Mystery Shopping's End

I can't remember the last time I did a mystery shop. At first it wasn't a conscious decision. Mystery shops aren't as convenient from the new house. The closest ones I've seen are more than 8 miles away. The new job has (somewhat) set hours. It also keeps me in 2-3 set locations, not running all over town.

All of those factors, along with general new house crazy, caused a severe cutoff in mystery shopping last fall. When I laid out which tax documents we should be looking for I officially decided to cut mystery shopping. Outside of babysitting I decided that if I don't get a 1099 or a W-2 I don't want to deal with it.

Why?

Well doing our taxes has been a pain. I fall into the claim all income camp, not the claim my main job but side jobs don't count. By nature I'm a worrier and I'd rather not have to deal with the IRS over something stupid. Last year between the two of us it was something like 3 W-2's, 3 1099's, and 2 self maintained records that were additional Schedule C's. The amount I was making mystery shopping, when balanced with the record keeping and extra rigmarole at the end of the year didn't add up.

Currently I don't have as many earning opportunities. On the flip side I make more per hour with my current opportunities, largely babysitting and working at the museum. The money is almost equaling out and I have time to do the thing I enjoy.

Fiscal year 09 complete

The fiscal year has ended and I spent the two budgets I was closing out down to the penny. Our money guy called my boss, shocked, to let her know I'd spent it all. We weren't sure why he was surprised. I'd given him my spend down plan in advance and as time ticked away sent him many emails outlining things.

I'm taking most of this week to recover from the experience, mainly unpacking the boxes of materials that I purchased and tackling the things my predecessor left in the cabinets. It feels so good to organize and deconstruct the cubicle wall of boxes that has piled up. Though I had thousands to spend I put in extra hours to ensure that each penny was used wisely. At one point my boss told me to relax and just spend*, but I couldn't handle it. When I knew I wasn't getting the best deal I thought of the money taken out of my check and the checks we've had to write the IRS over the years.

I've promised myself that the end of next fiscal year will not be as crazy, at least on the 3.5** budgets I manage. We're meeting with the money guy in the coming weeks to work on the issues he created. I also understand what I need to do to get budget change approvals from the state level. Most of all, I will have a full year to spend according to our plan (vs 9 months) and less money to spend.

My June month end info will be up in the next few days. I ended up putting some of the work stuff on my personal cards. So instead of doing our finances this weekend I spend a bit of time working out reimbursements and getting money to the appropriate accounts.

*she wasn't encouraging being excessive, just not being quite as frugal.
**ARRA funds fit into one of my budgets and require separate tracking.

In the Black

I'm in the black and I've decided this is where I need to stay. Forever.

My net worth has gone from $1,211 to $4,081.

Last month I wondered if the funds we had saved for landscaping was giving the savings line a false bump. The key to this month's success- reigned in spending. Peeling away all of the work charges* showed a rather slim household credit card. The monthly necessities came in 300-400 below normal. My personal card was more than it should have been, but less than the past few months.

We've decided on yet another change to our money plan that I'll write about later this week but I'm confident (barring anything crazy) that I'll be able to stay in the black.

*I also peeled away the reimbursement check I received this week.

End of the fiscal year

At work, which is all grant based, we've hit the end of the fiscal year. I've been a spending champion. I still have a couple thousand to get through. Then I'll be back to (somewhat) regular posting.

I should have been a plumber

I could have also called this, good thing we have an emergency fund.

Yesterday, while cleaning up for a get together tonight my husband broke out kitchen faucet. Or maybe I should say the faucet broke while in his hands. It's a model where a single lever goes up down for on/off and left or right for hot or cold. There was a pop, no water when pulling the lever up, then the lever came off in his hands.

He visited our second home, a big box home imporvement store, and came home with a mission. They didn't sell the parts, but a local plumming supply place does. "It's a pretty easy fix if you get tool X they told him."

So this morning he heads to the plumbing store, where again they say "Yeah, it's pretty easy to do." At this point I should mention that my guy is not handy. He can make the computers work, and when I need help (usually in the form of strength) on a project he's there. But not someone you could call handy. The fact that he even volunteered to try and fix it amazed me.

Fast forward 2 hours. I get a call at work letting me know despite turning off the water, water is flying everywhere and he is now bleeding. I take a minute and call a plumber.

I called a national service that we have all seen plumbers for and told them to head over, largely because the lack of a call fee (btw plumbers, why do I have to pay $35-70 for you to just show up???). The guy gets there, gives us quotes, and (after the husband calls) we both fall on the floor. I give a quick call to 4 competitors from the phone book, asking how much it would be to get the problem fixed, using plumber language. Their quotes were all within $20-30 of the quote from the guy standing in our kitchen so we decided to just go for it.

Depending on where in the cycle our credit card bill is and what his comission check looks like 3 weeks from now we may be able to swing it. If not, we have money put aside for time like these.

This is our first house related emergency so far so I'm not going to complain too much. I'm also going to use this as impetus to get off my behind and do something I've been planning to do since we moved in- develop a contractor list. I'd much rather contact someone based on personal reccomendations than call a national service. Come July it's at the top of the list.

No Refi for Me

When I finally convinced my husband that we should refinance the house rates were around 4.75. The plan was to reduce our monthly payment but keep paying the same amount, cutting years off of our mortgage.

The problem is the declining home values in our neighborhood. When we bought we knew that prices would continue to fall, possibly for a year or two. Based on our 5-15 year timeline we were ok with that. What we didn't anticipate was the dramatic drop in interest rates this year. We put down 10% when we purchased and have since paid $1,000-2,000 in principal (10 mortgage payments).

When we started refinancing all of the banks we looked into required 10% equity. The Making Home Affordable Act reduces the equity requirement, allowing up to 105% equity. I started calling about this option in late April. A plan wasn't in place until 1.5 weeks ago when the rates had crept into the upper 5's.

I called in and had a loan guy run the numbers last week. The estimated savings were under $100 a month. So for now we've decided that the expense of refinancing isn't worth what it will cost us to do so.

We'll be keeping an eye on rates in case they go back down but we're not holding our breath.

The Place to Be

It seems that in my neighborhood the place to be on a Saturday night is Redbox. Saturday at around 7 we decided to go get a movie at the newest neighborhood Redbox-there are 4 within 2 miles. The line was 7 people long when we arrived and while we waited 3-4 more showed up.

Our wait was around 10 minutes, but we had no place to be and it was a beautiful evening. We also had a code that would only work at that Redbox ;)

Almost free health care

Today there was a meeting at work about open enrollment. We're a little crazy right now so I asked the HR lady what I needed to do if I am fine with my current level of benefits. Everything will be the same price, with the exception of our health insurance.

Currently I pay $5/month for my well known HMO. Overall I'm happy with my coverage. The only things I'd change are: an allergy center closer to me and phone appointment booking during the after hours.

The new plan is $25/month for the same level of coverage. Unless you fill out a health survey. You can choose to have the information added to your chart (or not). The only information my job receives is that I took the assessment. It's the kind of thing I'd do on my own because the numbers that signal good health are not on my side right now.

With the assessment on record my monthly cost drops to $0. That is $300 assuming I work with the same company for the next year. The only reason this post is called 'almost free health care' is it took me 30-40 minutes to fill it out.

The Great Return

My pre trip organization goes something like this:

• Lay out (or list) clothes I plan to pack
• Decide I hate all of my clothing
• Decide which essential items will keep me from being a fashion disaster
• Shop like crazy

Generally during the 'shop like crazy' period I'm also trying to finish things up at work, get the house in order, and spend some quality time with loved ones. So I run in, sometimes trying things on, other times just pulling things off of the rack. What I end up with are a few key pieces that I like and a lot of crazy.

Because I know this about me I'm very careful with my receipts & bags. Until I know I love something the tags stay on. Sometimes there are mini fashion shows. And then I decide what I actually like and what looks rediculous.

Once I'm back from my trip I neatly fold things back into their bags and begin the great return. Today I returned two dresses, a shirt and a pair of jeans. That totaled $173. Tomorrow I'll do round two, a few shirts from one store and a few pieces from another. This includes the trench that my loving husband said would keep him from leaving the house with me. That will be around $140.

The key is to get everything back to the stores in the same billing cycle. Usually if you check online or call in you balance due will be reduced. Even more important is asking about the return policy before you purchase, so you know the dress that you loved but may hate can actually be returned.

Taking Security too Far

After Chase bought WaMu my husband decided he no longer liked his personal credit card. This was in the time period just after buying a card and when we were considering refinancing. We bought the house just using my info to avoid the self employed hassle that made most of his employment history at the time. With the tightened credit market we weren't sure if we would be able to swing the refi with just my income.

