Stacking Pennies . . .

This is the first year I've ever made "big" New Years Eve plans. I'm going to my future home of LA and a friend from my semester abroad is coming with two other of her friends. I opted out of the original plan, Las Vegas, because I didn't want to spend that much money. In LA, we can stay with my boyfriend (crowded, but free!) and save a ton of money on lodging.

I knew when I signed up for this that this particular friends isn't afraid to spend money. Still, it wasn't a big issue, and we spent a lot of time together on study abroad. She usually just would spend in line with whatever I was, and one night drunkenly confessed "It is good when I hang out with you and E, because I spend less money. You two are my non-baller friend!" I didn't take it as an insult, though some might! Anyway, sometimes it stinks being the frugal one, but at the same time, I won't change my values based on peer pressure. And frankly, when we were still in college, I simply couldn't afford to.

Anyway, I recently got a message that we were considering going to a fancy club on new years at $150 + fees to buy tickets to get in. It does include all drinks and honestly is probably what a lot of "trendy" clubs are going to run in LA. But there is no way that I'm spending $200 for one night! I wouldn't be sad if we went somewhere less trendy for New Years (some are free cover, or $50), because I think the most fun part is just going to be hanging out together. If they want to celebrity sight, we can do that on less expensive nights!

She also has been requesting my presence at a fancy steakhouse for dinner. I do love food and don't mind spending a little on deliciousness. However, I don't even really care for steak, and it just doesn't make sense to me. I won't hesitate going out for delicious sushi now and then, but to spend so much on something I don't even love just is silly.

At the same time, there is a small part of me that wishes I could live a life of excess and spend the money. Really, I *could* afford it. It wouldn't put me into debt or wreck my savings. But I just don't value a trendy club enough to spend that kind of money for it. I'm not opposed to spending money (though $150 would be painful for anything) but it has to be something that is a little more in line with what I think is important. A night of fun is important, but we could have almost as much fun somewhere else.

I'm relocating to Los Angeles in January, and my company will pay for up to 2 weeks of "temporary housing" at a hotel while I find an apartment. I originally got a move in date for my new (expensive) apartment of January 15th, and I decided to push it to February 1st in order to save half a months rent. Unfortunately, the apartment complex did not like my plan. I wasn't even able to negotiate an extra week! I'm really bummed out about this, because it is essentially $700 out of my pocket and into theirs. Perhaps I should have been more pushy and tried harder. I still don't think they would have budged.... Completely lame!

I am feeling nervous about the ammout of money flowing OUT lately and I really wanted to save that $700....

I went out and about today and completed the majority of my Christmas shopping. I picked out a really cute sweater/shrug and tank top for my sister and bought one in another color for myself as well. I usually never pay full price for my clothes from stores like Express, and I feel horribly guilty about it. Anyway, I went back the store and returned one sweater, but with the idea that I'd come back and buy it with the coupon they awarded me (which isn't valid until tomorrow).

Now I'm having doubts. First, I really should return the tank top because it is over priced, even for a gift. Second, I shouldn't buy myself a set. Should I? If I buy myself a set, it'll cost $135 for both of us, so about $68 each. Or I could spend $80 total (what I currently have spent) and not buy myself one. Though the "gift" budget was only supposed to be $50 for sisters. Or I could spend $105 and get two sweaters but only one tank top.

I obviously do not need the sweater. I recently got to buy some clothes from H&M using a gift card I received for my birthday. On the other hand, I rarely buy myself new clothes, and when I do I don't buy anything over $30 usually. I think in my head, "I deserve this! I got a big bonus this year and haven't spent any of it on myself." Which is true. . . But that doesn't mean I need to buy this. Perhaps I would get more enjoyment out of saving the $68. Or spending it on something else. I am going on a nice new years vacation where plenty of spending will happen. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow, which usually runs me about $110 (including tip) if I don't get my eyebrows waxed...

I think I'm going to punch in my numbers for December spending so far, and from there decide if I should keep it or not...

Do any of you agonize so much over an $80 purchase??

I'm relocating from an inexpensive Midwestern city to Los Angeles. I have received two very similar job offers.

The first offer came in at $65k with a relocation package that included a $2000 tax assisted lump sum. I thought the offer was a little low, so I negotiated $67k and a $3k signing bonus. The pay includes up to 7% in 40k matching/contributions by the company and 12.5 days of vacation the first year. Bonuses were not explicitly mentioned, but I would imagine they do some kind of incentive bonus.

The second offer came in at $69k with a very similar relocation package (except $1000 non tax assisted lump sum rather than the $2000), a $3k signing bonus, and 10 days of vacation the first year. They also explicitly mentioned sick leave, at 8/hrs a month. They match up to 6% of 401k contributions, and have some sort of pension plan. I assume you have to work there some minimum amount of years to be vested in the pension. They mentioned bonuses when i was on-site, which this year was "ten days of pay."

My current job will be paying about $58k as of next year. I get 15 days of vacation per a year, and sick leave is not really an issues. You are encouraged to make up any hours that you are sick, but it is not an absolute requirement. I get 6% in a 401k match. I also got a 9% bonus this year.

All things considered, my current job is really the best financial deal, taking the cost of living into consideration. The pay increase is nearly a 20% raise. However, my rent is going to MORE than double, and I will be paying an extra $9,600 a year in rent. That practically wipes out the entire raise! The vacation is better, the bonus is better, and I would most certainly get promoted to "Grade 2" next year. I'm not sure how long it will take me at my next company.

However, the whole point of the job search is to relocate. So, which of the other two is the better offer?

Despite the extra relocation money from the first company (and the extra 2.5 days of vacation) the hard salary numbers will be what my future salary will be based off of. I think the second offer is better, though I'm going to miss that extra week of vacation. Is vacation negotiable? The second offer is only slightly better, but the job itself is more appealing, which really seals the deal.

My next thought is, should I negotiate the second offer? Am I worth more? I don't want to come across as arrogant to the company--I'm not even two years out of school, and I didn't go to a fancy big name engineering school. But if I am worth more than what they offered, I don't want to sell myself short. I don't know. I think it is a fair offer. I liked the company a lot. But the boyfriend insists it doesn't hurt to ask. Thoughts?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

Here is my sketched out plan for 2008. I'm moving to an expensive city, but I took the difference of the salary and the rent increase, and I'm coming out a little ahead. Of course, there are other factors.... Anyway, savings are blue, if you can see the different colors.


This doesn't include a signing bonus or any leftover relocation perks, but those will just go automatically into savings and other initial costs of starting over (apartment deposit, etc.)

I'm not sure if I really will only spend 200 on groceries and 100 on restaurants, but I'm sure going to make an effort. I also have to start paying my own car insurance and secure renters insurance. I have no idea what the cost for those will be, but I allowed 100/month. I have $200 of unbudgeted money monthly, and $100 for entertainment--I really spend very little on entertainment currently, so we'll see.

Ah, I love planning. Or perhaps I'm really just procrastinating on finishing up my take home final for my graduate class.

I accepted a job for January 2008 back in early September. This may come as a surprise to anyone who noted that I was in Los Angeles last weekend interviewing for a (different) job.

To my credit, I did stop applying for jobs when I accepted my first offer. Company A just moved very quickly, while Company B moved very slowly. I sought advice of those in industry (an experienced mentor) and others who love me (parents) and was told that I should go on the second interview, and really, do what was best for me. If nothing else, I could use the weekend to find an apartment.

