Sunday Spending

With the current financial crisis in full effect, we are really feeling the pinch. This makes tracking our spending so much more important that ever. I gotta say we didn't do too hot this week. February hasn't even officially started, and we are behind. I am kinda freaking out internally.

*Deep Breath* Ok, here goes...

Gas - $52 split between both cars. That was $15 for me and $37 for the Husband.
Neither one of us were completely empty, but we decided to fill-up to lessen the blow. Normally its about $85 if both of us need a full tank.

Groceries - $123 (!!!!!) The bulk of this was spent at Whole Foods, but we did spend $9 at Costco for my favorite $5 chicken and a carton of eggs. This is way over budget. Like $50 over budget. Some of this cost has to be absorbed by spending next to nothing on groceries next week. We were out of some staples (flour). I also think our recent lack of food led me too stock up a bit more than usual. Things around here were pretty lean towards the end of last week. I don't like opening up an empty fridge, but this was really out of control.

Pets - $168. Again with the huge expense. The good news is that the vast majority of this was a $140 much needed trip to the groomer. It just couldn't be put off any longer. The other $28 was glucosamine supplements, treats, and wet food for the kitties.

And if it wasn't bad enough...

Entertainment - $25. I know, I know. We were very generously invited to go see a show with some friends of ours. They had extra tickets ($55 each) which they gave us. I managed to bag out of dinner out (which I felt terrible about), and we walked 20 minutes to the venue in order to get free parking. But, I felt like I had to at least buy them a drink for the free tickets. Drinks at a theater, not cheap. It'd all be fine if I actually had an entertainment budget to tap.

So there it is. Our spending for the weekend. I can't say as I am proud of it.

We continue to struggle with our old life vs. our new. I feel like a broken record. Previously, these things would not have been a big deal. At all. But in the new world order, this is a huge outlay of cash for an incredibly strapped budget.

I am managing to scrape together odds and ends of cash. I have no idea if its going to be enough. More on that tomorrow...

... And there goes the other shoe!

Its no longer just rumor and conjecture. The Husband has been laid off. We are now operating under worst case scenario conditions. Income is literally at an all time low. I think for my entire adult life actually.

Even with all my planning and scheming February looks like it will have about a $600 budget shortfall. That means money which is spoken for a needed to cover obligations, that we just don't have. I am more than a little freaked out by this to say the least.

Of course, we have various emergency funds to tap. Now would definitely be the time. But, once those are used, there used. We certainly can't rebuild them under these conditions. Accessing that money, especially for regular life expenses, is my last resort. If we do have to use them, I would like to minimize the impact as much as possible.

Now that this is a reality, what are my plans?

Sell, Sell, Sell!
We are currently doing an inventory and purge of all our discretionary items; DVDs, books, video games, clothes. I have listed whats appropriate on Ebay. The rest is going to be peddled around to various used retailers this weekend. I am hoping this can net us a couple hundred bucks.

Cancel everything!
The cable has to go. *sigh* I have been fighting it for too long, but its an awful expensive time suck and one we don't have room in the budget for. We are also not renewing Netflix. Entertainment budget = $0.
The only other questionable expense is the YMCA membership. We both really really enjoy the Y, so this is a last resort. It gives us something productive and cheap to do together on a regular basis. If worst comes to worst, I will have to do it. Then I question, how much worse can it get? Not to jinx myself or anything.

Hustle!
The Husband is a very talented individual. He is making phone calls to various people we know who have been interested in having work done on their house. There are a couple that may work out. I have my fingers crossed. If not, he is considering farming himself out for small projects via Craigslist. We have to be cautious about this kind of work though. We don't know when he could be called back for a real gig.
I am also looking for pet sitting stints. So far, its not working out, but I am keeping my ear to the ground.

Will any of this get us $600? Maybe. Certainly if the Husband can get some sort of gig, it wouldn't take much to make up the difference. If not though... I dont know that my meager possession can make up that big of a chunk.

Oh, how our life has changed. My head is spinning from all this. Every little unanticipated expense makes me absolutely cringe. I've said before, this is not maintainable long term. Right now my goal is to make it through February. I am trying to just focus on only that. I also do not want to be miserable. We are trying to acknowledge the crappy time we are having, without wallowing. Staying positive.

Money Saving Monday, late-ish.

Its not that I haven't been observing Money Saving Monday. I just haven't been writing about it.

This last week involved the installation and first use of our fancy indoor clothes line. One good thing about having a big house is ample room to use this thing inside during the rainy season (9 months out of the year).

The dryer will still have to be used for pet bedding, in order to rid it of as much hair as possible. Our clothes are now exclusively being hung though. This should save us several dryer runs a week, and extend the life of our clothing. The experiment seems to be largely a success. We need to be careful about our towel usage. Towels definitely take the longest to dry, so I would prefer to only have a few to do a week.

In other doings, we cooked a huge pot of vegetarian chili and homemade cornbread. This garnered us at least 6 extremely cheap meals, with extra cornbread being frozen for later stuffing use.