Instead of having even more credit pulls while looking for a new card I shopped from my credit report. We added him as a joint user to a card with a longish history & healthy limit that I was worried would get closed. Since then it's been his primary personal card.

Though he's the person who set the username and password he got locked out this morning. Because he's just a joint user (not joint owner) I had to make the calls to get it unlocked and the passwords reset. I hid my copy of the card when I got it, so I couldn't have the card numbers.

So I call. Put in my social security (which for once actually made something pop up on the other side and they didn't ask again in 2 minutes). Get a guy on the phone. He takes me through verification questions that require knowing where the card was used, last amount paid, or the information on the card. The one thing I could answer (if my wallet weren't missing) was my driver's license number. I ask if that will get me through later.

I find my wallet, go to work, come home and try again. I do the social. Confirm the credit limit. Give my driver's license number. Confirm the names of people on the account. Offer to give the social for someone else on the account. I explain that I don't actually use the card. That my husband is the primary, but because of their security system he can't make the call. I also confirm the address on the account. All this and the girl will not reset my password.

While I appreciate them trying to protect me from identity theft the call was pretty ridiculous. After a brief conversation with the manager she agreed. But why make a girl get salty on the phone?

E-fund tax and life

Where did the week go?

In the near future (ie after I discuss with the other half) I plan on enacting a new rule for our efund. I am super hesitant to ever touch the efund, even when it makes sense. He is always ready to use it. The solution- the efund usage tax. Every time we take money from the efund we have to replenish what was taken (normal) and add additional funds. For instance amount taken plus and additional $1,000. When I talk to him we'll work out the exact details-how much the tax is, how quickly the money needs to be replenished, and if there are any exceptions.

The actuall discussion will probably have to wait a week because this week will be a bit more stressful than most. At work I'm nearing the end of our fiscal year. Due to my late start date (3 months into our fiscal year) and other things just not working out I have a lot of money to spend. Since I'm working with tax dollars and on the behalf of the kids in my community, though I have thousands to spend I want to use to be responsible in my use of the funds. His job just moved teams around so he is starting with a new boss and hopefully will be interviewing for a promotion.

Adding to the Money Plan

We've been homeowners for 10.5 months now. As we knew it would, this has done all sorts of things to our monthly finances. So far there haven't been any huge surprises (well other than how expensive landscaping is) and things are going well.

But there's a problem. In our drive to pay down debt and handle the necessities around the house there are a lot of household items we haven't gotten. They aren't things that we need to live, but are things that would make our house a lot more comfortable. My wishlist includes- art/decoration for the walls, a patio table, a dinning table, and a new to us grill. In the next few years we'll also need baby furniture.

These purchases are big enough that most month's we couldn't just buy them. They're also not emergencies, though sometimes my husband thinks otherwise- no grill = major emergency in his mind.

So starting this month we're going to put $150 into a household account so we can buy household things without (me) feeling guilty.

Our monthly set asides will now be:
Insurance $350
House Account $150
Utilities $121 (I pay what's due and save the difference)

In the Black

My networth is in the black! I went over the numbers 3-4 times to make sure it was correct becuase honestly, I was a little bit shocked.

I finally realized that the money I have set aside for landscaping ($2500) is giving me a boost. There's a chance that next month I'll take a very shallow dip into the red, but from July onward I should be in the black. And from then on I intend to stay here.

I will now resume with the happy dance in my cube.

Seattle Here I Come

Being away from the day to day responsiblities, my financial spreadsheet, and thinking about our life in general I've decided we need to take a vacation. In July we will have lived together for 3 years. We traveled (5 days) for our wedding/honeymoon because of restrictions at his new job. Outside of Gameboy coming on a work trip with me that's the only time away from home we've had together.


Our next planned vacation was supposed to be Japan. I haven't really written about it because we wanted to get the car/house stuff settled before starting to save. I know when we get around to saving for this trip it will not be cheap, putting the trip at least 1.5 years out.


What I didn't realize is how much that amount of time was weighing on me. It's more than a love of travel. Part wanderlust, part time for reflection, part special memories travel is really important to me. Though we've taken individual trips that ease this I really want to explore with Gameboy.


So while I was traveling I decided that this summer we're going to the Pacific NW. So far there are not many details. Seattle is a must because he has a lot of friends there and I've always been intrigued. We may also visit Portland. The trip length will be somewhat affected by hotel costs, but somewhere between 4-7 days.


Looking at the budget spreadsheet today I realized that late summer/early fall is more realistic. June will be a heavy month, but during July/August we should be able to work out saving for a trip in addition to our regular debt payments.

Any suggestions of things to do, placest to stay, where to eat, etc are welcome!

Overwhelm

I'm back from a wonderful whirlwind vacation full of friends & family. In my mind vacations fall into two categories- people and/or places. This was definitely a people trip. I didn't take in any other the major sites in the cities I visited. I ran errands with my mom and aunt, went to the mall with another friend, and in general just hung out. The most important thing for me was to get to spend time with some of my favorite east coast people and celebrate two wonderful graduates.

I'm pretty sure I came in under budget, because while on the trip I didn't pay detailed attention to what I was doing. I did a lot of big picture thinking though, about debt, our future plans, making the most of time, our decision to settle in the west and the differences in lifestyle between my friends and myself. In a perfect world I would have had today and tomorrow to more properly mull over these thoughts, putting them into an actionable plan.

Instead I'll be working at least one night this week to meet a deadline. Our admin assistant was supposed to get a few things done in advance of my return to make these three days easier. I'll get the report done, but honestly my heart* isn't in it.

My house is also...interesting. Housework is not my husband's forte and while he straightened certain areas others look like a tornado hit. The back yard, which was pretty low before I left enjoyed the combination of rain and working sprinklers and looks like a jungle. Despite the work deadline (or because of it) I need some order at home so tonight we'll be in the yard with our mower, soon to be acquired weed whacker and maybe some weed spray.

On Vacation

I'm currently on the east coast, soaking up some humidity and seeing loved ones. So far it's been great. I'll be posting more when I get back.

Mileage Reimbursement

I have a bad habit. Really I have quite a few. Most of them circle round to a dislike of paperwork and poor organizational skills. There are just many more things I'd rather do with my time- even where there's a financial payoff. This is especially true since I go over 40 hours most weeks.

As a result I haven't done a mileage or purchase reimbursement since I started my job in September. I average 6-12 out of office meetings a month. It's May. I couldn't find my planner from last year so I only did late December until May and 5 receipts that I could get my hands on. The total: $606.

I will do expense reports more often. I will do expense reports more often. I will do expense reports more often. I will do expense reports more often. I will do expense reports more often...

44 cent stamps

It you're like me you don't use stamps very often. I actually can't remember the last stamp I put on something personal (my office is another matter). But for those rare occassions it's good to know that stamps are now $0.44, up $0.02 for the last rate hike.

While we're talking about stamps, do yourself a favor and buy forever stamps. They cost the same $.044, but next time rates go up you won't have to add that extra stamp. My director's predecessor used some end of the year funds to but hundreds of stamps last year. She did not buy forever stamps. So the next 170 or so envelopes I send out will need 2 stamps. When you're dealing with one or two envelopes it's not a big deal. When you're dealing with 50-100 it's not so much fun.

Getting ready for transplant

After 6 rainy/snowy weekends in a row my raised bed garden is finally built. I still need to get it leveled, staked, and filled with my peat/compost compost mixture. Tonight and tomorrow morning I'll get a lot of that done. Now that the bed is almost ready I'm itching to get the seedlings that I've been growing for 2 months into the ground. But there's one important step between here and there.

When we leave our temperature controlled houses we: put on/pull off jackets, add a little sunscreen, pull out an umbrella if it's raining and so on. We have methods to help shelter us from the elements, the seeds that I've been growing do not. Sitting on my window sill there is sun, filtered through a window and steady 68 degree air. When I put them outside they'll have to deal with direct sun, wind, a 30 degree change in temperature each day, and a new environment for food (the roots).

So a few days ago I've started the process of hardening off. Each day I put the plants outside for a bit, adding time each day. On Wednesday it was 2 hours (evening), yesterday was 4-5 (evening), today I put them out at 6 and they'll be there until I leave for work with another session this afternoon. Tomorrow it will be 8-10 hours, with some mid day sun. Depending on the weather forcast they will move to their new home Saturday evening or on Sunday. If you have the option cloudy days are the best to transplant.

Random + Net Worth Updates

It's a few days past month end, but all of the transfers from our last paychecks have finally settled.

Net Worth: A positive balance is so close I can almost feel it! Assuming things don't fall apart this summer I think I could be there by mid fall.

