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!

March 31, 2009

March Snapshot

One might wonder from the wildly inflated numbers above, based on my less than abundant salary, if I am some sort of saving genius. Savant, even. They would be incorrect. I’m simply a modest saver hugely motivated by the soon-to-end income stream. More transparently, the rest of my salary from the past quarter came in yesterday, and was quickly deposited into the insurance, maintenance, expenses and savings funds. In the pursuit of obtaining life insurance, the car insurance fund is simply meant for all insurances, now.

So, the plan is to have as much cash on hand as possible. That’s meant seriously paring any and all expenses down to bone, to the marrow even, in the budget. That might be a little too extreme, some of the monies in savings might have to migrate to the expenses fund.

Plus, I made some stupid mistakes like forgetting to pay my DMV registration. After six years of car ownership, paying for three car registrations, this year I managed to forget my own registration and ate a $91 late fee. Ugh. Pray for me. Even better: the registration is always due on Valentine’s Day! I managed to forget a major commercial holiday and it cost me nearly a hundred dollars. The only side effect of recent health issues is that I’m too drained to get as worked up about it as I normally might.

Speaking of stupid fees, this time in the sense that I think the fees are stupid rather than paying a fee because I’m stupid as above, Chase was gifted with a solid $100 for the privilege of giving me back my money. Thusly the Rollover IRA has disappeared, rolling further over into the 403(b). At least it was a relatively simple process.

At a time when hoarding and squirreling away money is Priority Numero Uno, I’m sure wasting a lot of it on fees. *annoyed with self* There are way better things I could have spent that money on.

February 1, 2009

January Snapshot

**Holy cow, the truck’s OFF the ledger! The sale hasn’t been completed yet, but replacing that money in the expense fund will be a huge relief. I feel exposed with such a small expense cushion, that’s only about 1.5 months’ worth of expenses now.

About half the increase was due to some overtime money (~500), the holiday gift (300), and diligently saving my transportation reimbursements (250). Everything “extra” from the paycheck and from reimbursements went into the emergency fund.

The other half looks like some gains in the portfolio, surprisingly enough.

All in all, an increase, so really not bad.