It's that time again

If you haven't done so, I recommend pulling a credit report via annualcreditreport.com

I pulled one of mine (and plan to do the other two throughout the year) and was pleased to find that it was spotless! I was disturbed however by the insane amount of student loan accounts. Shudder. I'm SO blessed to have those monkey's off my back. I would love to know my credit score (I know transunions via creditkarma.com) but am not willing to lay out the money to do so. I know it's in the excellent range however, and that's good enough for me. I do miss my old Providian card (now it's Chase) which gave you a credit score monthly, for free. 

There was one inquiry (for a hard credit pull) from almost two years ago, which will be dropping off soon. Other than that, I'm in good shape!

Looking forward, Looking back

With 2009 drawing rapidly to a close, it's time to think about what the new year will bring, and reflect on 2009.

I'm toying with the idea of paying my car off in one fell swoop. It would wipe out a large chunk of our savings, but with boyfriends recent windfall, we feel covered in case there was a shitstorm of bad luck. And, I would be able to build it back up to where it was by June. However… it's entirely possible that I will keep doing what I'm doing and just have it paid off by June. We shall see. Nonetheless, I will be making a rather large payment in January due to it being a 3 paycheck month. And I was able to put some extra down with my Christmas bonus. There's also the option of paying like… half of it, and just moving the repayment up til March or April. 

We've begun to scope out our options regarding the move this summer. And… it's frustrating knowing that you have to spend so much to get SO LITTLE. In order to secure two parking spots, you must have a two bedroom place. While that would be really great for us, it would be impossible to do so and spend less than 2000 dollars a month. And I refuse to live in sketchy neighborhoods. Absolutely refuse. And in LA, you pay a lot more for safety. And I will NOT live with roommates. We're done with that. I would love to stay in the town we are in now, but boyfriend really wants to go more west to be nearer friends for a time. It's going to be a compromise… but I hope it will only be for a year, and then we can buy (and we plan to actually buy in the neighborhood where we are now, or close to it). And the quality of the places we were looking at in our price range? Not great. Ugh. 

Regarding my IRA… I would like (well NEED) to max it out in 2010. Need. And that will be a real stretch. As in, near impossible until boyfriend secures a better job. And this is frustrating. My goal will be to max it out, but it's not going to be my main focus, sadly.  

However, there were some good things about 2009. I got a substantial raise. And then despite getting laid off for 3 months, I managed to keep my savings intact! It was a struggle, but manageable. I did not take on any debt. I got over 100k in student loans paid off (via my generous dad) and I've paid off a significant portion of my car. All good things. 

Christmas took a toll on my finances… mostly because I do not do well budgeting for such things, because I would rather buy people nice things than cheap junk they will just throw away. I got boyfriend some things for xmas day, and will be getting him a golf driver in January while we are in Florida. Speaking of which, we are going to Disneyland this week (for the first time!) and will be going back to Disney World in January. The 200 dollars for Disneyland is not in the budget… but I'll manage. I mean… how awesome would it be to visit both within a month! Not necessary at all. But cool. There are so many great sales on things I need/want, but I can't bring myself to loosen the purse strings. Which is a good thing, ultimately. So… I'm just treading water.

Good things are coming though. I can feel it. 

Christmas!

Happy Christmas Eve! I'm happy to have eleven glorious days off of work :-)

I was lucky enough to receive a bonus this year… and although it was half of the normal amount they give, it was still quite generous, especially since I know times are tough, and how tough they are. I'm so pleased! It's going towards my car… which will knock off a month of my repayment schedule! I'm especially looking forward to January as it's a 3 paycheck month, and my car repayment will be extra glorious! I wish my car was already paid in full so I could have all that extra money go towards my savings… or my Roth — but at least I'm not blowing it on new clothes.

Looking over 2009, I'd say it was mixed. A lot of highs and lows. I wasn't good about saving for too many months, and then with my temporary stint of unemployment, I really had no means to save anything. That was sadly, when I had to stop contributing to my Roth. And now that I'm determined to pay my car off asap, it's continued to take a backseat, sadly. But I really do think paying off my car NOW rather than in 4 years is the best thing for me. 

2010, I hope will be quite a bit more successful. I will have my car paid off by June. We'll be moving this summer. In the spring, we're going to start looking for condos to buy (the downpayment will be a gift from my MIL) and hopefully we can find something before our time is up where we are now. If not, we'll continue to rent for a while, which I'm ok with. I will pay extra towards my student loan (double is my goal at this point) to get that paid off sooner. For now, my concern is not paying it off at lightening speed. I want to build up our savings… max out our emergency fund, put some away in our travel fund (and start saving in earnest for our big Asia trip) and start to build a life. Take more vacations. Go on adventures which we've not been able to do because we're broke. Max out my Roth. I'd like to find a job where I feel challenged and inspired on a daily basis. 2010 will hopefully usher in better economic times. Until then, enjoy the holidays!