Carolla: My car is officially paid off. I added the KBB private party sale price to the net worth calculations now that we own it outright. Now the goal is not to wreck the car. I know a lot of people who have damaged a car right after they purchase. Today I came close when my brakes locked up and I spun out on the highway. I'm fine and the car's fine but it was the second scariest experience of my life.

Prius: I love how easy it is to pay this loan. I've been going on about it all month and sending little payments to figure out the system. To pay I just do a share to loan transfer. The loan detail is there immediately, with how much went to interest and how much went to principal. Until the due date it subtracts from the monthly payment. Once you've made your full payment for the month any payments before the due date are principal payments. Compared to most accounts where an extra payment means a paper check to some random address this makes me so very excited. As you can tell I can't stop talking about it. The only part of the system that needs some work is getting money to the credit union. Currently it looks like: paycheck-brick and mortar- ING- credit union. Very inelegant. Later this summer once things (hopefully) stabilize one of use will probably set up a payroll deposit to the credit union.

Refinance: We didn't go for the crazy quick refi. The timeline was too scrunched and the closing dates outlined overlapped with some can't miss meetings. Since I'm in meetings 3 days then on vacation for 6 taking the time off wasn't an option. I'm going to call our current mortgage company this week to get info from them.

Landscaping: I put this decision in Gameboy's hands and he decided on xeriscaping. There will probably be some creative financing to make it happen, it depends on what happens with the strike and if Gameboy's commissions that should have been paid 1 month ago ever come in. At worst I will loan 'us' some money from personal savings.

Jobs: It seems very likely that he will be on strike starting next week. We've been working on a strike plan to pull in income. I'm hoping his union/management will come together with a deal that makes the job worth having. My job is entirely grant funded. My grants all expire at the end of June. One funder will let us know in the next two weeks. My main funder hasn't put out reapplication docs. This will be addressed while I'm on vacation, but I'd like to get it over with.

Vacation: Despite all of the crazy I'm still going on and will totally enjoy my vacation. We have efund money, I have personal savings that we can use in a pinch, and worse comes to worse I can nanny for the summer or he can go back to his former industry. He's been getting inquiries about the former industry which mean more money but less stability. I have things for graduation girl A, my former roommate and graduation girl B (after much prodding) requested cash. I'm working on creative packaging. Also thinking about getting some of the cash exchanged for her summer trip to Europe.

Lowes Card: We purchased appliances when we purchased the house. A series of mishaps led to returns/repurchases. So while I thought all of those funds were due mid July I recently realised that things are due in July, August, and September. We've decided to pay each portion of the bill the month before it's due. This is a final back up in the event of a cash flow issue this summer, but getting each portion getting paid on time is our number one priority.

Those are the big things happening in our life right now.

Me at the bank

Today I wasn't feeling well so I left work a little early. I detoured on the way home to deposit a check from babysitting last week. This is how it went:



Drive thru banker: Ms. Sara L, do you have a personal banker
Me: Not here, why?
Drive thru banker: Well you have a sizeable balance and we want to make sure your money is working it's best for you.
Me: Oh, that. We have a sizeable credit card bill due this week.


Good to know they're looking out though. This bill is pretty high ($7K range), to anyone else the balance would probably look rediculous. Just under half are expenses associated with Dad moving out. Did I ever blog about that? Anywho, we also charged the downpayment for the Prius. The regular day to day expenses are around their usual amount to round out the balance.

Dear Kayak,

I love you.

In general Kayak.com is my favorite place to start researching trips. I like that it gives a wide variety of options by searching multiple companies. There are also sliders to narrow down take off/landing time on each flight, length of layover, length of trip, and my favorite- price. If that's not enough for you there are also check boxes airlines, number of stops, and type of aircraft. All of this means it's easy to find your most perfect flight/fare combination.

The new additions since my last fligh have me even more excited. It will calculate baggage fees and add them to each price, giving you the true ticket cost. There is also this handy chart that outlines all of the airline fees. Will a free snack make or break your flight? How much will enough leg room cost you? And of course those baggage fees.

If you're thinking about taking a trip and have the money saved up this is a great time to fly. Two years ago the tickets I just bought for my trip would have been in the $350-400 range. Direct flights from the Rockies to Philly and then back from DC, booked just under 3 weeks in advance cost me $276. Depending on what I do baggage wise I'll be $19-49 under my budget. I could have gotten things down $26 by taking a flight with a layover but at this point getting in early enough to have dinner with my husband and make it to work the next day (not to mention 3 hours of my time) are worth $26 to me.

This isn't a sponsored post, I just love the service and it has continually helped me to find the best fare/flight combinations time and time again.

Things that make me proud

Eariler this week, amidst the craziness, I called my cousin to see how she is doing. We talked about finals, the graduation plans, her new job, and summer plans.

She's exicted about a trip to Europe with her mom this summer and all of the family that are coming in for graduation. Pretty normal stuff. Then she said she's really excited about starting to invest! When she starts working in June she's definately starting a Roth IRA and possibly starting a 401(K) depending on what thier package looks like. I can't tell you how proud I was of her at the moment.

My cousin is 22, debt free, and ready to do her thing in the market. She secured a job last summer. Pretty much, she has her head on straight and is ready to tackle adulthood.

:)

The final check for the Carolla has been sent! Our tax refund hit this morning and Toyota should have thier money sometime next week.

I'm going to wait until their website shows a $0 balance and then I'll update the sidebars. That's an extra $325/month headed to the efund (until it's topped off) and then the Prius.

3 deadlines met

Can I take a nap now?

This week was a bit crazy because I had a grant application, grant spending deadline, and quarterly report all due between Wednesday and tomorrow. Other than physically driving the grant to the submission location tomorrow (after it gets a signature) I'm all done.

Usually this would be cause for a drink. Or at least a nap. But neither seem to be in the cards for me. Unless I go take a nap in my car in the work parking lot. I'm picking up my second most favorite guy, my mom's friend's 6 yr old, from child care in a bit and hanging out with him for a while. Then I'll leave him at my house with my husband and go sit for the preschool triplets.

I think a trip to Sonic for one of their happy hour sweet teas is in order. I hate the styrafoam cups (Sonic, if you're reading, can we do something about that) but I think sugar and caffeine are going to be necessary to get me through the evening.

UPDATE: Inspired by this Dooce post I decided to try and take a cat nap in the car. I didn't want to deal with moving the booster seat so I reclined the drivers seat, used my cardigan as a blanket, and turned NPR down so I could barely hear it. I set my alarm and immediately fell out. It was one of those naps where you wake up feeling a little stupid- totally wonderful.

My BFF- The Library

For as long as I can remember I've loved reading. I was the kid reading with a night light after lights out or reading a book hidden in my desk during classes I thought were boring. As such, the Mt. Pleasant library was one of my favorite places to go (the park, my cousin's house and Popeyes also made that list).

I've always known that the library saves me tons of money but how do you (in a relatively easy way) quantify those savings? Use this handy calculator. My savings? $172.95 a month. The cost savings are based on avereage full cost prices, which I wouldn't pay. But even half my savings plus paying $20 in fines is more $66 each month.

In addition to being frugal the library is good for the environment. The books get read over and over again, so the paper that goes into it is reused. This reduces the number of copies that need to be printed thus reducing paper.

If you haven't been in a while check it out. Most libraries have DVDs, CDs, and community education in addition to books. My local library even offers online books, cutting paper out of the process entirely.

Happy Thrifty Green Thursday!

I live in a land called dilema

By nature I'm a bit of a worrier. I'm also really indecisive when there isn't an option that fully fits within my guidelines. So in the time that I haven't been spending like a mad woman (for work) and writing requests for more funding I've been going over and over 2 big decisions.

A) Landscaping. We have to get it done because we are that house that is bringing down the block at the moment. The options are xeriscaping, which requires less water (aka earth friendly) and less mowing (husband friendly) but costs money. An amount that I pretty much think is ridiculous. Then there's re-sodding. Increased water usage. Having to mow. $2,500 cheaper. So my environmental side and my wallet are at odds with each other. Saving up over the next few months is not an option because of the HOA, that and we don't want our neighbors to hate us. Gameboy is heavily leaning towards xeriscaping. I like the idea in theory, but not the money.

Then there's the landscaper thing. Guy A came out, measured, did a drawing and gave a quote. Gameboy sent the quote to Guy B (a friend of a friend), asking if it was a reasonable quote. Guy B sent a counter quote that's $1,000. I have a bit of an ethical dilemma because his quote is based on Guy A's original work/design/planning. We're still in discussions about this.

B) Refinancing. We could drop our rate 1.5%, but it will cost 7K to do so. We would have to move at warped speed (something that makes me cringe) because of changes coming May 1. The loan officer said she could get our house appraised $10K higher than our purchase appraisal. Our appraiser friend thinks we're down $5-15K. So loan officer lady is saying she could get an appraiser to appraise higher than we think our house is worth and higher than our friend thinks our house is worth. But we have to pay $350 out of pocket for this pipe dream.

