August 31, 2009
| Retirement Savings |
Roth IRA: $4,035
401(a): $9,175
403(b): $20,401
Total: $ 33,611 (31,871)
|
| Emergency Savings |
Catastrophe: $ 35,963
Problem Cushion: $ 1,000
Total: $ 36,963 (36,798)
|
| Short Term Goals |
Car Maintenance: $2,220
Insurance: $2,495
Travel/Con: $863
Taxes: $3,581
Moving: $3,985
Total: $ 12,144 (13,266)
|
| Long Term Goals |
House Down Payment: $102
|
| Investments |
TradeKing: $1,050
Prosper-ish Loan: $12,630
Personal Loan: $1,500
Savings Bond: $362 (current accrued value)
Total: $ 15,542 (15,542)
|
| Total Assets |
Illiquid: $33,611
Semi-Liquid: $15,542
Liquid: $36,963
Expense Acct: $7,500
Goals Savings: $12,246
Total: $ 105,862 (105,463)
|
| Debt and Liabilities |
AmEx: $150
Chase: $260
Rent: $1,360
Total: $ 1,770 (2,134)
|
| Net Worth |
$ 104,092 (103,329)
|
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!
August 30, 2009
I really like MoneyMonk’s question in this post:
What are my options to having access to emergency cash in midst of a crisis?
She lists the following “order of financial sources.”
1. Emergency Fund
2. Family/friends
3. HELOC
4. Credit card
5. 401k
Mine is a pretty short list, and doesn’t include credit cards because that’s just borrowing trouble that I might not be able to pay back:
1. Sell stuff, freelance work if poss
2. Cash
3. Roth IRA
4. 403(b)/401(a)
5. I have one relative I might be able to borrow money from, but I seriously doubt I’d ask her unless things were dire. She’s not exactly the best money manager, we’re just close enough to give each other money if necessary.
What does your list look like?
August 28, 2009
It’s been a while since I’ve had reason to CVS or Walgreens (esp now that WG no longer has their FAR program), but I haven’t lost my appreciation of a good deal.
To go you one better, MoneyMateKate is combining good deals with good deeds: the products of her coupon/bargain labor goes to the needy of NYC in the form of Care Packages. She’s expanding her couponing efforts, and if anyone can help her with packets of coupons, they’d be much appreciated. (Mine is in the mail, Kate!)
Take a look at this post which explains her coupon needs, and continue to follow her adventures as she scoops up merchandise for nearly or all the way free to share with those less fortunate.
In this prolonged recession, I’m sure that many are grateful for the basic necessities she’s provided since the usual channels for charity have been overwhelmed with more supplicants than donors. It’s a great way to give, doesn’t take much more than some minimal effort on your part to print and mail, or clip and mail, the coupons and directly goes into the hands of people in need.
She’s also fun and entertaining when she’s not couponing, so you should follow her if you don’t already, anyway! 🙂
August 27, 2009
Just when I’d gotten the whole anti-wedding rant out of my system, we’re confronted with a rather astounding creature: the only child, Miami bride who is marrying our dear friend.
Full disclosure: Literally the only things we know about this individual is that a) she’s an only child, b) she evidently likes him pudgy, and c) our friend is staying in Florida to be with her.
But if we may amateurishly practice the art of psychological profiling via behavioral observation to ascertain a little more about this mystery woman, let’s do!
Tell me, folks, what make you of this?
No registry information was listed in the invitation. The invite itself was classy, understated, printed on VERY nice card stock that shimmered. Since we’re associated on the groom’s side, there was no handy brides/maid of honor/bridesmaid grapevine from which to glean the shopping 411. Normally, I just give cash. But since we’re flying out there, we’re already spending a whole heck of a lot of money and frankly, I’d rather find a good deal that costs less than the $200 cash we’d feel obligated to give.
I cracked my knuckles (not really, I hate the sound of that) and went to work online. My first foray was to the Macy*s gift registry because what couple doesn’t register there?
And my-my-my! I had to double check the date to make sure we really ARE still in a recession. Also, I know our friend and he’s an REI dude. Like, a dude who has seen fine china but would be hard-pressed to identify the various implements and doodads involved in fine dining. I’m just going to go whole hog on the assumptions here and guess she never let him handle the registry gun but once.
A sampling for your pleasure:
Every single piece of Kate Spade china and flatware made or sold by Macy*s
~ A Platinum teapot — $238
~ A sugar bowl — $105
~ A salt and pepper shaker set — $82
~ A Platinum creamer — $90
~ A gravy boat and platter — $180
Every appliance known to man, platinum pricing
~ DeLonghi coffeemaker — $375
~ DeLonghi espresso maker — $140
Bedding must not be neglected ~ Hotel collection comforter — $760 [someone actually purchased this, btw]
~ Duvet — $470
~ Sheets (5 sets) — $95/each
~ Pillowcases (2 sets) — $95 each
~ Pillows — $220
Does it surprise you that my next hunch also panned out? Where else would this couple be registered? Bloomingdale’s? YES. Target? NO.
At Bloomie’s, we’re Monique Lhullier all the way:
~ 5 pc place setting, we’d like ten — $140 each
~ Creamer — $115
~ soup bowls, we’d like ten — $80 each
And Vera Wang for the flatware, of course.
