Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Month end already? Noooo & August Goals

Not ready! What happened to July? When did August sneak by? Geez. I've been too busy to notice. I must be getting older... which I will be, in a few days!

Let's look at what the heck happened in July. Because let me tell ya, it felt like a disaster!

To do list for July:
- Buy studying materials and start studying. ASAP! Done. Studying also underway at good pace. 
- Get the finer details for the concert trip at the end of the month (gas expenses, food planning, etc). Um.... not sure. I did have the gas expenses, winged the food planning and made my own lunch, but did not account for tolls? So-so?
- Complete dental appointment. *cringes* Examination DONE! Appt is Aug 14. No cavities. Yay!
- Finish planning on vacation days Done. 
- Order contact lenses. Seriously. This has been due since December! Done.
- Get house stuff as needed (bed comforter comes to mind) Got the comforter and a chair. This room is as done as it's gonna get for a while.

Being month end, here's what my spending looked like...


Home category includes furnishing, so it shows the office chair I got from Staples. My top 3 categories were rent, snowball debt payments and this month, healthcare (paid for contact lenses and dentist visit). The rest are a bit jumbled up. I'm still spot on for gas, went over both my food and misc. categories, but they even out after I remove vacation related items. Not a bad month at all. Over half a year gone, and I still have not found the right/proper way to report my budget... I only know if it's pass or fail, but not by how much. Hmph... I will continue to experiment.

My goals/to-do list for August:
- End in the green!
- Pay for dentist's appt ($80)
- Finish studying 75% of the book (close to 45% now)
- Complete application for SPHR exam to be submitted in Sept. after 5 year anniversary
- Complete SPHR fees (missing $300!)
- Save some money. Any amount. I've been running it so close forever, and even over, that I haven't really saved any money to any of the goals.
- Cook a nice recipe from somewhere

Things that are going to help me this period...
- 3 check month!!
- Free dinner at Sluggy's! Yay for free food!
- Landlord's kids, who consume most of my time, will be going to their dad's for a week. I can actually study!

I know my "goals" are more of a to-do list without remedy, but as long as I don't feel the month was wasted and went in a blur, it gives me a false sense of direction. That's all that matters, no? Happy month-end!

Saturday, July 27, 2013

DMB Concert!

I should say that my last concert was about 16yrs ago, in an opera theater, with suit-n-tie and long dresses. This was of course over 3x 360 degrees away from it. The event was for Dave Matthews Band, and let me tell ya', the place was packed well over the 16k capacity the amphitheater allowed. It was so much fun being there, and when the band showed up, the roars were deafening. I was in the 200 section, and the view was fantastic from there. Here are some photos:





The band put up an amazing show, and played a lot of my favorite songs. Dave is definitely a goofy person on stage and knows how to get to his audience.

I could talk on and on about that, but let me stay true to the finance portion.

Cost for concert ticket plus hotel: $280
Souvenir: $35 DMB shirt. (It's my first concert of a favorite band, so I just had to.)
Drinks at concert: $12 (same as above)

Other costs not planned: 
Tolls: $12 each way
Possible lunches today/tomorrow: $25
Extra tank of gas: $40

Estimated total: $416 out of $1000 total vacation budget. I normally deal with tolls out of my own pocket, but I wasn't expecting a $12 toll each way. I was expecting a $6 one way as it is in the upper bridge, but alas, things like these always manage to surprise me. 

What is saving me a lot of money: Packed lunches! I packed sandwiches, cookies and crystal lights and have not had to get any food. I would like to try the restaurants around here, but that's definitely a want and not a need. Food at the concert would've cost me over $10 for a hotdog or a slice of pizza, but cost of my sandwich? Nil. Ok, if you want to get specific, cost per sandwich was under $.75c/ea and tons of leftover cheese and ham. 

And that's that! Now off I go to do some sight-seeing. Have a great weekend, everyone! 

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Happy 70%!

