Uncle Sam screws me. 

On a more festive note… Happy Thanksgiving!

Checking In

Things are going well this month. 

With the frustration of my checking account not balancing last month, I just started over from scratch. The account now balances perfectly, which is just nice. With the gas prices falling every day, I've been spending less and less on gas. And to top it off, I've earned a few bucks back in rebates on my new Shell card. Every time I get gas, I've been transferring the exact amount I spend into my Bank of America savings account. Then when the bill comes due, I just transfer it back into my checking and pay it off. It's working better than having a balance, and a "real" balance (balance minus gas money). There was too much figuring the other way and numbers were getting misplaced. It's much easier this way. 

I've transferred 495 into my ING Emergency Fund this month, and about 100 spread across all my other various ING accounts. This puts my e-fund balance at 697.83. I think I'm going to focus my next few transfers in to just my e-fund (excluding the 40 I put in my annual bills fund once a month, and the 25 that gets auto transferred into my Bank of America savings each month) until I've hit my mini-goal of 1,000. My projected transfer for the first week in December is about 460, which will vary slightly depending on how much I actually spend on gas). The second transfer will probably only be about 200, because all but two of my bills are due in the first half of the month. I also paid an extra 150 on my car this month in an effort to get a title in my hands sooner! I'm determined to snowball my debt off asap. 

I'm going to use my extra paycheck in January for my e-fund, plus my Christmas bonus (which I hope I get this year in lieu of the crappy economy), which should give it a nice boost on top of my regular monthly contributions. 

I am however, getting a little concerned about taxes… last year I got a tiny refund… a couple hundred dollars or so. That, with a TON of deductions for moving, job search, etc. This year, I make more money and don't have that many deductions, beyond retirement contributions (which is pathetically small, I plan to contribute more heavily when my e-fund is at 5,000), so I'm hoping I don't have to pay anything. I claim 2, single which gives me the most amount of money in my checks, but the possibility of my not having to pay is much smaller. I swear… if I have to use my e-fund to pay my taxes, I'm going to be very discouraged. 

And good news on the grocery front! I did my bi-weekly shop today, and I spent only about 100. That's unheard of! Obviously I'll need to make a trip or two in the next couple of weeks to pick up milk, or something, but still. I've got a nice stockpile of stuff that was on sale, and it's been cutting my bill down, which I appreciate! I was going to get a tin of peppermint bark at Trader Joes (the most amazing holiday treat in the world) but it was 10 dollars! Jeez. So I bought the ingredients to make it myself for half that. Sweet!

Thrifty Carbs

So I visited the Oroweat Bread Outlet where my beloved Health Nut bread is 50% off (with a perfectly respectable expiration date :-) They also have the amazing Thomas English Muffins at 50% off. 

Savings: Average of $20 a month (assuming we buy the usual: two loaves of bread and two cartons of english muffins). Cha-Ching! I'll be adding that to our travel fund. 

my checking account is blowing my mind…

I made a Sephora purchase online (20% off!) on November 11. The next day, it was posted to my B of A checking account, with the amount deducted from my balance. The day after that, my Sephora account showed that my purchase had been paid for and was shipped. I'm pretty sure, but not 100% positive that the purchase was still on my checking account (online) as of yesterday. Today? It's nowhere to be found and my balance reflects the pre-purchase amount. It's not listed anywhere! Like it never existed. What?? Am I going crazy here? 

Groceries

Since payday coincides with grocery shopping, I tend to do the big shop that weekend and have very little left for the following two weeks. Usually it's enough to buy extra bread, milk, or something else we run out of, but not much else. For instance: this weekend I spent $160 on groceries, plus an additional $10 which went towards laundry. Ouch! I usually spend about $100 or on the big shop… but I did manage to score some great deals this week on things that were on sale, like toothpaste, deodorant, etc… stuff we don't need quite yet, but the sales were great so I couldn't pass them up. Plus, I was able to stock up on things like rice, popcorn (buy one get one free!) soups, etc. But it's amazing how little we really end up with. Sandwich stuff… bread, veggies, turkey and cheese. Dinner usually consists of a sandwich for me, and grilled chicken, rice or potatoes and green beans for boyfriend (I'm very picky so I have to short order cook). Not much variety, but we both prefer to eat the same things over and over until we get sick of it and then we move on to something else. And then stuff like chips (always on sale!), ice cream, iced tea, baking stuff (like flour and sugar), peanut butter and milk. That's it! It's amazing how so little can cost so much. 