The refi, based on the high appraisal, would cut the $70 we pay in PMI. There would be an additional reduction of $140 ($210 total). What we owe the mortgage company would only be $155 less because we currently save/pay for our insurance on our own and that would no longer be an option.

Thoughts?

Earth Day Resolution

Yesterday as I drove through oodles of traffic I though about what I can do for the earth. I wanted something to comit to until at least next Earth Day. Something that I can add into my life without spending thousands of dollars. Something that didn't take hours a week.

Some of the things I currently do include: using homemade cleaners (50% of the time), making our own laundry detergent (98%), bringing bags to the grocery store (60%), catching water as it warms up for plants (79%), recycle (110%), repurpose (90%), drive fuel efficent cars (100%). I'm sure there's more, but that's what is coming to mind.

One area where I fail- using disposable plates/silverware/bowls at the office. I have the type of office where the center table has food at least once a week- causing plates and silverware to head to the landfil. When I actually bring my lunch I often forget forks, spoons, etc.

The solution: get a set of work plates to store in my desk. We have access to a sink, soap, and sponge so (other than laziness) there's no reason not to use regular plates/silverware instead of paper. I also have a drawer that is currently empty that can house things.

I'll let you know how it goes.

Striking Earth Day

Over at the Green Baby Guide Rebecca does Earth Day resolutions. I wanted to come up with one or two this year, but honestly there's something a little more pressing weighing on my mind.


Gameboy belongs to a union and on Monday they announced that the chances of a strike in the next month or two are high. Probably in the 95% range. Management has proposed going 100% commission, dropping vacation time, and a long list of other things.

This has been a nagging worry in the back of my mind. How long will they strike? How will this affect summer income? What about health insurance? What will this mean for his long term employment?

It doesn't help that our efund was recently accessed. I'm still working on a plan but over the next weeks I'll increase the number of families I babysit for and other side jobs. We'll be paying off my car and putting aside the rest of the money for our appliances when we get our tax refund. I'm also going to try to save most of Gameboy's checks until the probable strike date (two checks).

I'm not panicking. We're at a point where we live on 2.75/4 paychecks each month. There are also things built into our system (ie self escrowing) that we can change for a month or two if we need to.

My 403(b) hasn't lost money!

I started my new job in September. By the time I settled in, met with someone about investing options, and got the paperwork together my contributions began in 2009. I'm doing 8% percent pre tax to the 403(b) and 8% post tax towards my Roth.

The 403(b) account is my only financial account that I can't access online. The brokerage is kind of crazy with the security and I haven't had the time to jump throught the 15 hoops they require. I got my first quarterly statement last week. Until I get through those hoops this is my only access to how my accont is doing. Considering the current market that's probably better for my blood pressure.

My account total- $13.56 higher than what I contributed. Not amazing, but a positive number makes me happy.

New Car Loan Detail

We bough Gameboy's new Prius late last month. This week we got a new loan from a credit union. Why change loans after 3 weeks? A little thing called the interest rate.

When we sat down to do the financing at the dealership the first rate they told us was 7.99%. I looked at them like they had lost their mind. My auto credit score was low/mid 700's, his was upper 600's. In most of the places where we shopped the loan those rates put us in the first or second tier. We hemmed and hawed a bit. The finance guy magically came up with 5.74% from a bank they partner with. Because we had the option to shop the loan in the first 45 days (and I was driving 100 miles a day to get us both to work) we told them to start processing.

The next few days I called all of the banks/credit unions where we have accounts. We bank with a big bank, I have another account with a national bank, and I have two credit union accounts that I go back and forth about closing back home. One bank couldn't beat 5.74%, the other took 8 days to call me back. Both credit unions had rates just under 5%. We gave both permission to run our credit so we could get exact answers. The first offered 4.6%, which we were ok with. The second offered 4.4%, making us happier.

As we started the long distance paperwork I went to their website a lot. I'm bad at keeping track of phone numbers. On day 2 of the process their leading banner changed from something about college loans to new car loan rates for 'green cars.' I can't remember the last time I dialed that fast.

The final verdict: 4.15% interest with payments at $506. The difference in finance charge is ~$1,5oo. Not that we plan on having the loan for the full 60 months ;). We're thinking we'll get it knocked out in around 2.5 years.

In the future I'd shop the loans and get the better rate first, but if you have a loan with a crappy rate looking into refinancing with a credit union may be a good idea.

Note to self

Putting off taxes and quarterly reports should be avoided.

I think next year we'll use a tax preparer. I say this every year but what end up holding me back is not so great record keeping and finding the time. It's a bit like going to the hairdresser. Once I'm there I love it, but scheduling, getting my hair in hairdresser shape* and driving there are just too much. So I end up doing my hair on the couch with a tv marathon ever couple of weeks.

This weekend my husband and I are going to have a conversation about record keeping. We need a system beyond "this is a household thing hon, here you go." I happily do the household finances, but maintaining a filing system on my own is not something I'm up for. The summer I worked at a credit union relabeling and moving 2 walls of file cabinets killed that.

I have a couple of ideas/options.

• File folders that we just drop things in by category
• Expandable file with categories
• The baggie system- putting all receipts for a month in a sandwhich bag and dealing with them at the end of the year. This is from a coworker.

Do you have any super easy ways to keep all of the documents from taking over or flying away?

*My hair and combs don't get along. I break around 2/year. My hair is usually twisted so hairdresser prep involves un twisting and detangling (2-3 hours), then (without retangling) getting my hair to do something that's acceptable for leaving the house. It's a process.

Busy

Somehow the personal and busy times seem to overlap. Nothing I can't handle, but it's keeping me on my toes.

Personal:
Taxes- almost done

Adjusting car loan- we got a loan from a dealer with the option to shop the loan for 45 days. I'm using a long distance credit union that will be great once I get through the hoops. I need to get pay stubs and possibly this year's taxes to them.

Dealing with old car- the mechanic who has it has been very against donating it. He wants us to give him the title to wipe out our diagnostic bill. I think he's full of it. Gameboy is going to see if he'll forget the bill and give us a few hundred. Otherwise it's being donated.

Landscaping- we got the quote for the front yard. I almost fell over. I understand why so many people use grass even though it's more maintenance and water. We have to decide how important low maintenence and water consumption are for us. Also if there is a way to work the price into our budget.

Professional:
Grant spend down- I have 3 grant budgets that I run. All have spend down deadlines, one in April and two in June. I've been working on getting programming together for June and paying tuition bills for April. Yesterday I learned that 8 people never attended classes so I have a few thousand to reallocate.

Maternity leave madness- my director is on maternity leave. Before she left we created a pretty plan. The stuff covered on the plan is fine, more work but manageable. It's all the other stuff that comes up that makes my head spin.

External players- really this should be external players that don't return calls/emails. Recently I've had a few who don't get back to me then after a deadline want me to rework things. I'm so over this.

Alligning Vision

Today, as we both drove home, my husband and I talked about what we should do with our tax refund. Whenever we have a windfall ($1,000 plus) I check in to see if there's anything outside of our game plan that he would like to happen with the money. I map out what I would like to happen, gather numbers, then talk to him.

The first thing- pay our state taxes was a given. Then I wanted to pay off my car and put asside the remaining funds for our 0% interest appliance fund. Depending on when we actually have the refund in our hands there will be $500-1000 left after doing those things. There are a few options:

• Extra payment on the Prius
• Rebuild the efund (used $3,000 as a car down payment)
• Home exterior fund (landscaping (HOA required)/patio furniture)

I gave the first two options and with no needling he agreed that we should rebuild the efund. If you knew my husband and/or have heard the range of financial discussions we've had over the past 2.5 years you would get how amazing that is. He gets the value of having a cushion, but given the choice would much rather pay off debt. If the economy were different or his job was different I may agree. But they're not, so having a small efund makes me happy.

Despite my efund love we're going with option 3. Our lawn is diseased in the front and a required tree is missing. We're leaning towards xeriscaping to reduce water consumption. The problem is we have no clue what this will cost. If there is no blizzard when we wake up a landscaper is coming over with a drawing and numbers. The HOA fine season and plan approval requirement make this time sensitive. So whatever is left after we pay off the debts on the top of our list will be spent on the house.

Next month I'll get a new plan together that will rebuild the efund and attack the Prius loan.

Net Worth

We financed the car. My networth fell. It's -16,184. Really, there's not much more to say.