I have not received the formal offer from Company B, but notification that HR is putting something together. I anticipate it will be similar to the other offer--at least as good, maybe slightly better.

Here is the thing: I want to work for Company B significantly more. I met a lot of great people and liked the atmosphere a lot more. However, I have committed to Company A with a start date of late January.

I do know it is unethical to back out of my first offer, but I think I will do it anyway. I will allow myself this mistake in my career, and will never do anything like this again. I will keep myself out of this position. It is a bad place to be in. At the same time, I have to do what is truly best for me. If the company lost a contract tomorrow, they wouldn't feel bad about calling me up and saying "Never mind, you aren't hired". Still. It is not something I am proud of. I just want to say, I'm not asking advice over whether or not to do this, just HOW to handle it.

I'm drafting a letter of "resignation" (or rather, "renege-ation"). For the sake of getting the information to them as quickly as possible I probably will man up (woman-up?) and call them, as unpleasant as that may be. Ok, let's be realistic--I probably will send them an email? I will also send a formal letter (I think). I don't know how to handle this situation, because it is not the types of situations I usually get myself in.

Please offer any suggestions on how to handle this. Here is my first draft:

With great apologies and regret, it is necessary to inform you that I will not be starting employment with Company A this January 2008. I understand that backing out of my commitment is disrespectful to you, and I have wasted the time of you and your company. I am truly sorry for this and will not make this mistake again with any company.

I do not wish to start my career with Company A only to leave for something that is better fit after a short period of time, and waste more of your time invested in me as an employee. With this in mind that I have chosen a different path. My choice was not for monetary reasons, but simply I felt that the job was a better fit for me. Of course, I stopped applying for jobs at the time of my acceptance, however the process moved very slowly with the second company and I'm only now finalizing my decision. I understand that accepting an offer that I was not entirely confident in was a poor choice on my part. I should have, at the very least, requested more time to consider all my options, before making a commitment that I could not keep. Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I have caused for you.

Thank you for the time you have already spent on me as a candidate and for your gracious offer of employment. I can not apologize enough for backing out of my commitment.

Sincerely,
Me

I was hoping to wait until 2008 to talk about my goals and plans for 2008. However, I'm a planner to the extreme and I can't help myself from starting now.

There are a lot of unknowns in the first part of next year. I'm moving to a new city with expensive rent. While I have one job offer, I'm waiting on the one that I want more (tomorrow? Very soon!) so I'm not sure what my salary will be. Still, no matter what, there are some goals I can set right away, and adjust as needed.

First, I want to max out my Roth IRA again. That is about $415 a month of post tax money to be directed into savings immediately. In my first year and a half of working, I've already saved about $20k in retirement accounts. As my salary increases, I'll be able to contribute more each year. I think I'm on track to have a comfortable retirement. I have a vague idea of retiring early, but still am not ready to make a plan for that goal.

In that same vein, I want to contribute at least 10% to my 401k. This is pretty painless and will get me a full match of (probably) 6% total from my company. Based on my first job offer, that will mean I'll save about $15000 in 2008 for retirement. If I feel that I can afford it, this will be increased, with a stretch goal of 15% towards 401k.

I also want to pay a little extra to my student loan account. My goal is only going to be $1000 extra this year. I'm required to pay about $1500. In 2007 my goal was $4000 total. This is really cheap money so paying it off is more for the mental benefits. That means my month payment will increase to $215, though I'll likely pay it in chunks rather than automatically every month. If any of my goals are faltering, this will be the first to go, as it is the least cost effective.

Next, I want to continue (but decrease) to auto-contributions to my emergency fund, and really turn it into an emergency fund. I have a general purpose high yield savings account which is my efund, but I don't treat it as an efund. It's just a savings account with a continually increasing balance. I think contributing $50/week to this account will be sufficient. I pretty much grew it to 10k from scratch this year, so it is a big decrease. I'm excited to have a base fund so I can focus on other goals.

Now... the "boring" goals are out of the way!

For my fun goals, I want to add $25/week to my "travel" fund. If I have extra money, I'll increase this amount, but it is a start. I have a travel fund earmarked, but it has had really stagnant growth. I also want to start saving up for a newer car. My car has about 75k miles on it and will last another couple years... but I need to start building up some money to purchase my next one. I want to pay for my next car in cash, and I will be spending at least 10k, maybe more. If my budget works out, I'd like to save $100/week for this, giving me just over 5k by the end of the year.

So that is it! These goals will be tweaked once I'm settled into my new apartment, new city, and new job.

In unrelated news, they are announcing who replaces my current manager at work today. I hope they promote from within the group and that Bryan is it. I think that he would have the job if he wanted it, but I'm not sure he is interested in management.

This was not only the most satisfying thing to put on my to do list, but also the most satisfying to check off!

Actually, I really like my job. They don't discriminate based on age and experience--if you are good, you will be given good tasks and responsibility. In my short time there (1.5 years), I was able to be recognized as a "high performer" and given a key role on my team. Which is really great--you don't have people forcing you to "pay your dues". If you can do the task, your dues are considered paid and you are thrown in there. There are several young employees (under 30) that have really big leadership roles in our group, and I don't think I am too far behind. Besides that, I have gotten to work on challenging and rewarding projects and like my coworkers.

I'm resigning because I'm relocating to Los Angeles (for personal reasons) and the branch in that area really doesn't do any interesting work. I was very nervous about putting in my notice, until my manager informed us all that he had been promoted and would be moving to a branch in Texas. That made it easier for me. I set up a meeting with my manager, which I titled "Short Discussion", which I assume made it obvious what it was about. I don't usually schedule meetings with my manager, and a vague title usually means the employee is quitting. He said he knew when he got the invite.

So, I resigned, effective January 11th. I gave them about a month's notice, which maybe is more than "standard" but I felt it was appropriate, considering we get a week and a half off for Christmas.

Today my manager presented me with the idea of working remotely from Los Angeles, with a salary differential for cost of living figured in. I was really surprised by the idea, and felt it showed they really appreciate my work. Ultimately, it probably won't work out. I don't think I'd do well working in isolation. At this point in my career it is best for me to be surrounded by really brilliant people and learn as much as possible from them. Not to mention, how would I meet new people if I worked alone? I expressed my concerns, and really, I don't think it would be best for the company either. He was fine with that, but said he just had to discuss it with me.

Tomorrow, we can tell the rest of my team.

This blog has been exceptionally quiet (it never really is all that happening over here anyway) this week. Not only did I send my laptop in for repair (under warranty still), but I was out of town from Wednesday night until late Sunday night (I got to bed at 1:30 am). Perhaps more to come on that "vacation" later. I actually have a lot of potential topics stored up in my mind. For now, I want to talk about my credit cards.

At work, we are all chipping in for a going away present for my manager. My coworker is collecting five dollars from us all, and complained that none of the "young people" had cash. I asked her if she could just accept credit, but no such luck. Not even Visa.

One of my two primary credit cards is a Chase Freedom Visa card. One reason I chose this card was because it was a "Visa Signature" card, and any electronics I buy automatically have a doubled warranty. Sweet. Another cool perk is that any rental car I rent with it will automatically get CDW coverage, which will come in handy when I rent a car over New Years. The cash back bonus is alright, but I really don't spend that much for it to be exciting.