Travels

Arizona was wonderful! We spent most of the time hanging out at the resort, and around the town window shopping and eating dunkin donuts (a much beloved and missed New England delight!) My wonderful and generous MIL sprung for a suite, took us out to dinners (Capital Grille!) and the movies. We also took a day trip to Sedona… which was SO fun! It's amazingly beautiful there. We did a pink jeep tour, which was completely awesome (and even more so since it was free for us :-) 

Our next venture is in January! We're headed to Florida for a week (YAY!) The best part? It won't cost us a dime :-D Although, I do feel like we should pay for our day (or two!?) at Disney, because I do hate feeling like a mooch :-/ Anyway… totally excited! 

And some more news; looks like we're moving tentatively in June. This is both good news and bad. Good? My boyfriend and I finally get our own place! I feel like we're WAY too old to deal with roommates and their issues, and I'm so excited to finally live alone. Bad? Financially, it will be much more costly. The good news is that June just so happens to be the month where I make my last payment on my car. Which works out SO well in that respect. But, I won't be able to funnel all that extra money into savings, which is a HUGE bummer. (our Asia trip… which we will be footing the really really expensive bill for was something I was going to start saving for at that point!) Of course… this is tentative. Could be in a few months, could be in a year… but we have marked June as the month where we intend to move. There are many factors that go into this, which I won't get in to, but all in all, I'm pleased. 

Now I'm off to enjoy some Thursday night tv goodness!

26 Questions and a Suggestion

I borrowed this from TeachHer Finance!

Last Movie I Saw In A Movie Theater? The Blindside. A little slow moving, but a worthwhile movie. 
What Book Are You Reading? Currently, nothing. I'm open to suggestions!
Favorite Board Game? Monopoly is always a favorite. But I also enjoy faster paced group games like bananagrams or pictionary. 
Favorite Magazine? Real Simple. 
Favorite Smells? Fresh Cut Grass. Chanel Coco Mademoiselle is my favorite fragrance. 
Favorite Sounds? That clicky sound that the atm card makes when you pull it out of the atm slot. No idea why, but I've always loved it!
Worst Feeling In The World? Regret, because you harp on something you can't change
First Thing You Think of When You Wake? how late will i be if i hit the snooze
Favorite Fast Food Place? Wendy's. I adore frosty's
Future Child’s Name? We have ideas. However, children are a LONG way off, if we even have them. 
Finish This Statement—“If I Had a Lot of Money,” I'd travel to Europe
Do You Drive Fast? I usually go no more than 5-10 above the speed limit, and only on the freeway. Otherwise I'll never go over 5. 
Do You Sleep With a Stuffed Animal? I have a build a bear that boyfriend got me that's on our bed. I only really sleep with it though when he's not home. 
Storms—cool or scary? Evil! I get utterly ANGRY when it rains. 
What Was Your First Car? Ford. Can't remember the model. 
Favorite Drink? Milkshakes (chocolate)
Finish This Statement—“If I Had the Time, I Would…” Take a month off work and travel
Do You Eat the Stems on Broccoli? Yes, but I much prefer the flowery part
If You could Dye your Hair Any Other Color, What Would It Be? dark blonde. It's naturally blonde (or it was… but it's gotten darker over the years)
Favorite Sport to Watch? Baseball. But only if I'm at a game. I really don't like sports enough to follow them. 
What’s Under Your Bed? Art prints and rare posters which are all in flat cases and need to be framed, but I don't have an extra million dollars lying around. (custom framing is seriously expensive)
Would You Like to Be Born As Yourself Again? Yes, but with the knowledge I have now. Then I'd make better decisions!
Morning Person or Night Owl? Night. But I'm forced to be a morning person with being a grown up with a job and all.
Over Easy or Sunny Side Up? Cadbury Creme is the only type of egg that I will eat. 
Favorite Place to Relax? Santa Barbara. There's nothing like spending the day in the sunshine riding your bike along the beach and drinking margaritas on the sand. 
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor? It changes a lot. 

And my suggestion to you? Check out those unclaimed funds websites. Boyfriend just got a check for 8,000 dollars. Yes, I'm serious. Really… it takes five seconds to type your name in and see if you've got money owed to you!