Did I mention my quest for Roomba repair was a success? I got iRobot to send me a battery (a $50-$80 value), just one in a slew of replacement parts for that thing. The Roomba is now back in action, with no money spent. Although what a time suck that thing has been!

I've got more folks. It just didn't officially happen on Monday, so I will save it for another post.

Spending Sunday #2

Grocery shopping this week was a bit disjointed, involving more stops than I typically like. However, it appears to have worked out.

Best boss ever gave me a $50 gift card to Whole Foods as part of my year end bonus. We utilized that this week for some of the pricier items on our budget (flaxseed oil and tahini). Anyway, here is the break down -

Whole Foods $4
Town & Country $36
Costco $23
Farmers Market $18

For a grand total of $81. This included stocking up on a few items; bread, peanut butter, rice, etc.

Very happy with that number, but again, it was greatly helped by the gift card, which was the plan all along.

Pet Spending was also well within budget at $60. Still on track for this to be well under budget for the month.

We did spend $18 on dining out, also as planned.

Gas was $66 for both vehicles and should get us through the week no problem.

Total weekly expenses: $225. Completely happy with this number. If all weeks could be this good!

Next week will incur some vet expenses, which I will distribute across multiple paychecks. We are going to have a pretty tragic Friday and I am not sure yet how that is going to effect our weekend as a whole. Hope to stay on-track as we finish out the month.

Re-Gifting

A small budget crisis has arisen. I have a couple friends with birthdays this month, which I completely failed to account for in this months budget. I have a birthday spreadsheet. I am supposed to go review it as I am putting together the numbers for the upcoming month. Well, I didn't. It's not like these friends require extravagant gifts. More like token $10-$20 items. But, still. This month is not a good one to be nickel and dimed in. There's a party for one of the friends tonight. Its crunch time!

I have been wracking my brain on what to do that will cost me the least, and still be an adequate, well thought out present. I was going to go with a small amount gift card to the new local donut place, which I know said friend has yet to try. Honestly, I have been dreading the $10 that requires me to spend. That's no way to feel about a gift!

So Instead, last night I scoured the house (and my brain) and actually came up with good 'stuff'. This friend happens to own a used book store/coffee shop and is always struggling to get her hands on quality used books. I purged my shelf and came up with a decent little pile to gift her. She can sell 'em, read 'em, or both. Accompany that with a set of cutesy key tabs (the organizational ones) I got for X-mas, and a card from my stash. Viola! Birthday gift! Costing me absolutely zero and actually purging my house of things I do not need!

I have another friend with a Birthday Party next week. Hopefully, I can make lightening strike twice!

Rumor and Conjecture

In case you haven't get gathered, the Husband is a wonderful creature. He truly is. I adore him. We have been together a very long time (11 years), and my adoration of him has only grown. He is a diamond in the rough and I am very fortunate.

He is also a blue-collar worker by choice. His calling in life has always been to work with his hands. We (meaning I) resisted that in our earlier years. I was hung up on the idea of a 'real job' and my preconceptions of it involving a desk, a computer, and lots of beige. We (again I) got past it, and he has a successful career as a Union Tradesman. He finds it gratifying. He has a career path, benefits, retirement. Its been lovely. But, when you are in such a field, sometimes the work dries up. Its just the reality of the situation. Sometimes its timing between jobs, sometimes its just the company you are with and sometimes its the result of a terrible economy.

We have been through such times before. Unemployment is received for a few weeks and we muster on. However, during previous periods of little or no work, I was always much more gainfully employed. Since I took my big pay cut, the Husband has had quite steady employment. Well, now there are rumblings of that coming to an end.

Just rumblings so far. There were some phone calls yesterday to spread gossip about future projects that may not come to fruition, which would mean things are grinding to a halt with the current outfit. The job line at the union hall looks none to promising. Its safe to assume that a layoff would last at least a few weeks, best case scenario.

I have to say, this news caused me some panic. I have a 'worst case scenario' budget I maintain. It actually brings me comfort to have. It proves, at least on paper, that we could survive on unemployment benefits and my income. It would not be pretty by any means, but we could survive. This morning, I revisited the 'worst case' tab of my spreadsheet and just mulled it over.

How would things change?
Entertainment and Dining budgets immediately go to basically $0.
This would definitely involve canceling the cable. We don't eat out much anyway, but that $20-$30 would be needed.
Savings would be suspended.
This actually makes me much more unhappy than the entertainment and dining embargo. Not saving, no matter your circumstances, is not a good idea. Something should always be going that direction. In reality any little windfalls, spare change, survey checks, etc would still be saved. My justification for this is to stop saving to preserve what we have. In 'worst case' we would not have to actively bleed off the savings for living expenses, which is always my goal. I want to preserve the nest egg at all costs, even if that means suspending contributions to it for a time. Again, not my optimal operating mode, but desperate times...
Cash expenses drop by 1/2.
Right now, we take out between $60-$80 a week in cash. $60 goes to the Husband to pay for Parking Expenses (which are reimbursed on his check). He is left with about $10-$15 a week for pocket money. Technically, I get $20 a week. However, that is usually either put in the savings pot, or used to for a fitness class to supplement my 'Personal Care' budget. In either case, that category drops to $40. The Husband has to figure out something else for parking (whatever that is) and I happily get squat.
Slash Groceries and Pets budgets by $20 a week.
Not sure how that would work, as we run pretty lean now. I imagine we would become mostly vegetarian. All pets would do a rotation of a cheaper kibble, and be without some extras.