What has annoyed me about this card is the constant mailings encouraging me to sign up for costly services. More than once a month I get an envelope from them to sign up for some "Credit Protection Plan". In case I ever fall on hard times, this service will allow me to suspend payments for some period of time. Or something like that. Every time I call them for any reason, they push this service. It costs something like $0.89 per a $100 balance, so it isn't much, but still. They also said if you don't "carry a balance" it is free. After questioning this further, I learned that it wasn't exactly true. You can't just pay your balance every time you get a statement, you have to pay your balance BEFORE the statement is calculated for it to be free. Anyway, it is annoying. I don't want it. I don't need it. I have an emergency fund of almost 10k (yay, go me!) and know how to manage my money. Yesterday I opened some "check" that I deposit, which will enroll me in some $90/year service. I'm not sure what the service is, only that I don't need it.

My other card is a Discover Open Road card. Discover seems to have has a bad reputation, but I think they are great. The cash back program is solid (and you can pick what one best suites your life). They also let you choose your credit card design from a HUGE selection. Not that it is REALLY important, but where else will give me a flamingo pink credit card with an "S" monogrammed on it? Love it! Of course, you really can't get by with only a Discover card. While most places accept it, there are still a few who do not. Also, I opened a second Discover card once (to use a 0% balance transfer offer) and they made a huge headache about closing it. The first time I tried my call was simply "dropped" (I personally think they hung up on me because then the customer service rep gets to count it as a customer that was not lost), and the second time I had to argue for several minutes about why I wanted to just close it. Anyway, other than that, Discover has been very nice to me since I first got their card as a college student.

Credit cards have always been a helpful tool for me. I've never been late on a payment and never been charged a fee. I typically get a couple hundred dollars in cash back bonuses each year, and they are very convenient. Still, on principle, I think credit card companies stink. They charge outrageous rates and push to sell useless services.

I am not excited about this post, and considered not writing it. However, I need to be accountable to myself, so here are my results for November

• Resume tracking of spending! I didn't do this, and filled in the second half of November today. There is a $44 charge at Target that I can't remember what I bought. I think it was a mix of clothes and groceries. This is why I need to track as I spend!
  
• Limit groceries to $30/week or less and restaurants to $75 total I just barely met the restaurant goal, and only spent 100 on groceries. Of course, I spent a several days with my family for thanksgiving (food provided) so that made it easier.
  
• Study for and do well on midterm for my grad class. I did pretty well. I could have done better, but I scored well enough to be satisfied.

December is a hard month to set goals for. I know I'm taking a vacation at the very end of the month, which will involve extra going out/eating out costs. I have to do a lot of shopping, so the "gifts" category of my budget will be large this month. Then in January I'm moving cross country, and I have no idea how things will shake out there. In light of this information, I don't think I'm going to do month goals until February. There are too many unknowns to think about, and I don't think my goals could be very accurate. I just will track my spending and be sensible in spending. And also, to find a place to live in my new city. Still, that really isn't a goal, but an absolute necessity!

This is the first year I've ever made "big" New Years Eve plans. I'm going to my future home of LA and a friend from my semester abroad is coming with two other of her friends. I opted out of the original plan, Las Vegas, because I didn't want to spend that much money. In LA, we can stay with my boyfriend (crowded, but free!) and save a ton of money on lodging.

I knew when I signed up for this that this particular friends isn't afraid to spend money. Still, it wasn't a big issue, and we spent a lot of time together on study abroad. She usually just would spend in line with whatever I was, and one night drunkenly confessed "It is good when I hang out with you and E, because I spend less money. You two are my non-baller friend!" I didn't take it as an insult, though some might! Anyway, sometimes it stinks being the frugal one, but at the same time, I won't change my values based on peer pressure. And frankly, when we were still in college, I simply couldn't afford to.

Anyway, I recently got a message that we were considering going to a fancy club on new years at $150 + fees to buy tickets to get in. It does include all drinks and honestly is probably what a lot of "trendy" clubs are going to run in LA. But there is no way that I'm spending $200 for one night! I wouldn't be sad if we went somewhere less trendy for New Years (some are free cover, or $50), because I think the most fun part is just going to be hanging out together. If they want to celebrity sight, we can do that on less expensive nights!

She also has been requesting my presence at a fancy steakhouse for dinner. I do love food and don't mind spending a little on deliciousness. However, I don't even really care for steak, and it just doesn't make sense to me. I won't hesitate going out for delicious sushi now and then, but to spend so much on something I don't even love just is silly.

At the same time, there is a small part of me that wishes I could live a life of excess and spend the money. Really, I *could* afford it. It wouldn't put me into debt or wreck my savings. But I just don't value a trendy club enough to spend that kind of money for it. I'm not opposed to spending money (though $150 would be painful for anything) but it has to be something that is a little more in line with what I think is important. A night of fun is important, but we could have almost as much fun somewhere else.

I'm relocating to Los Angeles in January, and my company will pay for up to 2 weeks of "temporary housing" at a hotel while I find an apartment. I originally got a move in date for my new (expensive) apartment of January 15th, and I decided to push it to February 1st in order to save half a months rent. Unfortunately, the apartment complex did not like my plan. I wasn't even able to negotiate an extra week! I'm really bummed out about this, because it is essentially $700 out of my pocket and into theirs. Perhaps I should have been more pushy and tried harder. I still don't think they would have budged.... Completely lame!

I am feeling nervous about the ammout of money flowing OUT lately and I really wanted to save that $700....

I went out and about today and completed the majority of my Christmas shopping. I picked out a really cute sweater/shrug and tank top for my sister and bought one in another color for myself as well. I usually never pay full price for my clothes from stores like Express, and I feel horribly guilty about it. Anyway, I went back the store and returned one sweater, but with the idea that I'd come back and buy it with the coupon they awarded me (which isn't valid until tomorrow).

Now I'm having doubts. First, I really should return the tank top because it is over priced, even for a gift. Second, I shouldn't buy myself a set. Should I? If I buy myself a set, it'll cost $135 for both of us, so about $68 each. Or I could spend $80 total (what I currently have spent) and not buy myself one. Though the "gift" budget was only supposed to be $50 for sisters. Or I could spend $105 and get two sweaters but only one tank top.

I obviously do not need the sweater. I recently got to buy some clothes from H&M using a gift card I received for my birthday. On the other hand, I rarely buy myself new clothes, and when I do I don't buy anything over $30 usually. I think in my head, "I deserve this! I got a big bonus this year and haven't spent any of it on myself." Which is true. . . But that doesn't mean I need to buy this. Perhaps I would get more enjoyment out of saving the $68. Or spending it on something else. I am going on a nice new years vacation where plenty of spending will happen. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow, which usually runs me about $110 (including tip) if I don't get my eyebrows waxed...

I think I'm going to punch in my numbers for December spending so far, and from there decide if I should keep it or not...

Do any of you agonize so much over an $80 purchase??

I'm relocating from an inexpensive Midwestern city to Los Angeles. I have received two very similar job offers.

The first offer came in at $65k with a relocation package that included a $2000 tax assisted lump sum. I thought the offer was a little low, so I negotiated $67k and a $3k signing bonus. The pay includes up to 7% in 40k matching/contributions by the company and 12.5 days of vacation the first year. Bonuses were not explicitly mentioned, but I would imagine they do some kind of incentive bonus.

The second offer came in at $69k with a very similar relocation package (except $1000 non tax assisted lump sum rather than the $2000), a $3k signing bonus, and 10 days of vacation the first year. They also explicitly mentioned sick leave, at 8/hrs a month. They match up to 6% of 401k contributions, and have some sort of pension plan. I assume you have to work there some minimum amount of years to be vested in the pension. They mentioned bonuses when i was on-site, which this year was "ten days of pay."