Without the new car loan the line would have continued it's happy climb. I'm pretty confident that over the next months it will continue the upward climb. The break even point will fall sometime next year. Probably late summer unless the comissions (him) and snowflakes (me) are amazing for the next of the year.

Speaking of snowflakes- I made no extra money during March. That's the first time in more than a year.

1st Quarter Check In

We're a quarter of the way through 2009. This is crazy. I thought this would be a good time to look at my annual goals and see what I still need to do.

Things I'm making good progress on. Things I've thought about but scheduled for later. Things I'm not doing well on.

Pay off my car by May. Possible, but not very likely. End of June should happen though.
Buy Gameboy a new car before his current car dies. No luck. Also why my car won't be paid off next month.
Work Roth IRA's into our 80/20 plan. Kinda. 8% of my 80% goes towards my Roth IRA. I want something a little more concrete for both of us- see below.
Also convince Gameboy that we should both be doing Roths. Haven't started this one yet. Wanted to get my car paid off first.
Get to know one of my neighbors. It's still snowing. I'll work on this once it's nice outside.
Give more. I've donated more than I usually do at this time of the year. I've also found an organization I think I want to volunteer with regularly.
Figure out a better work life balance. Getting there. I only check my work email from home twice a day (once before, once after). I also have a better feel for when things are going to get crazy.
Reduce the knitting stash. Umm... this would involve not buying more yarn. Which I haven't been doing. I blame all the new babies that need hats from baby yarn, that's most of the yarn purchases. I have found a use for 3-4 foot pieces of yarn that I got from freecycle a while back.
Join/serve on a nonprofit board. This will be a summer/fall activity.
Move 10 minutes each day. This can be strength, aerobics, yoga, whatever. Until my around birthday I was great. He got sick, I got sick, work deadline, helping dad move, his car situation. Not good reasons to ignore my health. I started up again yesterday.
Grow my own food (well some of it) this summer. Seedlings started! Materials for a raised bed mostly purchased. If nothing else there will be veggies this summer.

I'll update networth once all of my transfers go through.

Trip Planning

I'm planning my next trip and I'm so excited I can barely handle it. I love going new places and revisiting the old places. During undergrad and at my first 'real' job I averaged 4-7 flights and a few smaller trips in between each year.

Moving west has significantly impaired my traveling lifestyle. No cheap east coast flights to Europe/the Carribean. The 2-3 hour drive to other cities/the beach is also gone. These things call responsiblities also seem to get in the way. This other not so fun thing called debt is also cramping my stlye.

The inspiration for the trip is my little cousin's graduation. She is number 3 on my list (after my husband and mom) of favorite people so there's no way I would miss her getting those fancy pieces of paper. On my mom's side of the family graduations & weddings tend to be the family reunions. The last 3 weddings (including mine) have been elopements and my undergrad graduation big get together.

I'll be seeing: the graduation girl, my mom, 2-3 aunts, 1-2 uncles, 4+ cousins, and whoever else decides to show up. Since I'm making the trip east I'm also working in my best girlfriends, a few old coworkers, the people I like from high school, and my second moms.

This is going to be a 3 city 10 day trip with lots of spending. I'm still working out the details but I'm thinking somewhere around $1,500 from my personal 'whatever' account. The breakdown:

Airfare: $325
Bus/Train fare: $150
Food & Alcohol: $500
Entertainment: $250
Clothing: $100
Rental Car (?): $100
Subway/Taxis: $75

Food and getting around are the biggest parts of this budget. I'm still trying to work out how I'll be getting between DC-Philly-NYC to see my girlfriends. East Coast folks, please tell me there's been an improvement on the Chinatown bus (or something like it). If I rent a car it will be for a few days in DC/the burbs to ease the demand on my aunt housing us and make seeing folks at the ends of the red/green lines easier. Using the subway/taxis will be my main way of getting around. The food & alcohol is because I like to eat and drink- I'm ready for my favorite mango mojitos, good Thai food, tapas, fake meat galore, and anything else I'm feeling at the moment.

As I solidify my plans I'll have a better idea about getting around between city's and how much I'll actually need to spend. I also need to come up with an amazing graduation gift for my cousin. So far her only request has been me & 2 younger cousins at her house graduation weekend.

My Budget Secret...

I don't have one.

We have a money allocation system (80% of earnings to household, including Roths and 20% for personal spending/savings). I set grocery spending limits and guidelines if we're buying work clothes. We have debt payoff priorities. I comb through our credit card bill monthly for spending trends. But that's about it.

Irregular income + irregular expenses have made a traditional budget too much work. The difference between my husbands base salary and actual earnings last years was more than $25K (his base is not much). Paycheck to paycheck the differences can be mind boggling. New house= new bills. Electric, gas, water, & waste water are the utilities that come to mind. Our house was a foreclosure, so we couldn't ask the previous owner what the bills average. Gasoline prices are all over the place and we have to get to from work.

Even during the low months we earn enough so this isn't really a problem. We pay mortgage, credit card (in full), loans, and then send the extra to our current focus. February was the last month since the move that we didn't have funds for an extra debt payment.

As I get a better feel for our bills I'm thinking about using an accrual system for our bills that vary. We're already doing this for our insurance. Next on the list is our electric/gas bill. Our highest bill was twice as high as our lowest bill. The highest bill also coincides with the low point in our earnings.

Meal Planning-Week 1

Today was moving day for my father in law. I got to watch delivery guys put together furniture and then sit around while the guys loaded a truck with boxes. This gave me the perfect opportunity to pour through a few cookbooks.

I think that each recipe will last 2-3 meals, especially now that I'm back to just one guy in the house. I have five for the week, though other than tomorrow I'm not going to assign food to any certain day. I'm taking baby steps with this meal planning thing.

Sunday- Potato Leek Cheddar Soup w onion focaccia
Pasta Carbonara (w/ Veggie Bacon)
Tortilla Casserole
Pasta w Herbed Ricotta (need basil- may use arugula, chives)
Mushroom Empanadas

I'll let you know how they go- the only thing I've made before is the soup. Depending on how ambitious I'm feeling I may tally the costs associated.

Garden Spending

It's early in the season, but I've already spend some money on what will be my vegetable garden. So far I've just had 2-3 expenses:

Seeds- $15.00
I went in with a group of ladies to buy vegetable seeds. We came up with a list of what we were interested in, one person ordered it all online, and we did an even cost split. The other day we had a seed party where we planeted seeds that need time to germinate and took others home in baggies.

Jiffy Seed Starter Greenhouse- $8.00
I thought I'd use eggshells, paper towel cores, and other hacks I've seen around the internet. The original plan had been to split the seeds into containers and plant at home. But once they were in some of the seeds were so tiny the lady in charge reccomended planting at her place. The seemed like the easiest way to plant then transport without getting dirt all over my car.

The kit has 72 peat pellets that expand when watered. Netting that will eventually decompose holds it together. Each pellet gets a seed or two and the lid + warm environment provides the humidity to get seeds going. Though it's made of plastic, the outer part of the kit (tray & lid) can be reused for years to come. This was a little less, $6.99 + tax, but I bought a lot of things on this trip and can't don't want to spend the time to figure out tax.

Vermicompost bin- approx $30
I started this project last fall and can't remember exact prices. I used 2 rubbermaid bins, a borrowed drill, and $10 of worms to get started. This project was all start up costs. Shredded newspaper/junk mail with banking info/paper towel cores/cardboard (all already in the house) make their bedding. Our fruit and vegetable scraps are their food. All in all it's been an easy, non smelly process that will reduce costs when I buy soil.

Still to come:
Lumber- $30-50
Nails & such- $20-30
Soil-$20-30

Unexpected Prosper Funds

I have money invested with Prosper and Lending Club- two peer-to-peer lending sites. The loans I've funded at both sites have been successful so far, which is great. Until recently though Prosper had a minimum withdrawal of $25 or $50. So even though I was earning money I couldn't access it.

So imagine my surprise when I logged into Prosper to get an idea of how much was hanging out there and realized that the withdrawal minimum had been lifted. As I'm sure you've already guessed that those funds ($19.76) are on their way to my bank for a brief layover before going towards debt. An additional $5.33 was at Lending Club, so next week we'll be 25.09 closer to our goals.

Prosper is going through a quiet period, so they're not taking any new lenders. Lending Club is taking new lenders. They have a nice referral program where new referred lenders receive $50. If you're interested leave a comment and I'll send a referral.

Meal Planning Month

In general I'm not someone who makes a meal plan. In the past I could get away with it, coming home from work and tossing something together. Other times I'd make a casserole or two and that would be a few meals. But since the new job, house, or housemate (insert whichever) I have not been able to get it together for more than a week or two. Lately I've been eating out too much. That and eating cereal for dinner- a lot. We've also essentially been putting money in the compost bin with vegetables that have gone bad.

