December 1, 2009

November Snapshot

A few thoughts …..

Excel and I will have to become buddies to locate exactly when the e-fund tracking went off the rails, but in the meantime, I’ve reset the past numbers in parentheses for both the e-fund and grand total back to the correct September numbers for now. 

The total NW is up again due to the uptick in the stock market and sort of controlling my expenses.    

A note about the Tradeking account: as I’m a buy and hold investor, that total will only reflect the cash deposited, and not any gains or losses for now.  I’m tracking that differently than my retirement accounts because I don’t have those assets in hand until I sell.  Does that make sense?

1.  Christmas gifts — $150-200 total?
2.  Another pair of online courses — $1100

While I’m happy to see the NW slightly rebound, I’m not thrilled that it’s on the back of so capricious a creature as the stock market.  Cash is my preferred net worth driver, unless it’s being invested purposefully. I look forward to the time when I’m generating substantive income again.

October 31, 2009

October Snapshot: Happy Halloween!

A few thoughts …..

Once again we have problems with Yodlee “updating” their site which means problems.  This time, the drop down menu that should allow me to update account passwords won’t actually drop down.  Those accounts’ll just have to remain inaccessible for now.

Wonky math. Somewhere in the emergency funds, we’ve got math gone wrong and I can’t figure it out. Last month, I was down $76. This month, $146.  A difference of $222 total when the only outbound transaction from those accounts is a single $500 borrow when I needed to open a Chase account for a bonus offer. I’m starting to wonder if I just made a clerical error at some point?

Losing steam. I’m sliding dangerously close to the other side of the 6 figure mark. I apparently both miscalculated the bare bones scenario upon layoff, and have been traveling a LOT more than planned. The solution?  Find a full time J-O-B!  But also finish my classes with high marks because I’ve paid a good chunk of change for them.  Which, of course, leads me to Item the Next:

Big things next month! Midterms, a trip to the Big Apple, a trip to the Big Island, hosting a Carnival, and final exams! 

August 31, 2009

August Snapshot

The slight uptick is due to gains in the market, so I’m not going to get excited about “progress” just yet, I won’t trust that these gains will hold.

More bills are coming down the pipeline: we had to replace the last tire standing this weekend. By that I mean, the sole tire that didn’t ever get replaced during the time my mum was damaging tires right and left finally gave up the ghost.

The hunt for a printer all-in-one remains in force; it’s darn near impossible to find a smaller sized machine that is wireless, has an auto-doc feeder, and is reasonably priced. Aggravatory. Then again, the search precluded HP models based on reader and friend feedback, it might be time to remove that injunction.

Oh and of course the net cost of the Miami weekend has yet to bite the pocketbook. Much of the trip was subsidized, my portion was small, but it’s still another little fishie nibbling away at the cash reserves.

Southern California’s on fire again, and not in a good way. (Is it ever?) Between the fires and the over 100 degree heat, we’ve done surprisingly well in not using the a/c. Shading the windows, fans and letting in the coolth from the early mornings keeps the house tolerable. We may survive this summer yet!

July 31, 2009

July Snapshot

Mysteriously, the NW creeps up. *quirked brow*

There was an inexplicable contribution to the retirement fund mid-July, but all my contributions should have ended the 3rd week of June. I find myself hoping there’s a mystery paycheck to go with that extra $400. No such luck, but the overtime money from May and June did come in while I was in NYC. Vanguard’s CS was stumped by the deposit as well, so we’re just going to ignore it, I don’t have the energy to track it down. Those two things account for the increase, despite the wild-eyed spending of this entire month.

Goals are still A) get a job, and failing that, B) stop spending so freely. But relax and have fun in the interim.

From here on out, I’ve only got modest travel plans since my routine revolves around networking and job hunting, with some time spent with friends I haven’t seen very much in the last five years.

Decompression and detoxing is hard work! But completely worth it. In the last four weeks, I’ve only gotten angry twice, don’t think I’ve ground my teeth once, am starting to sleep again, and my skin is vastly improved. My appetite, memory, navigational skills and sense of direction are all on the mend, too. Amazing! I should be freaking out over not having a job yet but I feel so much healthier that I’m just happy.

Long term spending: I have to plan to attend weddings in Australia and Greece in the next two years. Off the cuff estimates call for about $5000 in case I want (and can) make a real trip of each. I’ve already got my tickets for Comic Con 2010, too.

July 4, 2009

June Snapshot

May 31, 2009

May Snapshot

There wasn’t a whole lot of change this month other than dumping more into my retirement accounts. I did spend a lot, though, and I’m relieved that the damage doesn’t appear to be much worse.

The end of next month should be much more exciting!

Addendum: Clearly, I was too lazy to make any real comments when I first posted this. The overall numbers look goodish, but the reality is I saved next to nothing in cash, and spent a lot. More than half the credit card balance is covered by the car insurance fund, but the absolute numbers are still ridiculously high for someone approaching unemployment.

I’m not fussing about it, but I am publicly noting that the spending needs to stop or slow down to a trickle.

On the other hand, I AM flush with cash enough to be much more flexible in my approach to paychecks and bills. I kicked up my 403(b) contribution for one paycheck to the max, which leaves me with next to nothing in my second June check. There’s plenty of money in the expense fund, so that’s no sweat. And I’m getting my final check, complete with vacation hours, two weeks after the non-check, so there’s really no stress on that front. Being responsible is so worth this flexibility!