My current job will be paying about $58k as of next year. I get 15 days of vacation per a year, and sick leave is not really an issues. You are encouraged to make up any hours that you are sick, but it is not an absolute requirement. I get 6% in a 401k match. I also got a 9% bonus this year.

All things considered, my current job is really the best financial deal, taking the cost of living into consideration. The pay increase is nearly a 20% raise. However, my rent is going to MORE than double, and I will be paying an extra $9,600 a year in rent. That practically wipes out the entire raise! The vacation is better, the bonus is better, and I would most certainly get promoted to "Grade 2" next year. I'm not sure how long it will take me at my next company.

However, the whole point of the job search is to relocate. So, which of the other two is the better offer?

Despite the extra relocation money from the first company (and the extra 2.5 days of vacation) the hard salary numbers will be what my future salary will be based off of. I think the second offer is better, though I'm going to miss that extra week of vacation. Is vacation negotiable? The second offer is only slightly better, but the job itself is more appealing, which really seals the deal.

My next thought is, should I negotiate the second offer? Am I worth more? I don't want to come across as arrogant to the company--I'm not even two years out of school, and I didn't go to a fancy big name engineering school. But if I am worth more than what they offered, I don't want to sell myself short. I don't know. I think it is a fair offer. I liked the company a lot. But the boyfriend insists it doesn't hurt to ask. Thoughts?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

Here is my sketched out plan for 2008. I'm moving to an expensive city, but I took the difference of the salary and the rent increase, and I'm coming out a little ahead. Of course, there are other factors.... Anyway, savings are blue, if you can see the different colors.


This doesn't include a signing bonus or any leftover relocation perks, but those will just go automatically into savings and other initial costs of starting over (apartment deposit, etc.)

I'm not sure if I really will only spend 200 on groceries and 100 on restaurants, but I'm sure going to make an effort. I also have to start paying my own car insurance and secure renters insurance. I have no idea what the cost for those will be, but I allowed 100/month. I have $200 of unbudgeted money monthly, and $100 for entertainment--I really spend very little on entertainment currently, so we'll see.

Ah, I love planning. Or perhaps I'm really just procrastinating on finishing up my take home final for my graduate class.

I accepted a job for January 2008 back in early September. This may come as a surprise to anyone who noted that I was in Los Angeles last weekend interviewing for a (different) job.

To my credit, I did stop applying for jobs when I accepted my first offer. Company A just moved very quickly, while Company B moved very slowly. I sought advice of those in industry (an experienced mentor) and others who love me (parents) and was told that I should go on the second interview, and really, do what was best for me. If nothing else, I could use the weekend to find an apartment.

I have not received the formal offer from Company B, but notification that HR is putting something together. I anticipate it will be similar to the other offer--at least as good, maybe slightly better.

Here is the thing: I want to work for Company B significantly more. I met a lot of great people and liked the atmosphere a lot more. However, I have committed to Company A with a start date of late January.

I do know it is unethical to back out of my first offer, but I think I will do it anyway. I will allow myself this mistake in my career, and will never do anything like this again. I will keep myself out of this position. It is a bad place to be in. At the same time, I have to do what is truly best for me. If the company lost a contract tomorrow, they wouldn't feel bad about calling me up and saying "Never mind, you aren't hired". Still. It is not something I am proud of. I just want to say, I'm not asking advice over whether or not to do this, just HOW to handle it.

I'm drafting a letter of "resignation" (or rather, "renege-ation"). For the sake of getting the information to them as quickly as possible I probably will man up (woman-up?) and call them, as unpleasant as that may be. Ok, let's be realistic--I probably will send them an email? I will also send a formal letter (I think). I don't know how to handle this situation, because it is not the types of situations I usually get myself in.

Please offer any suggestions on how to handle this. Here is my first draft:

With great apologies and regret, it is necessary to inform you that I will not be starting employment with Company A this January 2008. I understand that backing out of my commitment is disrespectful to you, and I have wasted the time of you and your company. I am truly sorry for this and will not make this mistake again with any company.

I do not wish to start my career with Company A only to leave for something that is better fit after a short period of time, and waste more of your time invested in me as an employee. With this in mind that I have chosen a different path. My choice was not for monetary reasons, but simply I felt that the job was a better fit for me. Of course, I stopped applying for jobs at the time of my acceptance, however the process moved very slowly with the second company and I'm only now finalizing my decision. I understand that accepting an offer that I was not entirely confident in was a poor choice on my part. I should have, at the very least, requested more time to consider all my options, before making a commitment that I could not keep. Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I have caused for you.

Thank you for the time you have already spent on me as a candidate and for your gracious offer of employment. I can not apologize enough for backing out of my commitment.

Sincerely,
Me

I was hoping to wait until 2008 to talk about my goals and plans for 2008. However, I'm a planner to the extreme and I can't help myself from starting now.

There are a lot of unknowns in the first part of next year. I'm moving to a new city with expensive rent. While I have one job offer, I'm waiting on the one that I want more (tomorrow? Very soon!) so I'm not sure what my salary will be. Still, no matter what, there are some goals I can set right away, and adjust as needed.

First, I want to max out my Roth IRA again. That is about $415 a month of post tax money to be directed into savings immediately. In my first year and a half of working, I've already saved about $20k in retirement accounts. As my salary increases, I'll be able to contribute more each year. I think I'm on track to have a comfortable retirement. I have a vague idea of retiring early, but still am not ready to make a plan for that goal.

In that same vein, I want to contribute at least 10% to my 401k. This is pretty painless and will get me a full match of (probably) 6% total from my company. Based on my first job offer, that will mean I'll save about $15000 in 2008 for retirement. If I feel that I can afford it, this will be increased, with a stretch goal of 15% towards 401k.

I also want to pay a little extra to my student loan account. My goal is only going to be $1000 extra this year. I'm required to pay about $1500. In 2007 my goal was $4000 total. This is really cheap money so paying it off is more for the mental benefits. That means my month payment will increase to $215, though I'll likely pay it in chunks rather than automatically every month. If any of my goals are faltering, this will be the first to go, as it is the least cost effective.

Next, I want to continue (but decrease) to auto-contributions to my emergency fund, and really turn it into an emergency fund. I have a general purpose high yield savings account which is my efund, but I don't treat it as an efund. It's just a savings account with a continually increasing balance. I think contributing $50/week to this account will be sufficient. I pretty much grew it to 10k from scratch this year, so it is a big decrease. I'm excited to have a base fund so I can focus on other goals.

Now... the "boring" goals are out of the way!

For my fun goals, I want to add $25/week to my "travel" fund. If I have extra money, I'll increase this amount, but it is a start. I have a travel fund earmarked, but it has had really stagnant growth. I also want to start saving up for a newer car. My car has about 75k miles on it and will last another couple years... but I need to start building up some money to purchase my next one. I want to pay for my next car in cash, and I will be spending at least 10k, maybe more. If my budget works out, I'd like to save $100/week for this, giving me just over 5k by the end of the year.

So that is it! These goals will be tweaked once I'm settled into my new apartment, new city, and new job.

In unrelated news, they are announcing who replaces my current manager at work today. I hope they promote from within the group and that Bryan is it. I think that he would have the job if he wanted it, but I'm not sure he is interested in management.

This was not only the most satisfying thing to put on my to do list, but also the most satisfying to check off!