Is this maintainable?
Certainly not long term. Not for us. We would have to use savings for any unanticipated expenses. Luckily it would be a bit of time before we needed to crack the nest egg, but we would start saying our prayers for a quick job turn around.
Other factors to consider, the Husband is usually somewhat industrious in scaring up a bit of odd work to supplement his downtime. It can't be depended on, but he has a good track record.

Even with a plan, it scares me. It is certainly something that was much easier to stomach when I was in a higher tax bracket. The real question is, were this to happen, how long would I be able to restrain myself from looking for better paying work?

Money Saving Monday #2

I am a bit embarrassed to say, what to do for Money Saving Monday occupied a lot of my mental cycles this week. Obviously, it is a good goal to set for myself. My plans were all over the map. I researched weatherizing options to determine what made sense for us and what did not. I looked through my bills to see who needed a phone call for negotiation purposes. I even went over the grocery budget/list with a fine tooth comb to see what could be made from scratch, what was a convenience food, and what was just plain unnecessary.

Long story short, here is what I came up with for today -

Turned down the hot water heater - At our last house, the heater was electric and we put it on a timer, which worked awesome. Here we have gas, so can't do the timer. Its also in a very tight location, that won't even accommodate the addition of a blanket. Not a lot of options here, but this morning I had the Husband turn down the temp on it about a 1/4 turn. So far, I felt no impact in today's showers and washing.
Money Saved: $??? Pretty difficult to determine, especially since we are on the budget plan for our gas. I will keep a careful eye on usage over the next couple months.

Making bread for dinner - We try to have homemade soup for dinner at least 1 night a week. Its very yummy, filling and cheap... except for the loaf of artisan bread we buy to accompany our budget meal. The Husband is a fabulous cook, but bread is something we haven't experimented with. No time like the present! French bread was stricken from this weeks grocery list. Tonight's red lentil soup will be served with homemade french bread. Fingers crossed for goodness!
Money Saved: $4-5 We usually buy good, local bread. In actuality if this works out, money saved is increased exponentially by utilizing this skill in lots of future meals.

Selling DVDs on Ebay - Last Christmas, (as in X-mas '08) I bought the Husband the complete Sopranos series on DVD. We loved watching that show together when it was on, and were really looking forward to going through the whole series again. Well, its still in the shrink wrap. We have talked and talked and talked about watching it, and that's about all the farther it has ever gone. Its time to just sell the thing. I feel like our entertainment costs are too high anyway. We hardly need brand new DVDs sitting around collecting dust.
Money Saved: $70 range based on what they are currently selling for, after paypal fees, etc. I actually started the listing yesterday because Sunday seems to be the best auction closing day from my past experiences. I must say, considering what I remember spending on this ($120-ish), I am not really 'saving' just recouping some of my loss.

Bought necessities with Amazon Gift Cards - We each received $25 in amazon bucks from my inlaws for Christmas. We could use those on crap, or we could buy things we need and use to supplement our regular budget. After much internal (and external with the Husband) debate, I finally got the all clear to go with the latter. Giving up your funny money is hard! We stocked up on biodegradable garbage bags and razors blade replacements for both of us. Staple items we won't have to pay for for a while.
Money Saved: $47 and change. Granted we may have paid slightly more for these items because we bought them from Amazon, but I think that is moot. We also used Super Saver free shipping of course.

All in all another successful Monday. Like I said, I had to do a heck of a lot of brainstorming for this. Will I be able to keep it up? I hope so. It really is such a good exercise! I think I will have some success with getting the Husband on board too. He has been much more involved with the budget lately. This seems to be motivating him to participate in those small things, like remembering to turn off the lights, eat leftovers, etc. Money Saving Monday is going to be a good excuse to keep him going.

Sunday Spending

Not sure if this will become a normal feature here or not. Since we are playing things so close this month (despite the receipt of a nice little bonus), I want to review the bidding thus far.

With grocery shopping 98% done, we have spent $89.
Spent $58 at Whole Foods and $31 on meat at the Farmers Market.
Only things left to get are a couple grapefruit and 1 more veg. We should be able to get those things for well under the remaining $11 in the budget. That will leave dinner plan and work lunch supply complete for the week.
Next week: Need some basics from Costco. Must go with a list.

The other big categories:
Pets - $63 for the week. $143 for the month so far.
Next Week: We should be able to get by without a bag of dog food this week. They only thing we may need is canned cat food. Still on track to have the lowest pet spending month on record *knock on wood*.

