What happened to my bonus and snowball status

As we (or at least I) get ready to do the hard math on next year's goals, I have come to realize 2 things:

1. My budget is highly inflexible.
2. My goals have very little breathing room.

I will be working into making my budget slightly more flexible, even if I have no idea how. My goals are tough, but completely achievable if I stick to the plan. I know for a fact 2012 wont be a 'Success!' year where I will at least pay *something* off. But it will set me up for a very sweet 2013. I'll be genuinely ticked off if the world decides to end at the end of 2012.

I would love a purple piggy bank, actually...

With the bonus I got from work, I paid $100 for my contact lenses and managed to sneak the other $300 into my first ING Savings account. Add the joining bonus, and I have a nice $325 sitting all pretty in an account named "Vacations". I have been reading about people's ING sub accounts, but I am still not sure how to divide mine. I think the next sub account might be 'Christmas'. I doubt that at any point during 2012 I will be able to establish automatic withdrawals from my paychecks into these ING accounts, as I don't trust things will go as well and smooth as planned. I am well aware that at any given point, I may have to remove the money from ING for an 'emergency', as well as deplete my EF. Sad, but it is reality.

I am also excited about something else...

I managed to make my very first ever snowball payment! $150 went into my main credit card, but the balance won't be clear until after Tuesday. I know that sounds like such a tiny amount. The card will be at $3,670. And I am super happy about that. After having it stay rather immobile at $3,800 for what seemed like months (ok, a full year), I will gladly take a $130 permanent reduction.

Sadly, I do use that card a lot. This is where inflexibility of my budget really shows. Most of the Murphy visits, extra payments for my parents, groceries for them and after-EF 'emergencies' come out of that one credit card. But I promise that once I get to the dreaded 25k points on reward points on the card (I'm somewhere close to 23k), the card will be chopped like salad. I'll be exploring different payment methods including cash only.

Sorry, I am rambling. Next year, I will also make it a goal to post a bit more than once a week. And to post interesting stuff too! So I hope everyone has a great New Year's celebration. Me? I will probably indulge myself -cough-withchinesefood-cough- but keeping it all in the cool, cool budget.

If you're off to some wild New Year's party this weekend, stay safe and have lots of fun.

Thursday Budget Recap 12/22 - Boring stuff

This period will cover from 12/9 to 12/21. This would normally have gone to 12/22 but we got paid early because of the holidays. Also, even if it doesn't affect this period a lot, I got paid today plus a bonus from my full time job. It was only $400, but $100 of it will cover my contacts. I'll detail the rest on the next recap.

No spend days: 8/13

Friday 12/9: Payday

- $410 car payment (#14!)

- $150 credit card payments

- $180 loan payments

Sunday 12/11:

- $27.32 for the doll and extra smaller toys 

- $54.69 groceries

- $7.42 lunch/dinner

Monday 12/12:

- $11.44 extra gift that nobody got and I was asked to get (woe is being the only childless/single person in the office...)

- $5.35 dinner

- $22 contact lenses copay

Tuesday 12/13:

- $42.28 groceries (yes, it bites to go without grocery shopping for 3 weeks.)

Sunday 12/18:

- $15.26 misc items including a new lamp since mine finally died
- $10.98 for a computer cable for my half brother. I'm counting it as part of his Christmas gift, since I was able to buy it through my Amazon Prime with free second-day shipping vs him spending $54.99 at BestBuy.
- $10 random donation
- $99.45 to complete a year's worth of contact lenses. I'll get $60 back and buy glasses with that at some point early next year.

Totals:
Bills: $740 / $740
Groceries: $96.97 / $80 ($60 scheduled plus $20 from the previous period I didn't use)
Misc.: $109.55 / $70 ($40 scheduled and $30 gas money that went unused)
Unscheduled: $99.45 / $0 (the contacts will be paid with part of the bonus, but at the time, it was $0.)

Yup, I did overspend quite a bit. It was messy and unorganized, but I hope I can provide a better picture by the next recap.

Lack of communication

I can think of very few things that are as bad as lack of communication or poor communication at all. I think a lot of problems have their root in how well or how poorly the parties involved communicate and understand each other.

Anyway, a lot of my week has been sort of up in the air since my manager insisted on keeping it secret which days we would get off for the holidays (we get Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off). Since they fall on Saturday/Sunday, that could mean we could get Thu/Fri, Fri/Mon, or Mon/Tue. But she LOVES secrets, even if it means that this jeopardizes our job or makes us do double work for no valid reason.

So thankfully, the other manager from the floor above finally asked her last night about which days we're getting off. She rather nonchalantly said "oh, we decided Fri/Mon." Gee, thanks. Me and my co-worker (and the manager from upstairs) just looked at each other and shook our heads. First: who is "we"? They're the only two managers in our building in control of our schedule, and nobody else knew which two days. Second, I wonder when she was planning on letting us know... Thursday evening?

I think I'm a bit too used to being treated like I have no social life (which I don't, but that's not the point!). I still am glad and thankful for my job, and that I actually like it a lot and enjoy it. It doesn't mean it is perfect, and trust me, it isn't.