Actually, I really like my job. They don't discriminate based on age and experience--if you are good, you will be given good tasks and responsibility. In my short time there (1.5 years), I was able to be recognized as a "high performer" and given a key role on my team. Which is really great--you don't have people forcing you to "pay your dues". If you can do the task, your dues are considered paid and you are thrown in there. There are several young employees (under 30) that have really big leadership roles in our group, and I don't think I am too far behind. Besides that, I have gotten to work on challenging and rewarding projects and like my coworkers.

I'm resigning because I'm relocating to Los Angeles (for personal reasons) and the branch in that area really doesn't do any interesting work. I was very nervous about putting in my notice, until my manager informed us all that he had been promoted and would be moving to a branch in Texas. That made it easier for me. I set up a meeting with my manager, which I titled "Short Discussion", which I assume made it obvious what it was about. I don't usually schedule meetings with my manager, and a vague title usually means the employee is quitting. He said he knew when he got the invite.

So, I resigned, effective January 11th. I gave them about a month's notice, which maybe is more than "standard" but I felt it was appropriate, considering we get a week and a half off for Christmas.

Today my manager presented me with the idea of working remotely from Los Angeles, with a salary differential for cost of living figured in. I was really surprised by the idea, and felt it showed they really appreciate my work. Ultimately, it probably won't work out. I don't think I'd do well working in isolation. At this point in my career it is best for me to be surrounded by really brilliant people and learn as much as possible from them. Not to mention, how would I meet new people if I worked alone? I expressed my concerns, and really, I don't think it would be best for the company either. He was fine with that, but said he just had to discuss it with me.

Tomorrow, we can tell the rest of my team.

This blog has been exceptionally quiet (it never really is all that happening over here anyway) this week. Not only did I send my laptop in for repair (under warranty still), but I was out of town from Wednesday night until late Sunday night (I got to bed at 1:30 am). Perhaps more to come on that "vacation" later. I actually have a lot of potential topics stored up in my mind. For now, I want to talk about my credit cards.

At work, we are all chipping in for a going away present for my manager. My coworker is collecting five dollars from us all, and complained that none of the "young people" had cash. I asked her if she could just accept credit, but no such luck. Not even Visa.

One of my two primary credit cards is a Chase Freedom Visa card. One reason I chose this card was because it was a "Visa Signature" card, and any electronics I buy automatically have a doubled warranty. Sweet. Another cool perk is that any rental car I rent with it will automatically get CDW coverage, which will come in handy when I rent a car over New Years. The cash back bonus is alright, but I really don't spend that much for it to be exciting.

What has annoyed me about this card is the constant mailings encouraging me to sign up for costly services. More than once a month I get an envelope from them to sign up for some "Credit Protection Plan". In case I ever fall on hard times, this service will allow me to suspend payments for some period of time. Or something like that. Every time I call them for any reason, they push this service. It costs something like $0.89 per a $100 balance, so it isn't much, but still. They also said if you don't "carry a balance" it is free. After questioning this further, I learned that it wasn't exactly true. You can't just pay your balance every time you get a statement, you have to pay your balance BEFORE the statement is calculated for it to be free. Anyway, it is annoying. I don't want it. I don't need it. I have an emergency fund of almost 10k (yay, go me!) and know how to manage my money. Yesterday I opened some "check" that I deposit, which will enroll me in some $90/year service. I'm not sure what the service is, only that I don't need it.

My other card is a Discover Open Road card. Discover seems to have has a bad reputation, but I think they are great. The cash back program is solid (and you can pick what one best suites your life). They also let you choose your credit card design from a HUGE selection. Not that it is REALLY important, but where else will give me a flamingo pink credit card with an "S" monogrammed on it? Love it! Of course, you really can't get by with only a Discover card. While most places accept it, there are still a few who do not. Also, I opened a second Discover card once (to use a 0% balance transfer offer) and they made a huge headache about closing it. The first time I tried my call was simply "dropped" (I personally think they hung up on me because then the customer service rep gets to count it as a customer that was not lost), and the second time I had to argue for several minutes about why I wanted to just close it. Anyway, other than that, Discover has been very nice to me since I first got their card as a college student.

Credit cards have always been a helpful tool for me. I've never been late on a payment and never been charged a fee. I typically get a couple hundred dollars in cash back bonuses each year, and they are very convenient. Still, on principle, I think credit card companies stink. They charge outrageous rates and push to sell useless services.

I am not excited about this post, and considered not writing it. However, I need to be accountable to myself, so here are my results for November

• Resume tracking of spending! I didn't do this, and filled in the second half of November today. There is a $44 charge at Target that I can't remember what I bought. I think it was a mix of clothes and groceries. This is why I need to track as I spend!
  
• Limit groceries to $30/week or less and restaurants to $75 total I just barely met the restaurant goal, and only spent 100 on groceries. Of course, I spent a several days with my family for thanksgiving (food provided) so that made it easier.
  
• Study for and do well on midterm for my grad class. I did pretty well. I could have done better, but I scored well enough to be satisfied.

December is a hard month to set goals for. I know I'm taking a vacation at the very end of the month, which will involve extra going out/eating out costs. I have to do a lot of shopping, so the "gifts" category of my budget will be large this month. Then in January I'm moving cross country, and I have no idea how things will shake out there. In light of this information, I don't think I'm going to do month goals until February. There are too many unknowns to think about, and I don't think my goals could be very accurate. I just will track my spending and be sensible in spending. And also, to find a place to live in my new city. Still, that really isn't a goal, but an absolute necessity!

This is the first year I've ever made "big" New Years Eve plans. I'm going to my future home of LA and a friend from my semester abroad is coming with two other of her friends. I opted out of the original plan, Las Vegas, because I didn't want to spend that much money. In LA, we can stay with my boyfriend (crowded, but free!) and save a ton of money on lodging.

I knew when I signed up for this that this particular friends isn't afraid to spend money. Still, it wasn't a big issue, and we spent a lot of time together on study abroad. She usually just would spend in line with whatever I was, and one night drunkenly confessed "It is good when I hang out with you and E, because I spend less money. You two are my non-baller friend!" I didn't take it as an insult, though some might! Anyway, sometimes it stinks being the frugal one, but at the same time, I won't change my values based on peer pressure. And frankly, when we were still in college, I simply couldn't afford to.

Anyway, I recently got a message that we were considering going to a fancy club on new years at $150 + fees to buy tickets to get in. It does include all drinks and honestly is probably what a lot of "trendy" clubs are going to run in LA. But there is no way that I'm spending $200 for one night! I wouldn't be sad if we went somewhere less trendy for New Years (some are free cover, or $50), because I think the most fun part is just going to be hanging out together. If they want to celebrity sight, we can do that on less expensive nights!

She also has been requesting my presence at a fancy steakhouse for dinner. I do love food and don't mind spending a little on deliciousness. However, I don't even really care for steak, and it just doesn't make sense to me. I won't hesitate going out for delicious sushi now and then, but to spend so much on something I don't even love just is silly.

At the same time, there is a small part of me that wishes I could live a life of excess and spend the money. Really, I *could* afford it. It wouldn't put me into debt or wreck my savings. But I just don't value a trendy club enough to spend that kind of money for it. I'm not opposed to spending money (though $150 would be painful for anything) but it has to be something that is a little more in line with what I think is important. A night of fun is important, but we could have almost as much fun somewhere else.