Dining - $3 for a Starbucks Hot Cocoa. I found myself starving a couple days this week, with a very inadequately packed lunch. Thursday is a big freight day for us. With my overactive metabolism these days, I needed to polish off my packed food by 11am. At 1pm, I desperately needed the 10oz of fat-free milk and chocolate to get me through the rest of the day. I did bring me own cup to save $.10 and the environment. So there.
Next Week: We have 2 meals out planned for next week. Friday night will be a much coveted Jimmy Johns meal $15. Sunday we will be taking one of the dogs to the burger joint for lunch probably $20, but really important for reasons I'd rather not discuss just yet.

Entertainment - $0. I really hope we can go see avatar this month. Currently looking into some options to make it slightly cheaper.

Overall, we are totally inline with the budget for the month. Must keep momentum going. Its only the 10th but we are off to a good start.

When it rains...

In addition to our car drama, I now have to figure out how to pay for a cell phone plan in something of a hurry.

A small confession: Having worked in the IT/Telecommunications industry since I was 18, I have never actually paid for a consumer cell phone. It has always been highly subsidized by my employers, ranging anywhere from completely free to what I pay now, which is 4500 minutes + unlimited text and web for $57 a month on 3 phones. So, needless to say I have been spoiled.

When I got the big layoff in November of '08, the company informed me that I would receive a text message within 30 days instructing me to convert to a consumer plan or be cut off. Well, the text message never came. And never came. And never came. Until, 2 days ago.

After a year and a bit of living in blissful cheap cellphone limbo, I now have 10 days to find a new plan. I've started my research, and I gotta say I am a bit shocked. This shiz is spendy!

Because, my service has always been so cheap, I have had all the bells and whistles. Lots of minutes, data, unlimited texting and fancy phones. We also haven't had a home phone in years.
From what I can tell I'm looking at about $120 - $150/per month. The budget is going to be none to happy with the doubling of a monthly bill. I hate it when my overhead increases!

Now I have to question, how much is getting my email on my phone really worth to me? $30 a month? Right now, I use that service a lot, but for a $1 a day? Its been so long since I have had a cellphone without data. What the heck would I use it for?

Then there are the contracts. Two years! I have to commit to this company for 2 years of my life! or be faced with exorbitant fees! The pressure is on to make the right decision.

I know this is a champagne problem to have. Everyone else has already been dealing with it. I got an extra year out of the deal. I should hardly be complaining. For me, its facing a pretty stark reality though. Its the end of an era. Forcing me to deal with the impact of my decisions. Not only do I no longer have an employer who will pay for my cell phone usage, but I make so much less money that paying for my own cell phone plan is a bit of a hardship.

This in combination with the car drama, is leaving me feeling like it will be a busy few weeks. I have much to research and big decisions to make. Decisions about material possessions that, like it or not, will effect my quality of life and expendable income over the course of the next couple YEARS.

What the heck am I gonna come up with?

Bonus!

We got our year-end bonuses today! A bit earlier than expected.

I got $500 before tax. Its funny. I have literally gotten bonuses 10X that amount in my past life. Somehow, because this one comes from a real human being, who gave me HER hard earned money, it really means a lot more. I am oh-so grateful.

So what did I do with my $430 (after taxes) windfall?

$200 to the slush fund
$70 to long term savings
$15 to retirement/IRA fund
$25 donation to the charity of my choice
$100 stays in checking to officially put an end to the Christmas Crisis.
Leaving me with $20 unspoken for. I think I will put it in the IRA fund, but I haven't officially decided yet.

Hooray for money!

The Precarious Financial Empire

I find myself getting ahead of... myself. At least in terms of laying the foundation for this blog. A bit (more) backstory is probably required to put many of these details in context. I am not yet sure just how many nitty gritty details I am comfortable divulging on the interwebs. But, in broad brush strokes, what does our financial empire look like?

The groundwork -
We have no consumer debt. That's an important tidbit. Only a mortgage. Albeit a big mortgage.

The 2 cars are fully paid for, and newish.

We are very avid credit card users, but pay off our balance in full every month. This is our scheme for earning various reward points to help with all sorts of expenses.

I received a rather large severance package in November of '08. I have spent exactly $0 of said severance package. That, in conjunction with the long term savings we already had, is our nest egg money, currently churning away in CDs and online savings accounts. It doesn't have a purpose right now, other than making me feel secure. It is my true disaster fund, and equals a years worth of my income, a little less than 6 months of the Husbands.

In addition, I have my elaborate (not really) set up of smaller savings accounts at my local Credit Union. This includes -

My 'slush fund' : referenced in my goals. This is where we save for big purchase and also use it for smaller emergencies (unpredicted vet visits, car trouble, etc). This is usually $1000 - $1500 depending on what we are saving for.

The overflow fund: a $500 higher rate interest account. I just keep it at the $500 to get the higher rate, rolling the interest down to the slush fund each month. Its basically the back up to the slush fund, should we get 1 emergency after another.

