August 1, 2010
Katamari Accounting: I think it’s time to roll as many accounts into one as possible.
- 1. The Retirement Funds are now spawning a 4th account due to the rollover I initiated a couple days ago. Let’s make that one Roth and one “massive” IRA.
- 2. The e-fund is spread across CDs, and savings accounts in two different banks. I’d like to have two big honkin’ CDs: One is already a $15K 5-year term CD, the other might well encompass the rest of the cash as well as the soon-to-mature Prosperish Loan.
- 3. Pin Money, Moving and School just can’t make up their minds what they really want to be so they should just become Parental Medical Funds.
Financial Planning: Once I reorganize my finances, I need to help a friend structure some investments from an inheritance. We’re talking multiples of what I have personally, but not so much more I couldn’t create a cohesive plan.
Progress: It’s been a niggling thing in the back of my head that I haven’t been paying my fair share OR saving. This month’s increase, even after I paid a great deal of credit card bills off, is both surprising and puzzling. I’ve now redirected a small chunk of the direct deposit, previously all toward the expense account, to actual savings starting this month. Which brings me to ….
Urges and Splurges: In the spirit of absolute honesty, seeing my number go up when I don’t have a specific account that looks like it’s going begging makes me want want want. But ……..
Spending: As usual, binging and purging. By which I mean, I don’t get nice new clothes, underthings, hair ties, new phone, new anything that’s not strictly necessary so that I can spend several thousand dollars on my parents. They have both woefully neglected their dental care and I had no idea how bad it was until recently. I knew my dad needed dentures soon but just found out that many of his teeth are bad and so are Mom’s. I estimate that the costs will start around $10,000 for basic care.
Freelancing: If I want any extras in my life, I’m gonna have to work for it! Time to go hunting for more work.
Reality Check: Beyond that, in less than five years, I’m sure that Mom will need more assistance than Dad can provide. Heck, in two years, she could require a full scale assisted living situation and I don’t have anything near enough saved for that. Looking above, a whole $107K looks like a really tidy start until you realize that I may soon have to spend $60K/year on assisted living for my parent(s). Then I’m nowhere near ready for the future.
July 11, 2010
With a few minor deviations, like having paid rent for July already, I’ve pulled together what should pretty accurately reflect my financial month of June. I keep wondering if I should continue to post these reports. They were always meant to keep me accountable and make it really easy to keep track of whether or not I’m making progress, but there’s the niggling thought that perhaps it comes off as bragging after you reach a certain point.
The seemingly “steady” creep up is just the aftereffects of the great push, also known as: $5K/5K challenge. Not a penny was from regular earnings, almost every cent of that is being spent on regular expenses.
There’s something that I’ll soon, in the spirit of full financial disclosure, share with you in a future post that has radically affected my finances recently.
In the meantime, however, there are things that have to change about the picture you see above.
One, there haven’t been any contributions in my retirement accounts since I started this job. That’s because, dear friends, I’ve been a slacker in the last two months and couldn’t decide what to do about that blasted 401(k) issue. I hate passing on free money vs. I’m not convinced the match (total of 4% to my 5%, I misread the literature before) is worth the extra fees.
Two, I’ve been paying all my parents’ expenses since leaving, but I keep wondering if there’s a way I can squeeze out a little more to give them a small cash allowance as well. Although they have my credit cards, I know there’s something disheartening about never having real money on hand. That may not be possible though, because point three is…
I’d like to have at least $1,000 saved just for their dental expenses. The moving fund is in ok shape, not enough for deposits, a move, and all that yet, but I also need another $1,000 for their dental. Their coverage is, frankly, crap.
I was going to keep going but this is going to turn into a wish list if I do. Best to stick with these for now.
June 6, 2010
The $5K/5K Challenge was a long sprint that we sprung on you. It was meant as a friendly competition to encourage accountability and share an experience that is inevitably going to have its downturns. Believe you me, I would not have been nearly as enthusiastic about cramming on those projects working late into the nights and sacrificing lovely sunny weekends without my cyber support and fellow “racers.”
Of course, I never did decide exactly where that money was going to go, so let’s do a quick allocation before getting the good stuff.
The total: $4700 (we’re ignoring the change)
Referring back to my Dual Household, Single Income post, and the follow-up with bloated savings goals of April, this should be pretty easy.
Almost too quick and easy, no? I’m finally past the stage where I feel like every budget calculation has to be done a jillion times to be satisfying.
This fast-tracked savings challenge has allowed me to reach my savings goals almost 2 months in advance. If you revisit the original chart, the timeline had these pots filled by the end of July. This is an excellent leg up and head start into the next round of savings.
There’s no guarantee that the next several months will be nearly as fruitful because freelancing puts you (mostly) at the mercy of the clients but that’s part of life.
And, now for the good stuff!
Surprise!
I’m rewarding one of my intrepid challengers with a $50 Smarty Pig gift card! Those who have been posting/updating their goals should leave a comment about their progress and email address to enter the randomized drawing.