I'm relocating to Los Angeles in January, and my company will pay for up to 2 weeks of "temporary housing" at a hotel while I find an apartment. I originally got a move in date for my new (expensive) apartment of January 15th, and I decided to push it to February 1st in order to save half a months rent. Unfortunately, the apartment complex did not like my plan. I wasn't even able to negotiate an extra week! I'm really bummed out about this, because it is essentially $700 out of my pocket and into theirs. Perhaps I should have been more pushy and tried harder. I still don't think they would have budged.... Completely lame!

I am feeling nervous about the ammout of money flowing OUT lately and I really wanted to save that $700....

I went out and about today and completed the majority of my Christmas shopping. I picked out a really cute sweater/shrug and tank top for my sister and bought one in another color for myself as well. I usually never pay full price for my clothes from stores like Express, and I feel horribly guilty about it. Anyway, I went back the store and returned one sweater, but with the idea that I'd come back and buy it with the coupon they awarded me (which isn't valid until tomorrow).

Now I'm having doubts. First, I really should return the tank top because it is over priced, even for a gift. Second, I shouldn't buy myself a set. Should I? If I buy myself a set, it'll cost $135 for both of us, so about $68 each. Or I could spend $80 total (what I currently have spent) and not buy myself one. Though the "gift" budget was only supposed to be $50 for sisters. Or I could spend $105 and get two sweaters but only one tank top.

I obviously do not need the sweater. I recently got to buy some clothes from H&M using a gift card I received for my birthday. On the other hand, I rarely buy myself new clothes, and when I do I don't buy anything over $30 usually. I think in my head, "I deserve this! I got a big bonus this year and haven't spent any of it on myself." Which is true. . . But that doesn't mean I need to buy this. Perhaps I would get more enjoyment out of saving the $68. Or spending it on something else. I am going on a nice new years vacation where plenty of spending will happen. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow, which usually runs me about $110 (including tip) if I don't get my eyebrows waxed...

I think I'm going to punch in my numbers for December spending so far, and from there decide if I should keep it or not...

Do any of you agonize so much over an $80 purchase??

I'm relocating from an inexpensive Midwestern city to Los Angeles. I have received two very similar job offers.

The first offer came in at $65k with a relocation package that included a $2000 tax assisted lump sum. I thought the offer was a little low, so I negotiated $67k and a $3k signing bonus. The pay includes up to 7% in 40k matching/contributions by the company and 12.5 days of vacation the first year. Bonuses were not explicitly mentioned, but I would imagine they do some kind of incentive bonus.

The second offer came in at $69k with a very similar relocation package (except $1000 non tax assisted lump sum rather than the $2000), a $3k signing bonus, and 10 days of vacation the first year. They also explicitly mentioned sick leave, at 8/hrs a month. They match up to 6% of 401k contributions, and have some sort of pension plan. I assume you have to work there some minimum amount of years to be vested in the pension. They mentioned bonuses when i was on-site, which this year was "ten days of pay."

My current job will be paying about $58k as of next year. I get 15 days of vacation per a year, and sick leave is not really an issues. You are encouraged to make up any hours that you are sick, but it is not an absolute requirement. I get 6% in a 401k match. I also got a 9% bonus this year.

All things considered, my current job is really the best financial deal, taking the cost of living into consideration. The pay increase is nearly a 20% raise. However, my rent is going to MORE than double, and I will be paying an extra $9,600 a year in rent. That practically wipes out the entire raise! The vacation is better, the bonus is better, and I would most certainly get promoted to "Grade 2" next year. I'm not sure how long it will take me at my next company.

However, the whole point of the job search is to relocate. So, which of the other two is the better offer?

Despite the extra relocation money from the first company (and the extra 2.5 days of vacation) the hard salary numbers will be what my future salary will be based off of. I think the second offer is better, though I'm going to miss that extra week of vacation. Is vacation negotiable? The second offer is only slightly better, but the job itself is more appealing, which really seals the deal.

My next thought is, should I negotiate the second offer? Am I worth more? I don't want to come across as arrogant to the company--I'm not even two years out of school, and I didn't go to a fancy big name engineering school. But if I am worth more than what they offered, I don't want to sell myself short. I don't know. I think it is a fair offer. I liked the company a lot. But the boyfriend insists it doesn't hurt to ask. Thoughts?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

Here is my sketched out plan for 2008. I'm moving to an expensive city, but I took the difference of the salary and the rent increase, and I'm coming out a little ahead. Of course, there are other factors.... Anyway, savings are blue, if you can see the different colors.


This doesn't include a signing bonus or any leftover relocation perks, but those will just go automatically into savings and other initial costs of starting over (apartment deposit, etc.)

I'm not sure if I really will only spend 200 on groceries and 100 on restaurants, but I'm sure going to make an effort. I also have to start paying my own car insurance and secure renters insurance. I have no idea what the cost for those will be, but I allowed 100/month. I have $200 of unbudgeted money monthly, and $100 for entertainment--I really spend very little on entertainment currently, so we'll see.

Ah, I love planning. Or perhaps I'm really just procrastinating on finishing up my take home final for my graduate class.

I accepted a job for January 2008 back in early September. This may come as a surprise to anyone who noted that I was in Los Angeles last weekend interviewing for a (different) job.

To my credit, I did stop applying for jobs when I accepted my first offer. Company A just moved very quickly, while Company B moved very slowly. I sought advice of those in industry (an experienced mentor) and others who love me (parents) and was told that I should go on the second interview, and really, do what was best for me. If nothing else, I could use the weekend to find an apartment.

I have not received the formal offer from Company B, but notification that HR is putting something together. I anticipate it will be similar to the other offer--at least as good, maybe slightly better.

Here is the thing: I want to work for Company B significantly more. I met a lot of great people and liked the atmosphere a lot more. However, I have committed to Company A with a start date of late January.

I do know it is unethical to back out of my first offer, but I think I will do it anyway. I will allow myself this mistake in my career, and will never do anything like this again. I will keep myself out of this position. It is a bad place to be in. At the same time, I have to do what is truly best for me. If the company lost a contract tomorrow, they wouldn't feel bad about calling me up and saying "Never mind, you aren't hired". Still. It is not something I am proud of. I just want to say, I'm not asking advice over whether or not to do this, just HOW to handle it.

I'm drafting a letter of "resignation" (or rather, "renege-ation"). For the sake of getting the information to them as quickly as possible I probably will man up (woman-up?) and call them, as unpleasant as that may be. Ok, let's be realistic--I probably will send them an email? I will also send a formal letter (I think). I don't know how to handle this situation, because it is not the types of situations I usually get myself in.

Please offer any suggestions on how to handle this. Here is my first draft:

With great apologies and regret, it is necessary to inform you that I will not be starting employment with Company A this January 2008. I understand that backing out of my commitment is disrespectful to you, and I have wasted the time of you and your company. I am truly sorry for this and will not make this mistake again with any company.

I do not wish to start my career with Company A only to leave for something that is better fit after a short period of time, and waste more of your time invested in me as an employee. With this in mind that I have chosen a different path. My choice was not for monetary reasons, but simply I felt that the job was a better fit for me. Of course, I stopped applying for jobs at the time of my acceptance, however the process moved very slowly with the second company and I'm only now finalizing my decision. I understand that accepting an offer that I was not entirely confident in was a poor choice on my part. I should have, at the very least, requested more time to consider all my options, before making a commitment that I could not keep. Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I have caused for you.

Thank you for the time you have already spent on me as a candidate and for your gracious offer of employment. I can not apologize enough for backing out of my commitment.