I updated my sidebars recently, but I seem to be mindlessly plugging numbers in it. In reality, I am at 70% of my journey!

It all started July 2011. I've been at it for 2 full years. 24 months. I hadn't even noticed that it had been in July. I started to track my "budget" as far back as February 2011, but I did not develop the full plan that stands today until July. I remember laboring over a spreadsheet that would make sense and somehow created the masterpiece and cornerstone of my debt attack plan. It's a disorganized, chaotic arrangement of numbers and formulas that seem to have little method to their madness, but to me, it's a very specific blueprint for success.

What a great time that was when it started. After all, the first step is the hardest. Who would've thought I would be seeing the end of the tunnel back then? When I had almost $30k in debt, a car that was coming to pieces, a maxed credit card inherited from my mother, a closed credit card due to non-payment (also thanks to mother), living in my parents' toxic environment and trying to dig them out of the hole they so dutifully dug deeper? There are some tunnels that just seem to get darker and darker the further you go. But just keep going at it. Eventually, they must lead somewhere. I'm glad I kept pushing. I'm glad I started.

So happy debt slaying anniversary to me! I shall celebrate it big time (maybe drink [water!] in it's honor tomorrow), because this debt won't live to have another birthday. I plan to have it gone as early as New Year's, as late as May 2014. 70% down, 30% to go.


Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Money filters for extra cash

While at Mysti's, she was talking about how there are more goals than money to go around. This got me thinking about what happens to any "extra" money as it comes in, and how it gets distributed. What gets priority. This by no means showed to be "most important goals" first, but the opposite. For illustration purposes, my most important goals are, of course, to move when the time comes. To have enough money for 6 month's worth of expenses saved up, no debt at all, and a new-to-me vehicle.

Below is a more accurate depiction of what happens to any extra money. Money that is not from my regular FT job pay:


Money comes in, goes through the filters, and if each filter is satisfied, it moves to the next. If there's anything left, then it righteously becomes "me"/spending money. So far, I have not seen that sort of money! And now, I don't have to wonder why.

First priorities are the shortfalls. Some months, I end up being ahead, but most months, I have a small deficit in there somewhere. Those get the first cut. After those two layers are satisfied, the next two are just my yearly goals. Christmas and some of my other monetary goals are met, leaving the certification and car funds to be completed. Any after that would go to the IRA I started. I can't be upset I haven't been able to fund it.

You may wonder why none of the filters deal with debt. That is because that is all my full-time job's non-bill income is dedicated to. I really don't feel like pouring every ounce of extra income into debt, especially not after throwing the biggest chunk of change available to me at it.

So, tell us: What are your money filters for extra income?

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

What do you value the most?

A few months ago I finished reading the book How to Manage Your Money When You Don't Have Any by Erik Wecks. It is a great read for anyone looking at alternative views on budgets and overall personal finance. Though I did not find in this book what I was looking for, it did give some really good points:

1) 4 things need to be secured before all else: Water/food, shelter, clothing and transportation, if transportation is a means of securing the first 3. In my case, it is. If I don't have a method of transportation, I can't go to work. If I can't work, I can't pay for food, shelter or clothing. It was interesting to have transportation portrayed as a necessary evil and not just tossed as the "cars are a waste of money, very expensive, very unnecessary" mentality. It also says that when creating a budget, these should be your top items and the first to get money allocated to them.

2) Another point was that we ourselves should judge what is important based on what we do, not just what we say. If we're buying a new pair of shoes (want shoes, not need shoes) instead of paying the electric bill, it should be clear that we're saying "the shoes are more important than paying the electricity bill". And if that is the case, so be it; just be ready to deal with the consequences. The book goes a bit too far, saying things along the lines of "you value buying a drink more than you value providing a better housing, better education or better food for your kids". I don't think it needs to be taken that far, and it's too harsh or too broad. But truth be told, there are plenty of people who do make that decision, knowingly or unknowingly.