The Rules:
I’ll pick a winner on Tuesday 9 pm PDT, all decisions final, winner must respond within 24 hours of contact or I’ll pick a new winner. The reward is the responsibility of the Smarty Pig folks, I don’t have the card myself. Be forthright, be good, and prepare yourselves for the next challenge! In fact, tell me what you’d like the next one to be.
June 5, 2010
*squeal* I staked out the mailbox, trekking out no less than 4 times to see if it’d been delivered, because I was at 60% and that was, y’know, good and all but it’s not nearly an A in the game of Winning. Besides, I’d busted my butt the first two weeks of May to complete an assignment two and a half weeks early to ensure just for this challenge and by golly if the last check didn’t squeak in under the wire!
As of June 5th, I have banked $4742 for the $5K/5K Challenge.
It was no walk in the park. I gave up many weekend hours to work on projects big and small, every penny and minute counting toward this challenge. No small part of that was good timing and luck – though SingleMa took me by surprise with her decision to run a 5K in 5 weeks instead of in October, I’d been “training” in my own way by diligently scouring for opportunities to earn extra income and committing to projects. That’s what made this kinda fun, and not just a horrible horrible idea.
Since I can’t really share what I did for my work, my toil was in silence except for the weekly updates, but I appreciate those of you who stuck through it and achieved your personal goals.
I haven’t yet decided where this money goes, so stay tuned for one last update on this tomorrow!
Meanwhile …..
My Partner in Challenge, Single Ma rocked it out this morning:
Candace fulfilled her challenge:
The Fit Lounge went over and beyond her quota as well:
Congratulations to Single Ma, Candace and The Fit Lounge. My quiet friends of the Challenge, how have you done?
Updates:
@tiredofbeingbro
May 29, 2010
Remember that I’m hosting this week’s Carnival of Personal Finance so please submit!
$5K Challenge Reporting: I’m in a holding pattern this week, a paltry $50 check trickled in yesterday but three major invoices are still outstanding. My hope is that they all come in this weekend but it is a holiday weekend.
Total: $2,229.18 [44%]
How did you do?
Speaking of holiday weekends, I’m so relieved it’s here. Work’s been running me right off my feet everyday and only careful planning and advance cooking from the previous weekend ensured that a hearty dinner was on the table by 8 pm every night.
My exhilarating plans include catching up on sleep, bills, playing with the Guest pup one more time before the owners return, preparing the Carnival for your viewing pleasure and setting up a recalcitrant printer/scanner that’s refused to work since moving. Maybe even catching a movie with a friend who suddenly showed up in Oakland. Oh and there will definitely be eating. I’m on the prowl for new recipes to try – please share any of your comfort food recipes!
What have y’all got on tap?
May 23, 2010
This is the clearest, possibly best round of chicken stock cooked up yet!
As I write this, I’m watching people on the water with my feet hiked up on a deck chair, squinting in the sun. Max brightness setting has nothing on the direct sunlight! I’ve been firmly scolded that weekends are not for working. Luckily, I did bust my butt to finish up a major project two weeks early just so I could invoice it out and claim that income for this challenge, so I can cooperate with my “orders” to rest and relax.
The reports on the challenge for last week:
Ciawy saved $215 of the intended $250 per week, brought lunch and snacks to work every day and fell to the siren call of the farmers’ market. But she bought fruit so I can’t really argue with that!
Candace of Cody and Candace saved another $124 which brings her to 57% of the goal.
The Fit Lounge committed to saving at least $1000.
Anyone else out there? @ConvertingMe? @tiredofbeingbroke? Frugal Scholar? Funny about Money? I know you’re working at it, and I’d love to hear about your progress!
My progress this week was incremental again: $2,179.18 [43%]
Not so incidentally: Single Ma is tearing up the Fitness part of this challenge, blogging about it every day AND experiencing all the glorious ups and downs of training.
May 16, 2010
Sound off!
Because my freelance income is irregular, I didn’t set increments of earning but I AM working like gangbusters to finish up the other half of a major project early. Say, two weeks early just so I can log the income for this challenge. (Not cheating!) While it means my eyeballs may fall out, that means I’ll have more time for other things like working on my Carnival of Personal Finance theme, or dogsitting toward the end of the month.
You know what would be really cool? If Adsense came through this month too. It won’t ’cause I’m still a ways away from the payout threshold, but it’d be a cool confluence of events if it did.
This week my progress was incremental so the total now stands at $1,969.18 [39%]
{————Carnivals and Link Love————}
Check them out ….
Little Miss Moneybags‘ Combined Finances post contained a gem that I’d never really considered before when mentally debating the joint versus separate finances issue (bold emphasis mine):
Peanut is paying off his student loans aggressively and as soon as I’m out of the grace period, I will too. By pooling our money and aggressively paying all of our loans in order of highest interest rate, we will ultimately pay less interest. We may only save a few hundred bucks, but hey, that’s something. Also, I’m benefiting from the education those loans got him. And he’s benefiting from the education my loans got me.