The cushion: I keep about a $1,000 in my checking account that is not 'on the books', as in not seen in my balance. It exists only to quell my paranoia about unanticipated large transactions hitting my checking account. So, yes, another back-up to the back-up.

I have several 401k accounts that I have rolled over from various employers into an IRA, with a healthy balance for a 20 something.

Without any and all of the above in place, I would not have felt comfortable quitting my job 4 months ago. That decision really was a long time in the making. While my income took a huge hit, my hope is the existing framework already in place will allow me to continue to grow the empire on much less.

What a Piece of Crap!

Yes, I have 2 new-ish paid for vehicles. One of them just so happens to be a piece of crap.

The 2008 Nissan X-Terra, purchased brand new, lovingly cared for by the Husband.
In under 3 years this thing has had 2 clutch replacements, 1 fly wheel replacement, the rear-end replaced, and been in a multitude of times for other transmission ailments that can never quite be identified and/or fixed. It literally experienced its first round of problems (clutch #1) after we had owned it 2 weeks.

In recent history it has begun to emit a high pitched whine, which is quite charming. It is currently at the shop (again). The predicted diagnosis is something to do with the timing belt. Suh-weet.

I have thrown absolute tantrums about this car. I have talked to Service Managers at multiple dealerships until I am blue in the face. The Lemon Law isn't applicable because the problems have been different. It has to be 3 attempts to fix the same issue. The transmission/clutch is almost there, but not quite because of what they have diagnosed and fixed. The thing was obviously built at 5pm on a Friday.

And the warranty expires in 2500 miles.

The warranty has been the only thing keeping me from leaving this heap at the dealerships doorstep. It has cost me a considerable amount of time and effort, but no money.

So, what will I do now? I have absolutely ZERO faith in this car. It will break down again. It is only a matter of months, weeks if we are being realistic.

I have to get rid of it. I would like to sell it and purchase a less expensive used car, banking the difference for emergency repairs. That would put me in better shape than I am now, with a car I know is a hunk of junk and no extra money (beyond our savings) to throw at it. It honestly feels smarter to take the used car gamble, than to deal with this thing without a warranty.

I could never sell it privately. I just wouldn't wish that on anyone. Nor am I likely to find a buyer when I present them with my armload of service repairs. My question is will I get a dealerships to cash me out? Will they give me trade-in value higher than the cost of the car I'm buying? To me it seems highly unlikely.

The buying and selling of cars is about my least favorite process in the world. I have to get myself amped up weeks in advance in preparation to defend myself against the mental warfare that is sure to ensue. I have 2500 miles to think about it.

Text-ual Obligations

Today is a former co-workers Birthday. My old Bosses' actually. I sent him a nice little text wishing him a Happy Birthday, and seeing if he wants to get together for coffee and donuts on Friday. We try to see each other pretty regularly, and historically have always had a meal for Birthdays. We make plans to meet up, and I am looking forward to seeing him. All is right with the world.

Uhm, I don't have any money.

Donuts and coffee is really only going to be $7. In the past, I would never have had to consider $7, even if I was a little low on cash. I honestly didn't think twice about it when I posed the question. But, in the midst of our post Christmas Crisis, I realized $7 for eating out is suddenly a much bigger deal. There literally is not an extra $7 in my budget for the next 2 weeks.

I can't just go off fulfilling social obligations like I used to. Not when they cost money.

What will I do? Options are -

1) Cancel with Old Boss. I would rather not be that flake. Its an important social/professional contact to maintain. You never know...

2) Come up with $7. I can beg the Husband for a small extra portion of his allowance. Mine is already committed to covering class expenses. I can dip into the 'Stripper Fund'. The not-so secret stash of $1 bills I save up. I really try not to do this, ever. It defeats the whole purpose of 'saving' them in the first place.

Not sure just yet what I will do. I think, at the very least I will bring coffee from home to mitigate some of the cost. Ha! Now we are looking at $5!

I continue to be amazed at how these small details in my life have changed. Such an off-hand remark for something I have been doing for 10 years is suddenly a big flipping deal.

The Spoiled Corporate Life

The timing on this blog is not ideal. I really should have started during my actual corporate to retail transition. As we stand now, I am 4.5 months in. Hindsight is certainly my friend at this point. There are things I realize I took for granted. Being the employee of a Fortune 500 business from the time you are are 18, you just get used to an employer and workplace providing certain things.

I am not necessarily talking about Health Care and Retirement. Those things I knew were going to go away, and I made plans beforehand accordingly. I am talking about the intangibles...

Having a desk! I used to relish that personal space. At several points it was an extension of my home office. Gone are the days of Domokun figurines and Frida Kahlo postcards adorning my little nook. Now I am lucky if I can get enough time and space in the back for my moleskin notebook. Spreading out my work, in my own designated area, with my iPod and cell phone charger handy? Ahhhhh Luxury!