On different news, sorry for not letting you know before hand that I'd be changing the formats of my 'weekly' recaps to a bit more bi-weekly, to match my paychecks. I went back through my posts trying to make sense of all the data that I was posting and that wasn't helping me form a clear picture. So my next money spending recap will be on 12/22/11, and will run from Fri 12/9 to Thu 12/22. Paycheck is on 12/23 and will start the next 2-week period.

Christmas is upon us! Hope you all are having a wonderful one. I still have to find things to do with this new time off of mine.

12 Goals for 2012

These are mostly financial goals, but I really can't think of much else right now.

1. Snowballs equal to $1,500, stretch goal of $2,000
2. Reduce debt by 45% of total (down to $13,500 from start point of $22,000 on 1/1/12)
3. Use coupons totaling $150, store savings of $300
4. Save $600 for Christmas 2012
5. Save $800 for vacation in April and/or June
6. Get a camera and take 120 photos
7. Replace car
8. Make 12 cookbook recipes
9. Read 12 books
10. Lose about 12lbs
11. TBA
12. TBA

Sorry, I really can't find the last 2. But I will before mid year!

What I am most proud of

While reading this post by Misty and the comments below it, one commenter (Hawaii Planner) mentioned there seems to be a lot of negativity, challenges and bad stuff in the PF world. I've read this type of response time and time again, though I won't quote all the sources. And I wholeheartedly agree. It is true. This end of the PF blogs focuses in challenges and debt-repaying, becoming smart through lessons learned and advice taken (or ignored), but also through a lot of mistakes and bad situations that pushes us to making smarter decisions because we just run out of choices. My blog has really been a bit on the negative side as well. In my defense, these are challenging times! But enough of excuses.

So let's hear it all! Time to post what you're most proud of. What you've done right. How you are a better person. And how you're just awesome. Go ahead and post it in your blogs. I know the holidays are a busy time, but heck, now is as good a time as ever to celebrate YOU. Look at your good pictures and congratulate yourself for all the RIGHT things you did this year. At the very least, it should get you off on the right foot to start January 2012.

You can use any format you want. Any number of things. Make it a list or make it a story. Tell the rest of us in the blogosphere how awesome you are and how you've done things that deserve a standing ovation from all of us. You know we're a supporting group, so go all out!

Here's my list of 12 things in honor of ME and the year 2012:

Four things I did right
1- Not incurring any new major debt.
2- Tracking my finances and being honest about my debt.
3- Not buying a new cell phone and re-re-resurrecting my old one (duct tape rocks!)
4- Building a budget and savings plan I can definitely achieve if I try to do so and Murphy/parents don't mess me up too often. Also, following said budget to the best of my ability.
Four things about ME that just rock
5- I'm bilingual in a bilingual field managed mostly by English-only management. Guess who's their main translator?
6- My determination to drive 15hrs each way by myself to visit someone for the first time (my only other 'long drive' had been about 1.5 hours long each way!). I was really proud, especially after 8/10 people told me I was crazy.
7- I'm the healthiest person that you will meet, except for once every few years when I end up in the ER. I'll take 5-10/365 consecutive days of being REALLY sick over 50-200/365 days of being mildly sick any day!
8- I'm an excellent listener and very loyal friend. I make few friends, but they are friends forever.
Four things I did for myself
9- Going on vacation for the second time in 10+ years! (And saving for it!)
10- Starting this blog and meeting wonderful people!
11- Formulated a 5/10 year goal that has given me a whole new purpose and willpower to move forward.
12- Have used my off-time from PT job to hang out with my half brother, instead of sulking at my parents’. One of the little decisions I made that really made me happier.

Win $500 cash towards your financial bucket list

About time I joined this. I have been working on a bucket list of sorts, but I get sidetracked with big goals, medium goals and what not. If you are not familiar with this, the $500 Give Me Back My Five Bucks competition is sponsored by Life Insurance Finder, the life insurance experts. Stop by Krystal's blog and read what this is about. You have until December 14 to join. Also, check the comments sections and a lot of other people's bucket lists. They're pretty neat.

Ok, onto a few items of my list:
1. Get rid of all my debt (credit cards and loans).
2. Buy a car with cash only.
3. Save enough to move in 3 years.
4. Save enough to return to school and get my Master's.
5. Buy someone else a car.
6. Be able to contribute 10% of income to some charitable purpose.
7. Work with Social Services to provide for a family in need outside of just for Christmas season.
8. Live in a big enough house I can adopt children or provide housing for families in need.
9. Pay mortgage early for house mentioned above.
10. Travel for 1-2 months just visiting friends (they're all over!)

I've read a lot of other people's bucket list, and they're great! Although $500 doesn't sound like a lot, $500 can start a butterfly effect, or a snowball effect, rather. And we all know, the bigger the snowball, the bigger the impact, the more momentum the whole thing gets. $500 extra would actually cut 2 full months from my estimated date of August 2013 (time when all but 1 loan is paid off). So best of luck to all!