By buying things that are not a dire necessity and possibly forsaking said necessities, you're practically saying "I value more going shopping than having electricity at home". That is a very scary thought, but it is what happens on a very daily basis. It is quite a harsh way to put it.

In my case, I'm saying I value taking a vacation more than I value getting a new car or getting out of debt faster. I value helping my parents more than I value paying off my debt or buying food, in some cases. I value paying for my certification exam more than I value getting out of debt.

There's no right or wrong answer. But if these statements do not align with what you think they should say, then try to balance the equation. Ways to do this is create savings goals, so that wants are already pre-paid from a separate savings fund and not taking away from a bigger, major goal, or a necessity.

Can you put your own actions into these terms? Think of a want you recently got that did or could've jeopardized your ability to meet a more important goal or need. I am quite thankful a lot of my wants are or can be covered with other savings' goals, but it does make you think a bit.

Monday, July 22, 2013

Another financial tracker

Unwillingly, I adjusted my budget/financial spreadsheet. This was to fully incorporate the budget change to -$80/pay period. Total damage is about $1000, assuming nothing changes from now until Apr 2015. Might not sound like a whole lot, but it is very important I zero out before moving. I was not zero'ing out before this summer either, but at least I was only short by $150. Now it's over $1,150. I have time to deal with the shortage (ahem, 21 months to be exact), but it was disappointing nonetheless to see the line move farther away and not closer.

You'd think getting the full $1,150 was an easy task. Relatively easy considering the 21 months to achieve it. But there are a lot of goals demanding money be given to them, and priorities must be observed. Debt has my full attention until early next March, as well as keeping track of and achieving my yearly goals before year end. Next up will be a more reliable source of transportation, and then the move. Of course, all my goal has eyes for is stable income. It doesn't account for bonuses, extra from my PT job, or random sources of money. There may still be hope!

As always, planning and looking ahead can not only give you direction, but let you know when that original path has been changed, vanished or upgraded.

This weekend at my parents' was a bit more expensive than anything I could afford. I went out with my dad to get his car ready for a trip he'll be making for work in his car (so we got motor oil, A/C refills, windshield wiper fluid) and I still find my weakness in providing food for them. I bought some juices, something for dinner that night, and something for them for the next few days. I guess that's how some parents feel about their kids, no? Don't tell me I'm the only one! (even if my situation is reversed)

Back to studying for now.

Friday, July 19, 2013

Vacation alternatives

What to do, what to do... when pieces of the puzzle don't fit?

I can't make the numbers work with my vacation plans. I can't travel to IL, stay in a hotel and rent a car as I wanted. Even without the car, which would defeat the purpose of this vacation, the costs come only so close. What would I eat and what would I do on the off time without as much as $20 leftover for the week? I'm creative, but not that much!

I've requested off the first week in August to do something. I just don't know what yet. I'm looking for something closer, maybe some place I can drive to and keep my car, stay at a cheap place and wander around aimlessly, on my own. Part of the money I was separating to pay for airfare could now be used for food and entertainment. How come I never include food in my travel budgets?! Of course, I can always stay home and study. And save the money. And regret it until next year.

Anyway, I still have the 6 pages of info that Sluggy gave me regarding the VA area. She said it'd take a person 2 weeks to do it all. Was that an untold challenge? Ha. It's a possibility.

My vacation budget for the year is $1000 and only $280 have been used for the concert. I may get myself some spending money for the concert, say, $50? That still leaves me with $670. More than enough for those $45/ni rooms I saw while wasting time in Priceline.

I still would prefer to go to Chicago. Oh well... one of these years. Just have to be patient.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

No cavities!

Hurray! Went to dentist and got that squared away. Because of some scheduling mess in their office, I couldn't complete the cleanings today. Total cost for a cleaning and a million xrays: $146. $66 today, $80 in a few weeks when the actual cleaning takes place. That is a lot cheaper than I was expecting it to be, considering I have no dental insurance. And of course, good news is that despite me not going to the dentist's office for almost 6-8 years, my teeth are pretty good, and so are my gums. Did I mention no cavities? The dentist and I were both very impressed, and I was quite relieved.