So even though I generally don't like meal planning I'm going to see if it will work this month. The goal is 5-6 dinners each week and lunches for work. I'm pulling out cookbooks, visiting blogs, and calling mom to try to get things together, one week at a time. Any recommendations for vegetarian (lacto-ovo) recipes are appreciated. Assuming I can get my act together I'll be posting my weekly plan.

And the new car is

a 2009 Prius.

Though this was not how we wanted to buy a car, we're happy with the outcome.

In a perfect world the old car would have lasted until we had 10-15K saved up for a new one. If we financed anything it would have been less than 10K. Snowball money from my car and our appliances would have sped up the saving process. We would have shopped around more, possibly buying something at auction.

This isn't a perfect world though and stuff happens. Because we have an emergency fund we had the funds to make a down payment. Even though I (we, but the financing is all on me) bought a house last summer, which does ugly things to your credit, my auto score is low/mid 700's. His scores continue to rise and are almost at the 700 mark, a good hundred points since I moved here 2.5 years ago. We also know our finances well enough to know what we can and cannot afford.

Our previous snowball plan was: car, with auto savings going to the 0% appliances; break for yard furniture; saving for a new car; mortgage below PMI; student loan

With current financing (we are shopping the rate) payments start in 1.5 months.
Current plan: my car, auto savings on 0% appliances; pay off Prius; get mortgage below PMI; student loan. Yard furniture may look different this year but that's ok. Our time frame for the Prius is max 2 years.

We are going against the grain in one area of personal finance and with it in another. We added to our debt load. This is bad. But when we looked at our non debt options (3Kish) we'd end up with a car that would not last very long and likely have horrible fuel economy. The extent of our car knowledge is- gas goes here, get the oil changed, window washer fluid goes here, so getting something that would need work was not appealing.

We plan on having this new car (and mine) until they stop running, so even though we financed quite a bit the investment will be worth it over time. Depreciation on Toyota's in general, and Prius's specifically is pretty great. We were down to an 2007 and a few 2009. The difference in sticker price when you look at similar features was $2,500. Since we plan on having it for a while we got the features, color, etc that we liked, rather than get something we didn't like as much for $1,000 less.

For those of you wondering, the other contenders were: Matrix (he felt cramped), Rav4 (wonky seat belts in the back), Corolla (I wanted another utility from the second car), Forester (I don't like AWD). There were a few more early on that I can't remember.

Time for a new car

The shop quote is in and it looks like we'll be buying a new (or new to us) car. According to the mechanic:

$1,000 buys us 4-6 weeks of life
$2,700 fixes the problems that landed the car in the shop

If we were going to try to make the car last another year there's an additional $1,000 worth of work we'd need to put into it. So at almost $4K and more than 200,000 miles on the car we'd rather get something new.

The question is what. I want something that:

• gets decent gas mileage
• is kid friendly
• looks nice enough for the outside sales job he is vying for
• less than $25K, though I'd be happier in the $10-15 range
• can handle snow

The combination of the three makes things interesting. We haven't had kids yet, but like the house it's something on the horizon and we don't want to have to buy something else once we do have them. If they had better gas mileage I'd be all over a crossover. I go back and forth on hybrids- good for earth, but expensive. There's a good chance we'll buy something preowned if we don't do a hybrid or crossover, but then this morning I heard that some new cars are costing less than their preowned versions. Decisions, decisions.

No matter what we're going to need to do some sort of finacing and shake up our financial plans.

All and any car advice is welcome! Going without a car is also not an option. I work 15 miles east of our house, he work 25 miles south. The round trip would take 2-2.5 hours if we try to do it with just one car.

Car Trouble

= Hit to the e-fund.

Sigh.

This morning I was in bed, having a somewhat bizarre dream where I was hanging out with my boss and her new baby, when the phone woke me. In my household calls before 8 AM almost always mean something bad. It was my husband, letting me know he was pulling off of the highway because his car decided it didn't want to go more than 15 mph.

We got a tow from AAA, left the car at a shop, and I drove him to work. We have no idea how much it will cost to fix his car or if we're even going to bother. The plan had been to pay off my car (should happen in the next 2 months) then start saving for one for him. Depending on how much the shop says we may buy now.

There are way too many variables (cost to fix, availability of financing, rates, what to buy) for my liking. I'm crossing my fingers that it is something we can absorb into our monthly expenses and stay on plan. But something tells me it's not going to work that way.

Tax Prep Costs Increasing

If you are someone else is doing your taxes, and like me you haven't gotten this taken care of yet- get going ASAP. H & R block is raising prices next Monday. I think TurboTax's date is at the end of the week. Since we're getting close to the deadline they are raising prices.

So if you've been procrastinating maybe this weekend should be tax weekend.

Spending Priorities

There is a certain amount of money we spend in our day to day lives and first year of home ownership. With everything going on in our economy I've decided to be more purposeful in where my money goes. This isn't general PF talk, looking at what my money is spent on, but literally where my money ends up.

The most important thing to me is to spend money in the places I would like to see weather this storm. When I need to make a purchase my first choice is a local business. I was watching public access the other day (yes, I'm a nerd) and our mayor said something like more than 70% of money spent at local businesses stays in the city. It's like dollars bouncing around in a pin ball machine. I can't find exact numbers, but everything I've read says more money stays in your area if you buy from a local business vs. national chain. So that's great for our local economy.

Then I try to shop within my city limits. I live on the border of my city, between 2 others, in a metro area. Work, volunteering, and life take me all over my city and the surrounding areas. But as much as possible I try to shop in my city. Sales taxes in my city fund the services I use- the libraries, recreation centers, etc. In a round about way they also fund a portion of my salary.

Finally I shop at the areas that are most convenient to my home. If I have a choice between Target near work or Target near home, I choose the one near home. Every once in a while this breaks the city limits rule, but businesses that don't take a lot of resources to reach are also important.

I told a friend about this and she said I'm being a bit neurotic. I acknowledged that it may seem that way, but I have a vested interest in my neighborhood surviving. This spirals upward, encompassing my city, metro area, state, and the US all doing well. Since I'm not in a position to spend lots of money to help the economy thinking about purchases in with this framework helps me feel like I'm doing what little I can for my community.

March Madness, Donation Style

It is mid March, time for spring weather, St. Particks Day and the NCAA basketball tournament. This year Razoo has a competition for nonprofits going on called March Goodness. The game? Who can raise the most donations.

The minimum donation is $10, which won't break the bank for most people. The prizes for your favorite nonprofit:
$10,000 GrantFor the non-profit with the most donor supporters
$3,000 Grant For the non-profit with the 2nd most donor supporters
$2,000 Grant Lucky draw among all the non-profits that have at least 50 donor supporters
$1,000 Grant Lucky draw among all the non-profits that have at least 10 donor supporters

The think I like most is that most of the nonprofits are on the smaller side and probably getting overlooked in this economy. I am still trying to decide where to put my money but will make a few donations before the end of the month. Let me know if you have any favorites!

Go PITT!

The Madoff Mess

Bernard Madoff is headed to court today. He just expected to plead guilty to what amounts to a giant ponzi scheme.* You can't miss him on the news and every newscast talks about the people that lost their life savings.

I think what Mr. Madoff did is horrible. I hope our judicial system punishes him adequately. But isn't the first rule of investing diversification? Aren't we all supposed to be building a balanced portfolio with a mix of asset tpes?

It is horrible that people were swindled. But anytime I see folks complaining that they lost their whole life savings I can't help but thing why was your entire life savings invested with this one person/company?

* In a ponzi scheme investors are promised crazy high returns. The high returns attract more investors. The first investors are paid the crazy returns with funds from the new investors coming in.

Hitting Home

Today the recession and the stimulus both hit a little closer to home.

So far only one person I know (a friend of a friend) had been laid off. I guess my mom (real estate agent) makes two. Today my company's fiscal agent, a large nonprofit, laid off 9 people during a restructuring. One was my main point of contact for a portion of my work.

Earlier in the day I was at a table where organizations discussed how stimulus dollars may make their way down. Their was hope, anticipation of quick turnarounds, and uncertainty what (funds and requirements) they will receive. It seems that the funds relating to my industry have made it to the state level or should be there any day now.

It's a weird juxtaposition.

The staff for my organization are all ok- at least through June when fiscal years end. Though if anything we're probably looking at pay cuts. It also doesn't seem like we'll be receiving any stimulus funds, at least not directly.

The Rec

Before we moved I had an on again off again membership with my gym. I used it enough that I felt I got my money's worth, though not enough to be as healthy as I want.