Week Recap 12/05

Weeks run from Mon - Sun. Days not mentioned are no-spend days. Here's what happened last week:

Saturday:
-$4.87 - Bread and juice
-$40.00 - Gas for the car
-$15.53 - Stuff for the Christmas family. Still missing the doll and books.

******************************

And that's that. I can make it to Friday without spending any money, but I honestly don't want to. Hopefully being lazy gets the best of me and I don't shop at all. It only means that shopping on the weekend will be very expensive as I have to restock on a lot of things and pick my contact lenses!

Other than that, I promise to be slightly more active after December is through. You know how most jobs have a dead-busy season? Mid November through early January is mine. Add to that my deep feelings of hate dislike anxiety love for the holidays, and I don't think I could share a whole lot.

I am just a few gifts short to finish with this holiday season, unless I decide last minute to buy something for my older brother and dad. Right now, my only focus is that holiday family for work. I can't believe how expensive some simpler toys/things are, like books and dolls for a 2 year old. I really admire those of you that have families to buy gifts for, especially when there are younger children involved, and you keep it within budget. So kudos to all of you!

Money and Friends, part II

I mentioned my friend AB before, where I offered him a loan for some emergency car repairs. Side A was yelling at me "Don't do it!" and I asked why. They told me that it would damage our friendship. And if he can't pay, then things can get ugly. They told me to get a contract, witnesses, and even a notary! Or to simply gift, which I think is an awesome idea, but not quite the topic here. I'm looking at strictly loans, and they said no. 

But wait, I have faith in the world. I don't think Side A is the only way to go. Can lending money to friends be done right? Absolutely. But this goes against the grain. 

Side B: Lending money does not have to ruin the friendship. It can be managed.

Things you have to consider:

-Your friend: Do you really expect them to follow through on their word? 

-The amount of the loan: You should only loan what you can afford. Period. They're borrowing from money you can spare, not money you have.

-The reason: I am not asking for you to pry as to why they need a loan or why they don't have the money, but just have a general idea. Are they borrowing because of a need or a want? 

-Alternatives: Why you? Depending on the amount, why not a bank, a(nother) family member or a(nother) friend? 

-Payment schedule: Make sure you are both clear of what is expected, when and how. 

-Consequences: What happens if they don't pay? Will you call them and remind them like a collections agency? Will you let it go and not lend them money anymore? Will you require a collateral item in exchange of the loan? You don't have to be harsh. And just like the NO side, think in terms that they are never paying you back. Can you live with that without that amount without hurting your relationship with them? If not, then it may be better to say no to lending, or gifting or offering alternatives.

So how about you? Anything else I need to add to the list of things to consider for a smooth lending process?

I have loaned money to my family (outside of my payments for the car, car insurance, groceries and utilities, and 'family Murphy'), and I have never honestly expected them to pay back. I would like to say I am a different person now, but I would still not expect any payments from them. But that's for my family. I have not loaned money to friends, but I think I would expect payment back. I wouldn't be terribly disappointed if they didn't pay me back, and I would most likely forgive the debt without making a dent in the relationship. Next time they ask, though, I'd probably say no and that'd be that. I can't control whether they want to dent the relationship based on me saying no, and if they do, well, that's that. I definitely wouldn't say 'yes' just to keep a relationship. 

What about your experiences? 

Merry December! Goal updates

As for my December goals, I really don't have any other than keeping my EF untouched and making it through the season relatively unscattered. Though I would like to make my budget a bit more... accomodating and flexible, since it is stiff as a plank as it stands right now.

My 'me' money has no wiggle room, and that sort of sucks. In November, I spent on my contact lenses exam, and quite honestly, that took most of my grocery budget and misc budget. Ok, ok. It took ALL of it. So I'll be avoiding groceries until the 9th. On the flipside, I haven't spent anything on groceries! But it does illustrate a very big problem with the way my budget functions.

I will definitely try and join in for 12 goals for 2012.

Old goals and how they stand: Green for success, Red for failures
-Have 'the talk' with parents and decide whether to engage or disengage of their finances

I did have the talk. It failed. I have chosen to disengage. So let's see if I can stand by my word. Since my talk with my parents, they have not paid anything...

-Catch up to parent's HALF overdue bills, totalling $1,325 (Half being $662.50... how the heck am I planning on doing this?!) Not doing

-Get EF up to $500 $650 (EF stands at $450 as of 11/1) - DONE! Got it up to $1,000. Go me.

-Do meal planning for 2 of 5 weeks in November - DONE

-Exercise 10 days (any 10 days. Have to start somewhere.) Easily a fail.

-Late on this, but I need to figure out Christmas. I'd rather not give anything out, and I am really not obligated morally or otherwise to exchange gifts, but it would be a nice thing to do. A nice, money-costing thing.
Halfway done. Only gifting 3 people, plus the Social Services family my company adopts every year.
-Look at ways to supplement own income - Fail. It's hard when I'm not even sure where to start, other than increasing my hours at my part time job or getting another different part time job.