Slight bad news on the horizon: I've always known my bottom wisdom teeth push on the rest of my teeth. They've already crushed one on my right side. Now, it seems they are jeopardizing my back molars. No immediate danger, but it could come at any moment, to the point that it would be best to get my wisdom  (bottom) teeth removed. I told him I honestly wasn't planning on doing that, and with the cost for such things, I'd rather get insurance than pay it out of pocket, and he was comfortable with that idea. I will revisit this next year.

August is coming... and coming soon. It's my birth month, as well as a 3-check month, and I'm taking a "vacation" sometime the first week. More on that later. But the 3-check month is something to be excited for sure. I had the sense of not assigning it to anything, which means it's a free for all! ... Yeah, right. It'll most likely be to help me with my shortfalls. But it's still nice to get some "extra" money.

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Mid month Financial review

I was keeping tally of all of my cash purchases in a sheet in my wallet. Alas, that sheet has taken to disappearing, and I am not sure where it is now. Most of the expenses there were food anyway. I don't buy other things in person besides gas and food.

Let's look at the non-food expenses since Jul 1, most of them online:
$22.99 for the shoes
$76.00 gas
$22.80 Amazon (personal care prods)
$54.85 Printing PDF study book and binding, Staples*
$55.09 Office chair for home*
$25.40 Home office supplies, CDs, binders (-$20 rebate in the mail)
$152.67 Contacts from VisionDirect (-$25 rebate in the mail)

Total damage: $409.80.

In my account at the moment: $243.21

Difference: -$166.59

We could stop right there and administer a proper FAILURE stamp.

In slush funds: $235.00

Leftover if slush fund is used: $108.41

I'm not sure what to do here. Use the slush fund, or try to cover up for these costs with the upcoming check? I am actually eager to zero out my accounts and have a quieter second half of the month, but I don't want to use my slushfund yet. I could also use the certification money to cover for part of it... ah, decisions decisions.

**Speaking of Staples, I used two $25 off $75 on both of those purchases, scoring about $50 worth of stuff for $110. Most of it is back-to-school deals they had that I'll donate. If I had to spend money, may as well do some good with it. Printing and binding the study guide was $58 (came to $54 after extra items and discounts) and the chair was $60 (came to $55 after free stuff and coupon). This resulted in too many notebooks, glue containers, pens, pencils and pencil holders. I now live right behind a school, so they'll be getting a drop-in some time this week.

All in all, bad bad, but not horrible. I'll update tomorrow as I get what my dentist' cost is going to be!

Friday, July 12, 2013

40% Pre-Test

I didn't even know one could get stressed/anxious about an event that doesn't happen for months. I have started to develop a study plan, and took a pre-test in the front of my study book. I was expecting to fail. But to me, failure is anything below 75%. I got a 40%! Granted, most of these topics I hadn't read about and some I had not even heard of, but I was expecting to do better. It is a pre-test, to show you which areas you need to work on. Well, that answered the question loud and clear. Still, it left me incredibly disappointed.  I have 22 weeks to study. Even now, I feel a slight hint of fear. The quicker I can develop a plan and start studying, the better.

I know I have been/am a horrible PF blogger. I apologize. It's just the same old boring, but safe story when it comes to my finances. They've been on auto pilot, my variable income has disappeared for a bit, my appetite has been shot so very small food purchases here and there... nothing new to report. All is paid as agreed, and even some money gets pocketed here and there. My $2,000 car fund was completed last paycheck, so this upcoming Friday, I can refocus on paying debt with 100% of my extra money.

My gas usage predictions were wicked accurate, though. The commute is a complete straight shot, no rush traffic anywhere; it's a breeze. I haven't worked my PT job, but even when adding that cost, my total remains within $5 of what I had estimated. Gotta love when that happens!