Going home early! Well, really just schedule flexibility in general. This could easily encompass 'Coming in Late!' or 'Taking a Long Lunch!'. All of which are by and large things of the past. I have set schedule now and a store and staff that relies on me to be there. If I finish my tasks (which never happens, there is always more to do), I still need to make sure xyz employee gets their break, or be the person on the floor just in case it gets busy.

Work/Home Life Balance! Ok, so this is always a problem for me. Its just has a different twist. Now, when I am at work, I am at work. There are no phone calls to make appointments, chat with the Husband for a sec to plan dinner, check my personal email, etc. Oh no! The line is much more solid than it was before. I can adapt to this, but its been a rude awakening. Must remember to utilize 30 lunch break as much as possible.

Working with Professionals! It is my job to love and manage the employees. To get them to work to their fullest potential. I am probably struggling with this aspect of my role the most. With that said, I truly miss the days when I was among the ranks of professional, career minded individuals. People who are self motivated, and take pride in their jobs. I don't want to speak poorly of my staff, because I truly do think that they are the cream of the crop for this industry. Lets just say, I am no longer among peers and I am painfully aware of it.

Socializing at work! Goes hand in hand with above. Also has much to do with the fact that, I am just busier now. Believe it or not, I have more work to do now than I ever did before. I simply do not have time for 30 minutes of chit-chat with my work buddies. Plus, I am now 'The Boss' of sorts. To do that would set a bad example, and I can't have a free flowing dialogue with my employees. There has to be some separation there. Again, I find the struggle with the employee portion of my job. During my last career, I made what will probably be life long friends. We still make an effort to keep in touch. Here, if I walked away tomorrow, I know I would not see them again. That leaves me with a weird disconnected feeling, which I am still trying to reconcile.

All of the above should not indicate that I do not like my current gig or that I regret my choice for this big change. I promise to follow this up with a 'Things I love about working Retail'. There has definitely been some culture shock though. In big ways that I really didn't anticipate.

Hooray for Holiday Pay

Apparently the Christmas - New Years pay period netted me $58 in extra dough. Holiday Pay. Nice.

Unexpected income doesn't completely off set the unexpected medical expense from earlier in the week, but hey, $58 buck is $58 bucks. Beggars can't be choosers.

Technically, since I am a salary employee, I don't think my boss has to give me that bump. It's a fringe benefit to working for a real human being. As opposed to a major corporate conglomeration.

Personal Goals 2010

I'm feeling the pinch to get these published before we get to far into 2010. The husband and I decided we each need our own separate set of aspirations. No need to muddy the communal waters with our own personal shiz.

My goals are a little different this year than they usually are. For one thing, they are much more quantifiable than my typical 'Save more money' BS. For another, with recent life changes (job and weight specifically) I have some other categories to add. So, without further ado...

Fitness:
Maintain my weight within 10lb for the whole year, without paying for Weight Watchers.
Between April and September last year, I lost about 50lbs, mostly by using the Weight Watchers program to track my eating and exercise. I have been able to maintain my weight for the last 4+ months since then. I have no desire to pay $16.95 a month for the rest of my life. Yesterday, I canceled my membership. I have set a high water mark, and the caveat is if I hit that I re-sign up for WW. Period.

Run a 5k and a 1/2 Marathon.
I already have the 2 events in mind. For late Spring and summer. The 5k is really just for the event experience, as I run that all the time. I have begun to train for the 1/2 as of this week. I am a little concerned about the costs associated with both.

Maintain my work out schedule.
Currently I get in a minimum of 7 workouts a week. Excessive? Not to me. Its become a social thing and a huge outlet for my stress. I am however focusing on this number, and not going over it too much, particularly as I start to train for the above. Perhaps 7 will be the average, but in any case its my magic number.

Financial : Most of these are covered in our family goals, but there are a couple specific to me.

Spend no money on books.
This is huge. I have never been a good library patron. I like to buy and hoard books. This has become a $18 a shot gamble if I end up not liking said book. I also tend to do big splurge purchases buying half a dozen books at a time. Then I end up with this big backlog on my nightstand, which I get sick of looking at and never plow through. The rules for this are as follow: I can use gift cards that have actually been gifted to me. Not those I have earned via reward points. Other than that, its paperbackswap, the library, begging, borrowing and stealing.

Stay within the limits of the pet budget.
Another biggie for me in recent history. Part of the reason I have always wanted to do what I do now, is because I am passionate about these products. Well, I can talk myself into buying quite a bit during the 40 hours a week I spend at my favorite pet supply. Getting things at cost, there is simply no reason I shouldn't be within the set $100 week budget, or even under it. I need to reign it in, and get this one under control again.

Career: This is where things get a bit nebulous.
I am completely reverting to my old vague wishy-washy goal ways here. I don't want to definitively state that my current position isn't working out. That smacks of failure to me. Plus, we are still coming down from our crazy-busy retail season stress, so maybe things will continue to settle. However, I will say its not all roses.

My incredibly non-specific goal... Figure out what I want to be when I grown up.