Sincerely,
Me

I was hoping to wait until 2008 to talk about my goals and plans for 2008. However, I'm a planner to the extreme and I can't help myself from starting now.

There are a lot of unknowns in the first part of next year. I'm moving to a new city with expensive rent. While I have one job offer, I'm waiting on the one that I want more (tomorrow? Very soon!) so I'm not sure what my salary will be. Still, no matter what, there are some goals I can set right away, and adjust as needed.

First, I want to max out my Roth IRA again. That is about $415 a month of post tax money to be directed into savings immediately. In my first year and a half of working, I've already saved about $20k in retirement accounts. As my salary increases, I'll be able to contribute more each year. I think I'm on track to have a comfortable retirement. I have a vague idea of retiring early, but still am not ready to make a plan for that goal.

In that same vein, I want to contribute at least 10% to my 401k. This is pretty painless and will get me a full match of (probably) 6% total from my company. Based on my first job offer, that will mean I'll save about $15000 in 2008 for retirement. If I feel that I can afford it, this will be increased, with a stretch goal of 15% towards 401k.

I also want to pay a little extra to my student loan account. My goal is only going to be $1000 extra this year. I'm required to pay about $1500. In 2007 my goal was $4000 total. This is really cheap money so paying it off is more for the mental benefits. That means my month payment will increase to $215, though I'll likely pay it in chunks rather than automatically every month. If any of my goals are faltering, this will be the first to go, as it is the least cost effective.

Next, I want to continue (but decrease) to auto-contributions to my emergency fund, and really turn it into an emergency fund. I have a general purpose high yield savings account which is my efund, but I don't treat it as an efund. It's just a savings account with a continually increasing balance. I think contributing $50/week to this account will be sufficient. I pretty much grew it to 10k from scratch this year, so it is a big decrease. I'm excited to have a base fund so I can focus on other goals.

Now... the "boring" goals are out of the way!

For my fun goals, I want to add $25/week to my "travel" fund. If I have extra money, I'll increase this amount, but it is a start. I have a travel fund earmarked, but it has had really stagnant growth. I also want to start saving up for a newer car. My car has about 75k miles on it and will last another couple years... but I need to start building up some money to purchase my next one. I want to pay for my next car in cash, and I will be spending at least 10k, maybe more. If my budget works out, I'd like to save $100/week for this, giving me just over 5k by the end of the year.

So that is it! These goals will be tweaked once I'm settled into my new apartment, new city, and new job.

In unrelated news, they are announcing who replaces my current manager at work today. I hope they promote from within the group and that Bryan is it. I think that he would have the job if he wanted it, but I'm not sure he is interested in management.

This was not only the most satisfying thing to put on my to do list, but also the most satisfying to check off!

Actually, I really like my job. They don't discriminate based on age and experience--if you are good, you will be given good tasks and responsibility. In my short time there (1.5 years), I was able to be recognized as a "high performer" and given a key role on my team. Which is really great--you don't have people forcing you to "pay your dues". If you can do the task, your dues are considered paid and you are thrown in there. There are several young employees (under 30) that have really big leadership roles in our group, and I don't think I am too far behind. Besides that, I have gotten to work on challenging and rewarding projects and like my coworkers.

I'm resigning because I'm relocating to Los Angeles (for personal reasons) and the branch in that area really doesn't do any interesting work. I was very nervous about putting in my notice, until my manager informed us all that he had been promoted and would be moving to a branch in Texas. That made it easier for me. I set up a meeting with my manager, which I titled "Short Discussion", which I assume made it obvious what it was about. I don't usually schedule meetings with my manager, and a vague title usually means the employee is quitting. He said he knew when he got the invite.

So, I resigned, effective January 11th. I gave them about a month's notice, which maybe is more than "standard" but I felt it was appropriate, considering we get a week and a half off for Christmas.

Today my manager presented me with the idea of working remotely from Los Angeles, with a salary differential for cost of living figured in. I was really surprised by the idea, and felt it showed they really appreciate my work. Ultimately, it probably won't work out. I don't think I'd do well working in isolation. At this point in my career it is best for me to be surrounded by really brilliant people and learn as much as possible from them. Not to mention, how would I meet new people if I worked alone? I expressed my concerns, and really, I don't think it would be best for the company either. He was fine with that, but said he just had to discuss it with me.

Tomorrow, we can tell the rest of my team.

This blog has been exceptionally quiet (it never really is all that happening over here anyway) this week. Not only did I send my laptop in for repair (under warranty still), but I was out of town from Wednesday night until late Sunday night (I got to bed at 1:30 am). Perhaps more to come on that "vacation" later. I actually have a lot of potential topics stored up in my mind. For now, I want to talk about my credit cards.

At work, we are all chipping in for a going away present for my manager. My coworker is collecting five dollars from us all, and complained that none of the "young people" had cash. I asked her if she could just accept credit, but no such luck. Not even Visa.

One of my two primary credit cards is a Chase Freedom Visa card. One reason I chose this card was because it was a "Visa Signature" card, and any electronics I buy automatically have a doubled warranty. Sweet. Another cool perk is that any rental car I rent with it will automatically get CDW coverage, which will come in handy when I rent a car over New Years. The cash back bonus is alright, but I really don't spend that much for it to be exciting.

What has annoyed me about this card is the constant mailings encouraging me to sign up for costly services. More than once a month I get an envelope from them to sign up for some "Credit Protection Plan". In case I ever fall on hard times, this service will allow me to suspend payments for some period of time. Or something like that. Every time I call them for any reason, they push this service. It costs something like $0.89 per a $100 balance, so it isn't much, but still. They also said if you don't "carry a balance" it is free. After questioning this further, I learned that it wasn't exactly true. You can't just pay your balance every time you get a statement, you have to pay your balance BEFORE the statement is calculated for it to be free. Anyway, it is annoying. I don't want it. I don't need it. I have an emergency fund of almost 10k (yay, go me!) and know how to manage my money. Yesterday I opened some "check" that I deposit, which will enroll me in some $90/year service. I'm not sure what the service is, only that I don't need it.

My other card is a Discover Open Road card. Discover seems to have has a bad reputation, but I think they are great. The cash back program is solid (and you can pick what one best suites your life). They also let you choose your credit card design from a HUGE selection. Not that it is REALLY important, but where else will give me a flamingo pink credit card with an "S" monogrammed on it? Love it! Of course, you really can't get by with only a Discover card. While most places accept it, there are still a few who do not. Also, I opened a second Discover card once (to use a 0% balance transfer offer) and they made a huge headache about closing it. The first time I tried my call was simply "dropped" (I personally think they hung up on me because then the customer service rep gets to count it as a customer that was not lost), and the second time I had to argue for several minutes about why I wanted to just close it. Anyway, other than that, Discover has been very nice to me since I first got their card as a college student.

Credit cards have always been a helpful tool for me. I've never been late on a payment and never been charged a fee. I typically get a couple hundred dollars in cash back bonuses each year, and they are very convenient. Still, on principle, I think credit card companies stink. They charge outrageous rates and push to sell useless services.

I am not excited about this post, and considered not writing it. However, I need to be accountable to myself, so here are my results for November

• Resume tracking of spending! I didn't do this, and filled in the second half of November today. There is a $44 charge at Target that I can't remember what I bought. I think it was a mix of clothes and groceries. This is why I need to track as I spend!
  
• Limit groceries to $30/week or less and restaurants to $75 total I just barely met the restaurant goal, and only spent 100 on groceries. Of course, I spent a several days with my family for thanksgiving (food provided) so that made it easier.
  