As of today, I have $71 cash left of the $100 I took out on 7/5 for food and misc items. The $15 study book was taken out of my Paypal account, which holds small funds here and there from eBay sales. The shoes will fall into what was leftover from my last PT check, leaving me with $100 in unassigned funds. Well, not unassigned. Between the contact lenses purchase and whatever the dentist may cost, I know my puny slush fund will be wiped and require help. I have ways to pay for whatever comes my way, but I'll plan for it once I have the facts.

Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! We're getting torrential rain the whole day today, but it's been cloudy for so long, it's finally dropping a few degrees. It's 70 out and it feels heavenly, even with the water ankle-deep.

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Mail and updates

I got my new set of contacts. That was super fast! Today was the first day trying them on, and you can totally tell the difference between -2.50 and -2.75 (previous vs current prescription). The comfort level is also very, very there. That's one thing off my list, and at the cost of $125 for all 8 boxes or $15.63/box (1 year supply), which is a lot better than the $20~$25 per box price. As always, I shop around a lot for these things, and try to wait for the offers and rebates. It makes a lot of difference! I got them from VisionDirect if it helps anyone. That price also includes a $15 worth of contact lense solution recommended to me.

Dentist appointment is 7 days away. My office partner freaks out severely at dentists, and while I do agree there is reason to fear them, I am not preoccupied at all. Of the service? No. The bill? Slightly. But it must be done, and the dentist himself was a referral with good reviews. As long as I don't get a good finger-wagging for too long, it will all be ok.

My appetite remains shot or non existent. Stress tends to do that a lot with me, and I wish it didn't. Of course, it's cheap to not eat, or eat so little because you don't have to buy groceries, but it doesn't do my health or metabolism any favors.

Last, I got these things in the mail:

My certification study book. This book is intimidating. It's a few pages shy of 600 pages. While I had read the specs many a time, it didnt quite hit me until I took it out of the package. Retail value of $60, mostly sold for $40 even used, I paid $15 from Ebay. Not too shabby. Now to study like crazy. I have a LOT of ground to cover before December rolls around... 

Then I got these. They fit nicely, but the back strap hurts my feet slightly. Should be ok (I hope) once I've used them a couple of times. The total cost for these was $22.99. First pair of shoes I own that are that open.

Alright, now to at least read the intro of the book and device some sort of sensible studying strategy.

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Views on shopping

Happy 4th of July to all of my North American friends! 

***********

Now let's talk about shopping for a minute.

Every other holiday, I dare venture into certain websites and window-shop for shoes or clothes or other things I may need. 99% of the time, I won't get anything. The last time I added something to my wardrobe was that winter coat back in mid March.

I went to 6PM.com looking for a very specific kind of shoe, and I happen to find a rather nice pair on sale. It's $23 total. A small problem is... the shoes are tan/white. Why is that a problem, you ask? Almost all of my other shoes are black (except a pair of dark wine red and black flats). Why so much black? Because I can match it with virtually anything. White/tan? I'm not so sure. I don't own any sandals either, so that adds to the difficulty.

This lead me to think... if I didn't really had any debt, past or present, or if I didn't care about this whole budgeting thing, I could just buy a pair of black/tan, white/tan, and why not, throw in the navy/tan sandal combo. I'm sure I could use them someday. That took me to another set of shoes with as many as 6 color combinations! While the red would certainly go well with one outfit, I'd need the green for that outfit or yellow for that other one and... before I knew it, I'd end up with 10 pairs of shoes. Am I the only one that's scared by that train of thought?!

I will never really know if I was born a spender or a saver, as I wasn't given much of a choice, but I am glad to be in the road I'm in. Even after I have paid off all my debt, I'd like to be able to save for the bigger purchases and goals without feeling deprived vs the buy now, worry later technique.