More specific? Stay at my current job until at least February. That's the 6 month mark.
I have to give this a fair shake, and that is the absolute minimum. Its not to say that I am going to leave then, but that is the soonest I will allow myself to seriously seek other options.

Hello 2010. Hopefully, not a year of major change. I'm shooting for a year of growth stability.

Oh Double Coverage...

How I miss thee!

Just received an $81.66 bill for a procedure the Husband had done in September. Lovely timing of course!

Note to self: Gone are the days, when one insurance company picked up the tab remaining where the other left off. Going to the Doctor is now going to cost more than mere pocket change. This is only our first taste of it!

Post-Christmas Crisis

I always spend too much money on Christmas. Always. Chalk it up to getting caught up in the Holiday Season or just a flagrant excuse to let my inner impulse buyer run free for a month of rampant consumerism. In any case, despite my best intentions it always seems to 'just happen'. The difference now, is that I lack the means to recover from it quite so easily. In the past, our budget had more than enough head room to absorb such things, with relatively little trauma.

Then I took a 60% pay cut. This January is feeling a bit tighter than most.

Oh, I had money set aside, and I did cut back. Yet still I managed to over extend ourselves. I obviously continue to grapple with what my current means really are. What does a Christmas look like when you make far far less? I honestly haven't known during my adult life. Not that that is any excuse. Its not. I set a budget in November, and I proceeded to trounce all over it throughout December.

The piper always has to be paid. I took a chunk out of my slush fund, and ended the month with a pretty bleak picture. There is definitely some catch-up to be done in order to put the state of affairs back to rights. The slush fund has to be replenished to the tune of almost $500. Plus, all those obligations I moved around and postponed just slightly to free up Christmas Money, well now it all needs to be taken care of.

So, here we sit, as broke as we have ever been since I took control of our finances 5+ uears. Oh, we aren't over drafting or actually 'broke'. I have way too many safety nets in place for that to happen without some truly dire circumstances. But, it's grim enough that I am having to do things I normally don't. Stretching grocery budgets to the absolute limit by utilizing the pantry and freezer back stock more than normal, the weekly meal out is on sabbatical for a bit, there will be no Avatar for us, and the pooches treat jar is going to lack the variety it usually has. These are admittedly not hardships compared to the circumstances of most. For me though, its been a bit of a wake up call. Yes, I can get myself in trouble. No, I can't live like I used to. Even though safety nets may still be there, a large part of the cushion is gone. This is odd and uncomfortable territory for me, and I have no one to blame but myself and my own spending habits.

I find more and more that having control of my finances was so much easier when I simply had more money. Managing a limited income involves a different skill set. A skill set, which I am apparently still cultivating.

By my calculations, all will be back to normal by late January. The slush fund will need a bit more time to come back around. As long as I mind my P's and Q's. I will spend the next few weeks basking in the glory of the Christmas I thought I just had to have...as I eat my lentils at home.

Money Saving Monday

As part of my new retail life experience, I now have a weekday off, Mondays. I find on Mondays I am largely left to my own devices. The husband of course works that day, dogs are quiet, and the world is still a bit sleepy from the weekend. Up until now, the day has been about working out and puttering around the house. While, I still want to do those things, a bit of focus would be nice. Enter the Money Saving Monday. Just one day a week where I try to accomplish tasks, small or large that in some way save me a little moola. I have the time set aside, and the rest of the week to brainstorm on ideas for it.

I came across this by chance, as today my regularly scheduled to-do list, just so happened to consist of the following:
-Calling the cable company to negotiate a better rate.
-Canceling my WeightWatchers membership and
-Calling Roomba technical support to see about a new battery.

Whether or not calling Roomba got me anywhere remains to be seen. I need to troubleshoot, charge and call back next week (grrr!). However, the Cable Company phone call saved be about $21 month (woot!) and canceling WeightWatchers saved $17. Cha-Ching. That's $38 no longer spoken for in the monthly budget.

I wish each week could be quite as successful, but that's not exactly realistic. How often can one call Comcast to whine? (hmmmm....) Plus, I just don't have that many extraneous services to cancel. Nonetheless, if I can use my day-off when businesses are open, call queues are generally shorter, and I've several uninterrupted hours to keep up some of that momentum, the sky's the limit really.

As an aside, lowering the cable bill is in lieu of canceling the cable out right, which was actually a New Years goal. I have until the 10th to think that one over.

Possibilities for next week:
Insulating windows/outlets (a bit overdue)
Lowering the temp on the hot water heater
Sorting/selling clothes
Calling/shopping around for improved insurance rates
The Roomba follow-up (assuming the trouble shooting doesn't work).

2010 Goals

I never do this. I always have vague, spoken aloud goals about how this year is going to be different because now I am going to do such and such. Inevitably there is no accountability and it falls by the wayside rather early into the new year.

With our newly diminished income, I find that we pretty much have to set goals if we want to accomplish anything, financially speaking. The goals need to be specific and quantifiable. The husband and I have actually spent some time brainstorming these, putting them down on paper even. This is really quite remarkable for us.