So I was thinking of ways to cut down on our budget and I had the brilliant idea of shopping for my bread at an outlet store! My mom used to frequent one when I was a kid, and it's amazing how cheaply you can get perfectly fine bread. Since I refuse to buy anything other than Oroweat nut bread… I actually found an Oroweat outlet just a mere few miles from my house! Of course it's now closed for the day, so I won't be able to visit until next weekend, but I'm hoping that it will prove to be a worthwhile place to shop, since we usually go through 2-3 loaves of bread within two weeks… plus a carton of english muffins (boyfriend works from home 4 days a week and eats sandwiches for lunch). At $4.00 a loaf, it adds up quickly. 

I've recently started stockpiling toiletries which we use and are on sale. I've now got enough deodorant to last a year and enough toothpaste and shampoo to last about 6 months. I did manage to score some cheap tp while at CVS getting a prescription filled. It was buy 2, get one free, and with my $4.50 in extra care bucks? Just .17 a roll! Quite the deal! I also got boyfriend a free energy drink with a coupon we had gotten last week. I think the stuff is revolting, but he likes it, and it was free! Can't beat that. 

Just for Fun

1. What were you doing ten years ago?

teenage angst! learning to drive, starting to look at colleges…

2. What are five things on your to-do list today? 

grocery shopping, bank, laundry, pay bills, buy stamps. I didn't manage to do laundry or buy stamps… but only because i have a splitting headache and i have no desire to do anything that requires "work"

3. Snacks you enjoy?

cupcakes! i also enjoy cookies. i usually make a batch of dough and freeze it, so i never run out of freshly baked cookies! it's also proved to be quite cost effective. 

4. Places you've lived?

I've lived in four states… three on the east coast and now, california. 

5. What are five things you'd do if you were a billionaire?

hire an amazing accountant / investment banker to manage my money and investments, pay off my debts, and my mom's, pay my dad back for paying all my student loans, donate to my program at college and other charity's (which I would have to pick, none in mind). And lastly, I'd buy things. It can't be helped… a Chanel bag, a Prius (i'd trade my current car in for one), a hybrid Lexus, give boyfriend money for his film projects and take up permanent residence at Neiman Marcus :-)

Pay Day

I love pay day because I get to transfer my leftover money from the previous pay period into my savings. 

I tried transferring money into savings at the beginning of my pay periods, but I always ended up having to transfer it back to pay for things I forgot to budget in. Not ideal, especially since with ING, I can't get my money back for like a week. So, I've started doing the following:

On pay day, I transfer my "change" into savings. I put a fixed amount of $40 into my annual bills account, the largest whole number into my e-fund, and the change from that, divided up into house, car. (ie: say I have $275 to save after deducting my $40. I'd take $200 and put that in my e-fund, and divide the $75 by 2, putting $37.50 in each of the other two accounts). This "formula" will change when I've got a bigger e-fund. 

I withdraw $200 from the atm. This is what I use to buy groceries, go out to dinner and the movies, and buy small, necessary items such as stamps and toilet paper. I also take $10 out of this money for laundry. I take whatever change is leftover from the previous two weeks and put it in my piggy bank. After the change has built up to a decent amount, I deposit it into the bank. (I'm trying to decide if it should go into the e-fund, or a travel account… obviously I need to really work on building up my e-fund since I'm a long way off from my $10k goal. But, when I first got my piggy bank, I nicknamed it the "hawaii fund." In a strange way, I feel like I'm cheating if I don't use this money for travel. huh).

I pay any bills that I have statements ready for. Today this included my student loan, utilities and paying off my credit card in full!!

Then I do some math: I figure out all the bills I'll have to pay within this two week period and I subtract them (estimating the cost of gas, since it varies… but I round up). This gives me a general idea of how much I'll have left over to put in savings on my next pay day. It gives me something to look forward to. 