Careful shopping: Blessing, evil necessity, or habit you wish to ditch as soon as you can?

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Strangest ticket I hope to ever get...

Hurray, I got a ticket!

Wait, that's too much fake emotion. Let me try again.

I got a ticket yesterday. It wasn't a very normal one. And upon further inspection, it wasn't even valid. But hear me out. Let me explain. Here's some images to guide you along:

Easy enough. Work, Public Parking Lot behind a post office, some streets with Stop signs at the interception, and Acme grocery store.

I left work at 5pm. I had plans to go to Acme to get some pasta and bread, so I get into the avenue. A car was in front of me. Suddenly, a cop pulls me over.

She tells me she stopped me because I didn't stop at the stop sign. I ask her which one, because there wasn't any that I remember. She gives me the street names corresponding to the second stop pictured (closer to Acme). Note that this stop sign is for those coming into the avenue, not those in the avenue. I tell her I wasn't on that street. She rolls her eyes and asks me for my license and registration.

After giving her the documents, I try very politely to explain where I came from (literally 3 streets down), where I had parked, and where I was going. She insists I was on the intercepting street and did not stop at the stop sign before entering the avenue. The ticket was given to me at 5:11pm, 10min after I left work. Logistically, it is hard that I was in the street she claims. Why would I go through a back road to reach the main avenue when it sits in front of the parking lot?

Anyway, the ticket is for $90. At first I thought, there must've been a sign I didn't see. I went by there again, and no, there's none. So now I'll have to fight it for no reason, and hope my word is enough, because that's all it falls to: word against word.

I'm not too upset, and though I can pay for the ticket, it irks me that I wasn't at fault. Fighting it means I'll have to pay court fees anyway (normally $45... or half of my ticket), but hopefully I can get it removed, if logic applies to court. For the record, I don't even know if the backroad from the parking lot would lead me to the offending interception, as this is a small town full of 1-way roads. I've never been through there and will drive by it today to make sure it's even possible to get to it from the parking lot.

From being in hearings, word against word are just complete mixed bags, and if the judge is as apathetic as the lady who pulled me over, I may not even have a chance. I'll start the proceedings, and get a signed letter by my manager stating that she knows where I park (because I've parked there for the past 3 years), and that I left work at 5, and where I work. Hope that's enough.

Hope your day went a LOT better yesterday!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Weekend recap + July's to-do list

Let's see, where to start...

- I'm all moved in! Everything's still in boxes, but I'm pretty much in. The drive isn't as far as I thought, and I found the grocery store all by myself! Go me!
- Cash month was a success!
- The 5yo girl was there this weekend, and boy, do they have questions! I wasn't quite prepared for that level of involvement, but it was enjoyable anyway. The girl is really cute and kept me busy.
- I saw off my half brother after a very nice dinner. He's FL bound to continue with med school. It'll probably be another few years (3-5) before we can meet face to face again. Sigh. I'll miss the little brat, who's not so little anymore.
- I spent $28 for the above mentioned dinner and $11.50 for lunch on Sunday, seeing as I had no food, quite literally. Good thing, all that is covered in my cash budget. I still have ~$10 left!
- I was reminded I need to start studying. That was my only failed quarterly goal. I have spent too much time looking for "affordable" studying material, vs focusing on what is the best material to buy. I think this may be a bad idea overall. The price range for different materials range from $40 to $750.

As far as to-do lists...

- Buy studying materials and start studying. ASAP!
- Get the finer details for the concert trip at the end of the month (gas expenses, food planning, etc)
- Complete dental appointment. *cringes*
- Finish planning on vacation days
- Order contact lenses. Seriously. This has been due since December!
- Get house stuff as needed (bed comforter comes to mind)

It will be no doubt a bit of an expensive month, as I have not properly saved for the dental appointment (I think it will be around $250, but not sure). So as always, any overages will be covered by my misc budget, PT job's check or slush fund if necessary.

Here's to a good month!