Tuesday, April 30, 2013

April showers...

Spring showers came late, but they came nonetheless. Thankfully, they're washing away most of the pollen and my eyes aren't as bad as they've been. The flowering is everywhere and things just look lovely, even though it is still 50 degrees. I'll be missing this weather when it's 100 degrees, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

April was a tricky overall month. It was too out of control for my liking. Even though it was a cash month, some of my expenses were still higher (*cough*parents*cough*) and left me in the -$10 range. Yeah, yeah, I know. Here I am whining over -$10. All I am saying is that this whole monthly-billing may not be for me. I'll try again, but leaving a balance in my cards until the end of the month rather sucks and makes me feel anxious. Though I have the money to pay for it (most of the time... ahem), I feel a bit out of touch with what's going on.

Yet another case of the "I am my worst critic" is the fact that I sent out a total of $665 to loan repayment and $340 to some sort of savings ($100 to IRA, $240 to phone savings). The $340 came as result of two checks from my part time job, $435 total. I only used $95 out of that, so not too bad.

Sorry, I know that's a) boring and b) hard to follow through. In summary, I spent more than I intended, but saved from my unmarked money. I'll call that a win for right now.

The end of the first half of the year is scarily close, and I have big decisions to take... I am supposed to decide whether I want to pursue the SPHR certification (Senior Professional of Human Resources), which would mean I need to start studying by July and sign up for the exam by October. Or I could decide to forget about it, or look into a master's in Management. I would love to stay in HR, but right now, even I have questions. Management is more generic and easier to apply. HR is specialized, and rather capped compared to management, in terms of pay, advancement and opportunities.

5 comments:

  1. Do you think if you made a promise to yourself to stop bailing out your parents, you might get out of debt faster?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not sure, really. The money would probably go to savings or something. I'm also not bailing them out. I stay over at their place on the weekend (give or take an extra day or two), so I help with purchases of food, car oil, and general supplies. I could be like my younger brother and do absolutely nothing, but I guess we've already establishing I'm not very much like them, heh.

      Delete
  2. The pollen is miserable here too. My car is yellow!

    As for school, I would say take the route that offers you the broadest opportunities. HR is highly specialized (I did it too for a few years), and unless you see yourself in it for the long hall....you may not want that specialized of a degree.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yeah, difficult decision, huh. I do see myself in it in the long haul, though probably more over the training/benefits side, but a general degree would certainly be the easier, more expensive way.

      Delete
  3. Ugghh, the allergies have been so bad here too for a few months now... Im always congested, runny eyes etc... I SO know what you mean when you feel like its all out of control. I felt the exact same way last month and thats because for me , it was.. What a MESS April turned out to be..

    ReplyDelete