When we were looking at houses I had all sorts of things that went into a matrix- proximity to schools, parks & grocery stores, room for us to grow, and space for a garden are just a few. Nearby gyms did not make the list. When we moved in the only commercial gym was a Curves, which I just wasn't feeling. Anything else is more than a 20 minute drive, which means I wouldn't go. I work downtown and everything I've looked at in that vicinity is more than I'm willing to pay (we're talking $60-120/month). I have figured out some things to do from home but I like machines that can give me stats.

The solution? Our local recreation centers. Growing up the rec center was a place to go swimming or keep out of trouble, but not really a gym. In my new city most of the rec centers have standard gym machines (treadmills, ellipticals, bikes, weights, etc). There are two within 15 minutes of our house and more across the city. The even better part- it's around $13/month when you buy three months at a time.

The main downside is that they are closed on Sundays. My friend's solution- Sundays are to get out and explore the trails just outside the city.

Monthly Progress

Debt payoff progress- the short and sweet version.

Percent paid off:
Car Loan- Up 7%
Lowes Card- Up 17%
End of PMI- Up 1%
Student Loan- Up 1%

I'm still trying to decide what to do about the 2008 Roth IRA money. If you have a favorite fund let me know.

Short Month Alert

February is always a short month, but this year it snuck up on me. This is probably because I'm handling my finances a little differently than in the past. Usually in the late 20's of a month (27th-29th) I schedule transfers for a few bills due early the next month. But this month that's not enough time for money to move between my brick & mortar/ING/payees. This morning I took 10 minutes to do the transfers and all is well. Good thing I realized when I did.

Dear Camera Charger

Where are you? I have pictures to take- brand new babies, closet pics for mom, and some worm poo for an upcoming post. It's been a while so I'll say uncle. Please show yourself.

My shopping problem

So I have this thing when it comes to shopping. I walk into a store, look around and immediately I'm drawn to the most expensive thing. Especially when there are no price tags. Shoes, furniture, clothing- anything. This can make shopping hard.

After yesterday's post I decided to look at some outdoor furniture online. I started with the big box places, asked some coworkers, and went to main sites of manufacturers I liked from the first two. I have fallen in love with a piece for our front porch. When I showed Gameboy he instantly started oohhing and ahhhing. You can see that this is leading to a problem right? The outdoor love seat that would be incredibe for the front porch, plus cushions but minus shipping is almost $2200.

I'm sure it's high quality that will last forever. And I subscribe to the buying quality pieces that will last side of frugality. But that's more than half of what our appliances cost. For one (oh so beautiful) love seat.

So if you have any reccomendations for affordable outdoor furniture I am all ears.

Debt Payoff Celebration

As we get closer to paying off our car loan (less than 3K left!) I’ve been thinking about ways to celebrate. The thing that keeps floating to the top of my mind is backyard décor. When we moved in we were focused on things like moving costs, getting vents cleaned, appliances delivered, internet set up, and such that we didn’t really do anything buy haphazardly water our backyard*.

My short list includes a grill that cannot fit on top of a table, a table/chair set, and some additional chairs. It may or may not expand as I explore a bit more.

The plan (depending on his commissions and how much I work outside of work) is to have the car paid off in April or May. The next month instead of snowballing our next goal (saving for a car for Gameboy) the money $325 car payment and extra money goes towards back yard stuff.
We’ll still research and buy the highest quality within our budget. But this way we get a fun brake from the serious and make our home a bit cozier. I still need to discuss this with Gameboy but I think he’ll agree.

*We didn’t get the replacement part for the sprinkler until September. Then we realized it was even more broken. On the sprinkler guys recommendation we’re waiting until spring. So we used a hose end attachment (when we remembered) during the last months of summer.

Urgent Care...

how I love thee.

So I don't know how I missed out on the beauty of urgent care for so much of my life. Maybe it has to do with growing up on an HMO and never really having to do more than call a number and ask where to go. Whatever the reason I have found and we have used urgent care 3 times in the past year.

For those of you who aren't familiar, urgent care is like an after hours, walk in doctor office. Price ranges based on your insurance, but in our cases it's been just $5-15 more than a regular appointment. That may not seem like a bargain, but when you consider that it's significantly cheaper than the ER it's worth it. Urgent care is also helpful when you can't or don't want to take off work for a relatively simple appointment. I'm not advocating doing away with your regular doctor. Having a regular practitioner is important, but the ease of urgent care has thrilled me.

Here's an example. A few months ago Gameboy joined a new (very expensive) exercise program. On day two he discovered that the childhood asthma he though was long gone had become exercise induced asthma. He left class early and after a break slowly drove home. His work schedule has little flexibility and that week he had wall to wall meetings so taking time off to see a doctor was not really feasable. Still I made a few calls and no one could see him for 3-4 days. When he got home I said we should check out the urgent care place that's in our town center. He was seen within 15 minutes, got a full workup, and left with exercise instructions and an inhaler.

This week we made another trip in the hopes of discovering what Gameboy's mystery illness(es) are. For $45 we ruled out a few illnesses, and got two perscriptions. He's still sick, but looks human again.

Garden- Starting Off & Seeds

If you're anything like me, at this time of the year you're itching for winter to end. For the past month I've been daydreaming about our backyard once the weather warms up- cook outs, lemonade plus a good book, and a vegetable garden.

Really, I've been daydreaming about the vegetable garden for more than 2 years. Enough space for a least a small raised bed was on the 'must have' list during the house hunt. The back of the house faces south,* so with the exception of some fence shading it should be a good location. Unfortunately, by the time we moved in last summer it was too late for a real garden. I did a few container plants but only the cherry tomatoes were able to produce anything before our relatively short growing season ended.

I'm going to do my best to track the costs and production of the garden as I go along. There will be some extra expense this first year to get things up and running. I'm planning on raised beds which need to be bought or built (after buying materials). Currently I'm budgeting $100 for that portion of the project. Then there's fill dirt/compost/moss/whatever else I decide. Last fall I started composting with worms to help lessen that expense. Finally there are seeds.

Whenever I've bought seed packets (usually for herbs) I end up feeling very wasteful. I plant at most 10 seeds and the rest sit around in a drawer somewhere. I don't know if it's just not cost effective to sell them in smaller quantities but we're talking crazy amounts of seeds. So imagine my delight when someone on my favorite yahoo group* suggested buying seeds together. This way we each get a reasonable amount of seeds at a lower cost.

We're still getting our order together, but I'll post my final cost with a list of what I'm buying. So far it's looking like cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, peppers, broccoli, and melon. I have never (with the exception of those tomatoes) grown more than a few herbs- making this summer a bit of an adventure. Any green thumb advice is very welcome!

*which makes winter shoveling oh so fun
** the source of my most frequent babysitting clients, a recent extra earning opportunity, and random advice

Random Thoughts

I don't know where this week has gone, but here are a few random thoughts:

More than 1 radio station in a market should not be able to do a fund drive at the same time.

Fund drives for children's hospitals + driving = bad. Otherwise known as crying + driving= bad.

I had very little to listen to this week.

I miss traveling.

It amazes me how quickly I can make a paycheck disappear (this includes saving).

I'm not big on holidays (including tomorrow) with the exception of Thanksgiving.

I love pictures.

Ending the Firefight

My work is entirely grant based. Currently the things funding me and my day to day are: a federal block grant via a state nonprofit, state funding, a local tax initiative, and a state foundation. In a way this means I have 5 bosses and 4 work plans. And for the most part that's fine. That's how thing happen in my industry and I knew that walking in.

The problem is that for most of my 5 month tenure I've been fire fighting. Instead of doing work at a planned & steady pace I'm jumping through hoops to meet/anticipate 1 deadline or crazy request after another. A big part of this is that during the first 3 months of the grant years my position was empty. I knew there would be a bit of a learning curve but it has been steep. I'm playing catch up in all areas, doing the things that have to be done by a certain time and other things fall by the wayside.

In the 2-5 day down periods I have between the craziness (if I'm so lucky)I've been doing a bit of work dreaming. Not the I wish I made $100K a year kind, but what I want my accomplishments to look like and how I can get there. Step one, after I put out the current fire(s), is to create a year long plan. This will outline what I have to do month to month, when grant reapplication deadlines are (my director & I missed one a few weeks ago because we just didn't know), events where I want to participate, when reports are due, and time lines for some of our bigger programs.

This is where I got to before leaving for a meeting Friday morning...

In addition to the outline I am trying to set up a few shadow visits. There are 15 other agencies funded by one of my grants. Some of my colleagues at other agencies have been in the field longer than I have been alive. I know there are advantages that my relative youth brings to the job, but I'm also a big believer in learning from those with experience.

