Finally Friday
March 13, 2009
1) Want to save more. How can I save more? (Assuredly, this period of binge-saving will be followed by a period of purge-spending. Just came off that spell a couple days ago.)
Thanks to the recent spate of car activity, monthly expenses have come down by $500. That‘s why the expense fund seems so robust. That can be directed to savings right away. What else can I cut out?
2) If the period of unemployment lasts through, say, the end of the year, I’ll have missed out a lot on retirement contributions. The goal is to have a lot of cash in the cushion, but what if some of that cash were stashed? Not too much of it, but an uptick in contributions seems like a good idea. It’s the opposite of DCA – investing in large lumpy sums for the next three months in anticipation of none at all from July through December, but I think it’s better than nothing at all.
3) Speaking of stashing, what about diversification? Ought I revisit the trad/Roth IRAs? There’s still time for 08 and 09 contributions.
During this period of uncertainty, cash certainly reigns (and yes, I still want my 50K of savings for lack of a more secure position) but there’s always an itch to earn more than sub-2% interest rates.
Last night’s trot ’round to the Fresh ‘n’ Easy turned up a 4-pack of “snacking apples,” 4 for $0.75 marked down from $2.89. They were a bit over a pound, so that’s not a bad per pound price.
Also, the red russets were 3 lbs for $2.88. On the pricier side until checkout revealed a $1.88 price tag.
Certainly not a comprehensive shop, but it was a quickie run, primarily for a fruit for lunch tomorrow. Meant to grab a couple of the monster-sized burritos at $2 per, they looked to be at least 1.5 pounds but I couldn’t be sure they would last the weekend for next week’s meals and I’m not sure that I wanted them for the weekend. All told, never came near to using the $2 off coupon. (Minimum purchase, $10).
I’d think if you are going IRA route you’d want a Roth since you can take the money out easily, just in case. We’re you able to figure out the potential uneployment award?
I agree with Miss M – max out your Roth for the year if you weren’t already planning on it. Even if you just put it into a money-market (so you don’t risk losing it), you can only deposit the $5K per year. Might as well put it in there!
Miss M: Yes, I’d prefer the Roth for the accessibility. I just don’t want to lose my money! As long as the timing is right, I should be ok on the potential unemployment.
paranoidasteroid: You have a point, I was just nervous about putting the money in and promptly losing it.