About sixteen years ago, I met him for the first time. My trainwreck sibling brought home this adorable puppy he had no business adopting because he had not one thing in his life that wasn’t a mess. I was furious at my sibling – he didn’t even take care of himself, how could he drag
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August 1, 2008
| Retirement Savings |
Rollover IRA: $1,452
Roth IRA: $3,698
401(a): $4,347
403(b): $16,173
Total: $25,670
<-3%>
|
| Emergency Savings |
Catastrophe: $18,163
Problem Cushion: $0
|
| Short Term Goals |
Car Maintenance: $930
Car Insurance: $603
Travel/Con: $579
Taxes: $3,465
Moving: $5
Total: $5,582
|
| Long Term Goals |
House Down Payment: $100
|
| Investment Loans |
Prosper-ish: $12,630
Personal Loan: $5,000
Savings Bond: $357 (current accrued value)
Total: $17,997
|
| Total Assets |
Non-Liquid: $25,670
Semi-Liquid: $17,997
Liquid: $18,163
Expense Acct: $779
Goals Savings: $5,482
Total: $67,412
|
| Debt and Liabilities |
Truck: $4,297
Citi: $298
Chase: $631
Rent: $1,360
Total: $6,317
|
| Net Worth |
$61,095
|
— Up 0.01% —
Once again, it seems like the numbers are inflated; the “increased” net worth is due to the recent influx of cash. It seems to have settled out, though.
June ended far too soon, with too much left to do. I am happy that I have a bit more in my cushion, though. With the gas prices getting higher every day, I’ve had to readjust my expectations for monthly expenses, and adjust the emergency fund target upward accordingly. Of course, I will continue on my crusade to reduce expenses, but I prefer to plan for the worse (6 months of unemployment at current spending levels) and hope for the best (landing a better, higher-paying job, reducing expenses).
I’ve removed another feature from our landline, bringing that bill down to $30/month, but I want to look at T-mobile’s about their new version of a landline service. If that pans out and doesn’t affect my internet service ($14.99/month), I’ll switch from Verizon ($30/month) to T-mobile ($10/month, $50 start-up fee). At that rate, it’ll take 3 months before I start saving $20/month on phone services.
Oh! My Down Payment account has money in it. Current total: $100.00. 😀
And I gave my Moving account a free $5 from my checking account cushion to start. It’s a drop in the bucket, but at least there’s a drop now. That should encourage more drops.
Overall, there’s been very little change, except some spending that’s covered by the travel fund. Details on that spending later.
It’s a bit disappointing that my credit card bills (I use them for 90% of my expenses) are outpacing my expense account.
July 31, 2008
Know why? Because I returned the Martin + Osa shirts ($30), and only paid $19.90 (no tax!) for this one that fits per-fect-ly. Oh and I didn’t spend ALL of my travel money on Con (more on that later).
It’s short sleeve with a Mandarin collar, fits like a dream, is soft and stretchy and will go with jeans, tucked into business skirts – both regular and high waisted – and trousers. I did want fuller sleeves, but I can live with these.
This is a sponsored post.
I was recipe hunting last night (with the help of blogging puppy) because I’ve been in the mood to cook. For the last two weeks, I’ve been all about the steak: ribeye, prime rib, Santa Maria style BBQ. That last has been on my mind ever since my dear friend surprised us with a dinner party. Yummm ….
After looking at the price of steak, however, and of the green veggies that I was craving (green beans and asparagus) I’m reconsidering the entree. I know that shrimp is just as costly per pound, but I can use less of it in each dish.
I found this positively luscious recipe over at Closet Cooking for Thai Lemon Shrimp.
Ingredients:
1 pound shrimp (shelled and deveined)
1/3 cup sweet chili sauce
1 lemon (juice and zest)
3 kaffir lime leaves (sliced, substitute lime zest)
1 teaspoon chili sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 teaspoon palm sugar (or brown sugar)
1/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup cilantro (chopped)
Directions:
1. Marinate the shrimp in the sweet chili sauce, lemon juice, lemon zest, kaffir lime leaves, chili sauce, fish sauce, garlic and sugar for 10 or more minutes.
2. Heat a pan.
3. Add the shrimp, the marinade and the coconut milk and simmer (not boil) until the shrimp are cooked, about 2-3 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and mix in the cilantro.
I swear Kevin has a positive genius for finding delectable recipes, and most helpfully suggests a substitution for the kaffir lime leaves which are a bit difficult for me to find. I think it’d be an awesome contender in the cook off in New Orleans. I love love love fresh seafood, and even more so when it’s been locally harvested in an ecologically sound manner. After all, as much as I love to feed my tummy, knowing that there will be enough for years to come is just as important.
Do you have a go-to seafood dish that you would suggest? Or have any variations on the theme that I could try? I’m open to all new ideas!
Blogging puppy ……..
is exhausted from the rigors of blogging!
July 30, 2008
Have been home since this afternoon, it’s been eight days since I last sat here doing my bloggy thing.
Took me 3 hours to get caught up on bills, the payment and reconciling of, phone calls to straighten out erroneous charges I would not be paying, and organizing reimbursements. I promptly pooped out afterwards, skipping the “go to bank,” “sort and start laundry” and “go grocery shopping” portions of my to-do list.
Have TONS to do first thing in the morning at work. August will be an extremely challenging month. September will be, also, if I survive August, intact and employed. Magic eight ball says: Ask later.
Would like to:
1. Post pictures of puppy.
2. Post pictures of H&M find. (Yes. Guilty.)
3. Post Con update.
July 29, 2008
but why are there 4 H&M stores, aka the only stores with button down shirts that fit me perfectly sans alterations, within walking distance of my hotel? WHY??
July 28, 2008
What I AM doing, however, is avoiding my coworkers. My evil coworkers who have pointed out three H&M stores between this hotel and our meeting building and dinner locale since yesterday and insisted that we were going shopping this afternoon.
I can make much better use of my time and whatever money I saved from the SD trip by holing up in my room and using the free internet. Hah! And it’s a pretty nice room, too.