A Free Day

I rode my bike (props for no gas, and no parking fees!) around our cute little town today in search of a freebie. I've run out of my hand lotion at work, and as fate would have it, I got a coupon in the mail for a free bottle at Bath and Body Works. Score! I of course wanted to buy lot's of candles and yummy fall and christmas scented treats, but I very smartly left my wallet at home. 

Riding my bike always makes me crave margaritas and guacamole. Probably since all we do when we go to Santa Barbara is ride our bikes to the Shoreline and spend the afternoon noshing and drinking. And there's a delicious mexican place dangerously close to our apartment. But I've got homemade pumpkin soup in the fridge which will go perfectly with my grilled cheese fixings. I love fall. And I love lazy weekends. 

November Goals

Apply for a Shell Platinum Mastercard I did a lot of research, and thinking and have decided that since I will use the card for gas only (no matter what), that it will be worth it to have the reward points, since I refuse to buy my gas anywhere but Shell (unless on literally on fumes and have no choice). I'll save on gas, simple. And I'll pay off the entire amount every single month. I will not carry a balance on this card. 

Pay off Visa, once and for all!

Set up automatic transfer from checking to savings. I have been putting all my savings into my ING accounts, which means I've been getting dinged with service fees for not having the minimum in my Bank of America savings. No more. Setting up the transfer will mean I can avoid the fee. Plus I'm going to have the transfer take place until I've accrued $500. Since it takes a couple days minimum to get at my ING money, should I ever need it (let's hope I don't!) it does not allow for immediate emergencies. I have no desire to put anything on my credit card (not counting gas on my Shell card!) so having a small mini emergency fund as a buffer will be nice to have. 

Contribute $400 to my emergency fund. 

The First Month (October Recap)

So, the first month went well. I only spent $95 more than I had budgeted for, but it was totally worth it. I took my car for its 6 month service / oil change and they recommended that I replace the air filter and do a brake check. So… since I need my car, and I'd like to keep it in top shape I agreed. When I first got the car, I could go two weeks without filling my tank up. In the past couple of months, it's been running empty every single week… I figured it was because I was idling in traffic more, driving faster on the freeway, whatever. But the new air filter has effectively given me my two weeks back! I filled up last Sunday, and I am only down a half a tank today. So, in the long run, it will save me money and will probably pay for itself within the next two months. And the great part was that I not only had the money to pay for said service, but I still have a few hundred left over which is earmarked for my e-fund. I'm chalking this month up as a success. 

This is the first time I've consistently balance my checkbook for more than a couple of days. I usually would get frustrated and give up, because I could never ever reconcile, and I'd always be way off in my calculations. I am still off… and can't for the life of me figure it out, but it's not by much. It's been .02 cents off for a couple weeks. Today, it was .01 cents off. I just went back through and did all the math again, checking it against my statement, and I found in my calculations, that I was like 5 dollars off in the middle of the month, but it's only .01 off now… so confused. But overall, it's been a godsend, so I'm going to keep doing it daily, and hopefully by double checking my math, I'll figure it out. 

One thing I need to figure out is how to pay for my expensive products such as face cleanser, moisturizer, shampoo and conditioner, etc. I've been paying for stuff like deodorant, toilet paper, toothpaste, etc, out of my grocery money, and it's been working fine. I'd do the same for my other stuff, but I use pricey brands, something I'm not willing to give up. My face is extremely sensitive and dry, and I've tried every single brand under the sun, and the only thing I've found that works for me is Dior Capture Totale. Which happens to cost a lot, and would eat up more than half of my biweekly grocery money and we'd be eating nothing but rice for a week. So, do I suck it up and just buy it every few months as an additional expense (because I need it), or do I save $10 bucks here and there from my grocery money? It would take longer to save up for it that way, and it would be fine, except I've nearly run out and within the week, it will be gone, so I don't have time to wait three months to save up for it! I'll have to think about it. I did however manage to score some lovely Kiehls shampoo for only .30 cents! I took an online survey for Loehmanns, they sent me a $20 gift card, and badda bing. Now I just have to pony up for some conditioner. But my Frederick Fekkai should last me another month or so. (yes, the expensive stuff just works better than drugstore brands).