All of this ties back to one of my goals for the year- finding a work life balance. I was doing pretty well the first two weeks, despite 2 big deadlines. Deadlines 3-6, the work training I'm attending on Saturdays,* and my directors impending maternity leave have left be very unbalanced. My one quasi solace is that I'm not the only one feeling this way. I was meeting with our other program manager the other day and one of the first things she said to me was "I feel like all I do anymore is put out fires." In two weeks I hope to get this all under control and get started on my strategies.

*theoretically I'm taking 1 comp day a week to make up- to bad I'm needing 45 hours to get the regular work done. I'm keeping good notes and will eventually take the time

Credit Age

Crazy busy week but this was fun. My credit age is more than 15 years older than my real age!

I am 43
in credit years!

Credit Age Quiz by SpendOnLife.com

Roth Decisions

Right now my 2008 and 2009 Roth savings are in limbo. Why? Because I can't make up my mind.

First, there's money I saved during 2008. I saved in an ING sub account because I thought I might want to invest in a new fund*. Most of the funds I've looked at require $2.5-3K for the initial investment. Since I didn't have that in January I decided to save and make a decision when I had enough money. I crossed over $3,000 in December but the decision is yet to be made. I know stocks are on sale and I have 30+ years for growth, but looking at performance (my main tool) is hard when just about all negative. I feel like I may as well be picking out of a hat.

Then there's the 2009 question. I only have $3,184 saved for 2008. Between January 1 and tax day (actual filing or April 15th, whichever is sooner) you can still contribute to the prior years Roth IRA. So, the funds we allocate to my Roth (8% of my salary) could go be 2008 or 2009 funds. By April I still wouldn't hit the 2008 limit. As a result (baring a major windfall) my amount for 2009 would be piddly. But that's just vanity getting in the way right?

Where are your Roth funds invested?

*My 2006 IRA is in a Vanguard Retirement Year fund but I think I want to branch out more.

I love my banker

Until I moved in with Gameboy I would have never said I had a banker. Now I can't imagine it another way. Gameboy and BankLady became friends before I moved out here. When he was in the mortgage industry they sent buisness their respective companies weren't interested in back and forth.

So anyway, after I wrote Monday's post I sent her an email explaining what happened. Tuesday morning I got a call at 10. The fees are reversed and overdraft protection is set up. After a 2 minute email and 4 minute call problem solved. No horrendus hold music, no sitting at my local branch for 25 minutes, 6 easy minutes. So thank you BankLady!

Pure Stupidity

This month I did something so stupid that I can hardly believe myself.

A little back story: I pay all of the household bills and do all of the money shuffling*. The first week or so of the month I usually sit down and pay/schedule payments for the household card, my card, car, set aside funds for electric/gas and water, do our self escrows and send an extra debt reduction payment. At this time I also review all of our bills that auto pay on the house card to make sure nothing crazy is happening.

So late last week I log onto our bank account just because. I'm totally shocked to see more than $1000 just hanging out in our checking, something I never let happen. I check the recent debits- all of the ING transfers look good, household card went through, but there is no payment to my personal card. By now it's past the 20th and this bill is due between the 12th and 15th each month.

I immediately log in to the card site to see if the bank maybe made an error (very wishful thinking). I swear I logged onto the credit card site and made the payment, but there's not electronic log of the payments. So for no good reason I just had a late payment hit my credit report. I called and immediately made the payment by phone and got them to cut the late fee in half. I tried to get them to cut all of it but it was not happening.

To make things extra fun, apparently my bank account doesn't have overdraft protection. I could swear we set this up with our savings accounts at the same bank. But that credit card payment and an auto savings feature hit on the same day, overdrawing my account. I actually thing this is a bit comical and have emailed our banker to look into it. She's pretty good at working things out so I'm hoping the fees will get waived.

*This is largely making sure money is in the right place to pay the right bills. We have a brick and mortar for 3/4 and pay a few other things with ING.

Car Milestone

We're slowly but surely paying down the car. Every time we cross another thousand mark I have a little celebration in my head and think about ways to make more money. There really is something a bit addictive about watching those numbers go down.

We started the year just under the $5,000 mark and as of today we're at $3903.06. The goal of having it paid off by May definitely seems to be within our reach. That day will be one of full celebration as our first bit of debt hits 0.

Per my self imposed rule the side bar won't be updated until the end of the month.

Enjoying History

I'm watching the pomp and circumstance of the morning. A big part of me is missing home (DC & the burbs) and the excitement that is surely in the air. I'll be enjoying things from the comfort of our couch before heading to work.

The regular PF blogging will resume tomorrow.

New Earning Opportunity

I recently fell into a new opportunity that I'm pretty excited about. One of our local museums has a research program that requires observations, surveys, and focus groups. They posted a call for new people on one of my yahoo groups and I was accepted. I get made fun of for belonging to this group (it's a mom's group and I'm not a mom) but I've gotten so many great opportunities there.

I'm looking forward to spending time at the museum and stretching my research skills. I'm also looking forward to the $18/hr salary. It's not something that's frequent, but it's more than most of my snowflaking opportunities.

Dear Local Radio Stations

Thanks for making a possibly frustrating morning great. I left the house at 8:35. I stopped at a McDonald's, I'll be generous and say this was 10 minutes. I pulled into a work garage at 10:22.

Despite the 90+ min commute I'm in a great mood because local radio stations, you rocked it. I got do dance to some of my favorite songs (easy to do when you're going 0 miles per hour), learned a little about the issues minorities are having in Germany, and all sorts of other randomness. All for free. So thanks!

sara l

This and that

I have a big mouth sometimes. I find myself volunteering information or for things without full details. This can be bad. The most recent case of this means I will be in a training 7 hours a day for the next 8 Saturdays. Yeah. On the plus side I get to take off a day during the week, though I don't know how I'll find the time. I'll also eventually be a trainer for this training, which pays $27/hr this year.

Babies are weighing heavily on my mind. My best friend in the city, my boss, and 3/4 of Gameboy's local friends that don't already have kids plus half of my long distance friends are pregnant. I fell like I should buy baby yarn in bulk and just continually make hats and booties. We plan to wait at least another year but the peer pressure is on full force. I've literally had 2-3 women all try to convince me that now is a great time because our kids could be the same age. Instead of saying yes I've been focused on getting the financial house in order and trying to set us up for happy financial times. I've been looking at ways to earn money from home (like the above training) and squeezing the budget in other areas to pay down the debt faster.

I'm also tryingot figure out a summer garden. Last summer we did a few containers when we moved in, but it was really late in the season. This year I want to do a raised bed garden in our yard. I've been trying to figure out where in the yard, what I want to plant, and the best seeds to get. Whenever I start a new project I tend to get a bit obscessive, so most of my reading lately has been about gardening. I'm also trying to figure out what things will do best in our high altitude/desert climate.

It's time to face the snowy commute now. I'm glad I have the option to wear jeans whenever.

Goal Implementation: Work Life Balance

So I'm working on the work life balance. And on Monday I did great! I even told my boss I was going to severely cut back on email from home and she said "Good!" So what has happened since then? My coworkers are dealing with a budget reconciliation that is not going so well. Five months, 2 fiscal years, new accountant, relatively new staff on our side= ugly. We're almost there and finance has extended the deadline by 2 days. Meanwhile I've worked an extra 5 hrs & 40 minutes in the past 2 nights. The fun part is this is in addition to my regular work.

Since there will always be deadline crunches I'm going to work on how I deal with the time. I'm going to start recording my extra time in my planner and actually take the time within 3 weeks. I'm also going to keep my to do list with me most of the time. Most of my "Oh crap, I need to...." moments happen in the car or at 9:30 on the couch. Then I get online and spend time working. Instead I'm going to add it to my to do list and deal with it the next day.

I'll check in later with progress. It's nice to have the support of my boss while I make these changes though.

Medicine by Mail

I decided to start the new year off by saving a bit of money. I have a daily prescription that costs $10 every 4 weeks. Over the course of the year that is around $130. There's also remembering the monthly drive to the pharmacy, which is only open 8-6 M-F.

The less expensive option? Prescriptions by mail. I called my HMO this morning to the the details. They essentially cut 1 copay off of 3 months of medicine, so I get a 3 month supply for $20. They also pay for shipping. Best of all it comes right to my door mailbox down the street.

So instead of $130, I'll be paying around between $80-100, depending on when my current fill runs out. To make my savings a little deeper I'll be paying with pre-tax dollars via my FSA.

So how can you look to save a little on prescriptions? If you have an HMO that requires you using specific pharmacies give them a call to see if they have a mail option. If you have a PPO (or something like it) call the pharmacy line on your insurance card. Ask those lovely people if there is a mail option. Also ask wherever you get your prescriptions. It seems like Walgreen's has a prescription mail option if you register on their site.

Enjoy the savings!