The list of OUR goals defined as of 1/1/10.

SAVINGS
Save $2669.48 to bring long term savings up to 40k.
Minus interest, of course. Weekly deposits of $55 have been set up to begin 1/15/10

Build a CD Ladder.
Currently most of our long-term savings is in an on-line savings account. When rates took a dive last year, I opted not to tie everything up in CDs. Rates still suck, and there really isn't any reason I shouldn't be squeezing what interest I can out of money that isn't going anywhere fast. I would like to open 2 CDs, in addition to the 1 I already have. This may involve moving online banks.

Build slush fund back up to $1500.
Our short term savings account was depleted by both our Chicago trip in the fall and overspending at Christmas. It is currently at just over $1000. Re-instituted the weekly $50 auto-deposit to begin 1/7/10. We do use this account for prioritized spending. Sub-goal is not to dip below $1000 balance through out the course of the year.

Save $2315 to open Roth IRA account.
I started an account for this late last year. Need $2500 minimum deposit to open an IRA with Fidelity. I should already have this, but its a higher priority now that I don't have a work sponsored retirement account. Weekly deposits of $35 have been set up. Acknowledging that this will need to be boosted by windfalls/bonuses in order to make the goal.

GIVING
Donate $25 per month to my charity of choice.
This is one of those goals I start out with every year, and usually stink at.
I am going to call this my monthly karma payment and simply add it into the budget. If I continue to consistently de-prioritize it, I will put it on a auto-payment. Must give $25!

SPENDING
Hard category for us. Encompassing quite a bit, most of which is tied to the aforementioned slush account, and will only be started once the account has a balance of $1500+ again.

Outside House Projects.
To be accomplished in Spring, no earlier than April, no later than end of June.
Paving or graveling the driveway/back patio area. Husband has been assigned the task of getting quotes for this by EOM January. In my mind I think it will be ~$1000.

Rebuilding the side gate to backyard. Its a large sagging gate, so the project is bigger than it sounds. The husband can do the labor (thankfully). We need a quote for materials. Again with the EOM January assignment. My guess is somewhere in the $250 neighborhood. Time frame is roughly the same as the paving.

Inside the House.
We are in desperate need of more seating for our living room. Have been ever since we moved in. I am working on getting my Mother to pass down a family chair she had re-upholstered a few years ago. That prospect looks pretty grim, so I am adding it to prioritized spending for the fall no earlier than September, no later than mid-November. Max budget $250. Preferably chair should be used.

Pets.
Yes, in our world they get their own category. Vet visits for all ASAP. This is another item that has fallen behind with the income tumble. A certain dog has a benign growth that needs to be removed. Other than that its nothing pressing. However, yearly vet checkups are something I feel are paramount to responsible pet ownership. I need to practice what I preach here. The goal is to get past due pets caught up beginning in February and maintain an up to date schedule through out the year. Ideally, As much of this as possible will be accomplished within the monthly budget. However, dipping into the slush fund is to be expected and not to be considered a cardinal sin.

Spend no more than $100/week on pet supplies.
This is separate from vet expenses, and to many will seem excessive. Take into account, we have more than your average number of house pets and are committed to providing them a high quality diet and life. This specific goal is actually within our current budget guidelines. I am redefining the weekly limitation in order to keep myself from spending more 1 week, and saying I will spend less the next. Inevitably, I don't and am left chronically over budget. Working in my favorite pet supply store ever 40+ hours a week does not help this nasty habit.

New Laptop.
Some of the logic for this will be covered in my upcoming Christmas re-cap. We are going to need a new computer for home use sometime in the not to distant future. Thus far our little Dell laptop has been a trooper *knock on wood*. But, I am all too familiar with the life expectancy of these things and were this bad boy to die it would leave us in a lurch. This purchase isn't planned until late next year, probably Black Friday. I am also seriously considering making it a Mac.

Live without Cable for a year.
I could probably write a whole separate post just about this. In fact, I think I will. Suffice to say this must be canceled by 1/10/10. The count down has begun.

30th Birthday Trip.
Last but not least, I turn 30 this July (eek!), along with a couple of my closest friends. We have been tossing around the idea of taking a group trip for several months now, but specifics have not been defined. Vegas? Austin? Portland? When? How long? Budget? I imagine this is going to be a big ticket item $1000 - $1500. I am putting the money in a separate account, and have already begun saving a bit. Mini-goal is to firm up details by EOM January.

Because this has turned out to be so long winded, I am going to save the personal goals for tomorrow. This gives me a bit more time to think of the specifics anyway.

Final thoughts.
I hope we aren't setting the bar too high. In the past, the main reason I tend to 'fail' at goals is because my eyes are bigger than my stomach, so to speak. Given our current budget, I need to be realistic about what we can really accomplish. Ambition must be balanced with capabilities. I need to acknowledge that both the savings and the spending is going to require a concentrated effort to keep plugging away and make the most of any miscellaneous income that comes our way; bonuses, tax returns, gifts, survey bucks, etc.