Our friend is not in a profession where he’s going to be pulling down six figures a year, ever, so my faint hope is that she either simply is unaware that some of us po’ folk can’t spend rent money on a few objets d’art for the kitchen, bathroom or bedroom, or that she’s tailoring the registry to the style her friends and family are accustomed to giving. I find the latter hard to believe, though, because the wedding’s in three days and most of those selections are still wide open for purchase.
Whatever the reason, the registry seems to imply that this lady is waaaay out of his income league, and I can only cross my fingers that Daddy or Mommy’s money will be subsidizing their lifestyle if this demonstrates her idea of normal.
By the by? I did check REI. And Bed, Bath and Beyond. And Linens’n’Things. Nope on every single one.
I finally did find a decent combination of kitchenware that wouldn’t break the bank, found a 10% off coupon via retailmenot.com, and added a little ebates.com action to boot. All told, with gift wrap, it’ll be about $75 which is still way too much for a few baking pans. But what did they really expect? A bi-coastal wedding and they registered for nearly all $100+ items? *sigh*
August 26, 2009
Emotionally, when is it worth it to you to spend money to save time (sanity)?
Shopping for shoes on a tight budget is no joke, and flying wingwoman on a bargain hunt is usually my thing …. BUT …. after a particularly draining and unproductive 6 hour shopping trip through 4 enormous big-box discount shoe stores 17 months ago for a friend, I swore off in-store shoe shopping for the next three lifetimes. Very dramatic, yes. But Lordy!
We walked miles through soulless outlet malls, made all the more torturous by the hordes of screaming children and No Good Shoes. If we’d walked out of there with a halfway decent bargain, I would have been over the moon. As it was, we only found a single decent pair of shoes to even try and they were way out of her budget.
Recently, my only chance to spend some time with another girlfriend was to join her shoe shopping expedition. Teeth gritted, I agreed, lacing up my comfy new running shoes and lightening my pockets of anything that might weigh down my aching bones. “Haven’t seen her in over a year,” I grumped, “probably won’t get another chance before June next year.”
She picked a rather obscure (to me) shop, a wee little bit of a specialty shop, and didn’t name any other destinations when we set the itinerary. Another shrug from me, and off we went.
To my surprise, she spotted over a dozen pairs of possibilities in our first pass. That’s more than I see in full search of any run-of-the-mill DSW or Nordstrom Rack! (Then again, if I were the buyer, they would all have been eliminated on price alone. The cheapest regularly priced pair was $68!) My only job was to evaluate the look of the shoe, sitting on a comfortable couch, as the sales assistants brought wave after wave of shoeboxes. All told, she must have gone through 30 pairs, and they were unfailingly courteous and reasonably attentive.
After nearly three hours of sitting and chatting, lacing new pairs, and restuffing the unwanted shoes, she picked her favorite pair and paid $75 for them. As we sat and caught up over coffee and lemonade, I had a rather discomfiting sense that as a bargain shopper, I may have reached my emotional limit on the subject of shoes.
Once upon a time, not too long ago, I prided myself on finding a good deal on anything I bought, ever. Now, I might just hate fruitless shoe hunting enough to be willing to pony up full price on a comfortable, high-quality pair of shoes.
Honestly, that’s sort of disappointing. It’s not so much an unwillingness to sacrifice on quality by paying lower prices for a cheaper good. I just can’t stand the process! Seems like a wuss of a cop-out.
August 24, 2009
After years of business travel, you’d think my packing skills would be solid. Guess that only applies if you’re paying attention!
For a week-long trip to a clime easily thirty degrees cooler than home, I packed two pairs of jeans, a long sleeved shirt, a few short sleeved shirts and a couple light cardigans. They can barely even be called sweaters because they’re super lightweight and one is cropped.
Then, it all went into an enormous tote. Great for avoiding baggage fees, terrible for day trips into the metro area or going out for meals. It’s half my size!
I wasn’t planning to shop, so I’m doing my level best to avoid buying warm clothing, a lightweight travel purse that scrunches down easily, and a pair of shiny leggings a la Flashdance. Wait wait, no no, not shiny leggings. Just regular ones so that if I end up going horseback riding … or given the state of my hands, horseback sitting…. my knees won’t be terribly abused by the seams of my jeans.
Actually, I’m skipping the horsey sidetrip entirely because I’d need appropriate pants and boots, neither of which came with me.
Lack of preparedness, folks, it can destroy your budget in a BIG WAY. I’ve made do so far, but feeling deprived (and COLD), I could so easily have bought three different sweaters and extra shoes that I’d ultimately be annoyed about packmuling home.
August 22, 2009
I’ve said it before, I’m against the maxi dress. But according to, uh, FINAL SALE [stamped on the receipt, thanks BCBG!], I’m stuck with this one. Nevertheless, I need to know which of the two above choices should be worn on a night out in Miami – clubbing optional – and if the maxi dress could be appropriate for the actual mid-afternoon wedding.
The orangey dress is very much like something Fiona would wear … so it feels like it’s right for Miami, but it was a bit pricey. And it has pockets!
Ehhh … I dunno. But what do I know? I’m no fashion maven and y’all already know that. Help?