• Study for and do well on midterm for my grad class. I did pretty well. I could have done better, but I scored well enough to be satisfied.

December is a hard month to set goals for. I know I'm taking a vacation at the very end of the month, which will involve extra going out/eating out costs. I have to do a lot of shopping, so the "gifts" category of my budget will be large this month. Then in January I'm moving cross country, and I have no idea how things will shake out there. In light of this information, I don't think I'm going to do month goals until February. There are too many unknowns to think about, and I don't think my goals could be very accurate. I just will track my spending and be sensible in spending. And also, to find a place to live in my new city. Still, that really isn't a goal, but an absolute necessity!

This is the first year I've ever made "big" New Years Eve plans. I'm going to my future home of LA and a friend from my semester abroad is coming with two other of her friends. I opted out of the original plan, Las Vegas, because I didn't want to spend that much money. In LA, we can stay with my boyfriend (crowded, but free!) and save a ton of money on lodging.

I knew when I signed up for this that this particular friends isn't afraid to spend money. Still, it wasn't a big issue, and we spent a lot of time together on study abroad. She usually just would spend in line with whatever I was, and one night drunkenly confessed "It is good when I hang out with you and E, because I spend less money. You two are my non-baller friend!" I didn't take it as an insult, though some might! Anyway, sometimes it stinks being the frugal one, but at the same time, I won't change my values based on peer pressure. And frankly, when we were still in college, I simply couldn't afford to.

Anyway, I recently got a message that we were considering going to a fancy club on new years at $150 + fees to buy tickets to get in. It does include all drinks and honestly is probably what a lot of "trendy" clubs are going to run in LA. But there is no way that I'm spending $200 for one night! I wouldn't be sad if we went somewhere less trendy for New Years (some are free cover, or $50), because I think the most fun part is just going to be hanging out together. If they want to celebrity sight, we can do that on less expensive nights!

She also has been requesting my presence at a fancy steakhouse for dinner. I do love food and don't mind spending a little on deliciousness. However, I don't even really care for steak, and it just doesn't make sense to me. I won't hesitate going out for delicious sushi now and then, but to spend so much on something I don't even love just is silly.

At the same time, there is a small part of me that wishes I could live a life of excess and spend the money. Really, I *could* afford it. It wouldn't put me into debt or wreck my savings. But I just don't value a trendy club enough to spend that kind of money for it. I'm not opposed to spending money (though $150 would be painful for anything) but it has to be something that is a little more in line with what I think is important. A night of fun is important, but we could have almost as much fun somewhere else.

I'm relocating to Los Angeles in January, and my company will pay for up to 2 weeks of "temporary housing" at a hotel while I find an apartment. I originally got a move in date for my new (expensive) apartment of January 15th, and I decided to push it to February 1st in order to save half a months rent. Unfortunately, the apartment complex did not like my plan. I wasn't even able to negotiate an extra week! I'm really bummed out about this, because it is essentially $700 out of my pocket and into theirs. Perhaps I should have been more pushy and tried harder. I still don't think they would have budged.... Completely lame!

I am feeling nervous about the ammout of money flowing OUT lately and I really wanted to save that $700....

I went out and about today and completed the majority of my Christmas shopping. I picked out a really cute sweater/shrug and tank top for my sister and bought one in another color for myself as well. I usually never pay full price for my clothes from stores like Express, and I feel horribly guilty about it. Anyway, I went back the store and returned one sweater, but with the idea that I'd come back and buy it with the coupon they awarded me (which isn't valid until tomorrow).

Now I'm having doubts. First, I really should return the tank top because it is over priced, even for a gift. Second, I shouldn't buy myself a set. Should I? If I buy myself a set, it'll cost $135 for both of us, so about $68 each. Or I could spend $80 total (what I currently have spent) and not buy myself one. Though the "gift" budget was only supposed to be $50 for sisters. Or I could spend $105 and get two sweaters but only one tank top.

I obviously do not need the sweater. I recently got to buy some clothes from H&M using a gift card I received for my birthday. On the other hand, I rarely buy myself new clothes, and when I do I don't buy anything over $30 usually. I think in my head, "I deserve this! I got a big bonus this year and haven't spent any of it on myself." Which is true. . . But that doesn't mean I need to buy this. Perhaps I would get more enjoyment out of saving the $68. Or spending it on something else. I am going on a nice new years vacation where plenty of spending will happen. I also have a hair appointment tomorrow, which usually runs me about $110 (including tip) if I don't get my eyebrows waxed...

I think I'm going to punch in my numbers for December spending so far, and from there decide if I should keep it or not...

Do any of you agonize so much over an $80 purchase??

I'm relocating from an inexpensive Midwestern city to Los Angeles. I have received two very similar job offers.

The first offer came in at $65k with a relocation package that included a $2000 tax assisted lump sum. I thought the offer was a little low, so I negotiated $67k and a $3k signing bonus. The pay includes up to 7% in 40k matching/contributions by the company and 12.5 days of vacation the first year. Bonuses were not explicitly mentioned, but I would imagine they do some kind of incentive bonus.

The second offer came in at $69k with a very similar relocation package (except $1000 non tax assisted lump sum rather than the $2000), a $3k signing bonus, and 10 days of vacation the first year. They also explicitly mentioned sick leave, at 8/hrs a month. They match up to 6% of 401k contributions, and have some sort of pension plan. I assume you have to work there some minimum amount of years to be vested in the pension. They mentioned bonuses when i was on-site, which this year was "ten days of pay."

My current job will be paying about $58k as of next year. I get 15 days of vacation per a year, and sick leave is not really an issues. You are encouraged to make up any hours that you are sick, but it is not an absolute requirement. I get 6% in a 401k match. I also got a 9% bonus this year.

All things considered, my current job is really the best financial deal, taking the cost of living into consideration. The pay increase is nearly a 20% raise. However, my rent is going to MORE than double, and I will be paying an extra $9,600 a year in rent. That practically wipes out the entire raise! The vacation is better, the bonus is better, and I would most certainly get promoted to "Grade 2" next year. I'm not sure how long it will take me at my next company.

However, the whole point of the job search is to relocate. So, which of the other two is the better offer?

Despite the extra relocation money from the first company (and the extra 2.5 days of vacation) the hard salary numbers will be what my future salary will be based off of. I think the second offer is better, though I'm going to miss that extra week of vacation. Is vacation negotiable? The second offer is only slightly better, but the job itself is more appealing, which really seals the deal.

My next thought is, should I negotiate the second offer? Am I worth more? I don't want to come across as arrogant to the company--I'm not even two years out of school, and I didn't go to a fancy big name engineering school. But if I am worth more than what they offered, I don't want to sell myself short. I don't know. I think it is a fair offer. I liked the company a lot. But the boyfriend insists it doesn't hurt to ask. Thoughts?

Many people talk a lot about giving to charity, especially this time of the year. I personally do not give a very large percentage of my income to charity. When friends or acquaintances are requesting donations for a cause, I always donate something. Other than that, I must admit to being a bit miserly, something I would like to change. (Or more honestly, something I say I'd like to change, but haven't made any real progress on changing.)

I was reading a celebrity gossip magazine (and I'm not ashamed to admit it!) this evening, and came across an article about people or families who gave away over 50% of their income or net worth. The featured people were not anyone special: a woman who made just $16k last year, a man who earns $200k and gives away a whopping $162,000 of it, and another woman who inherited over half a million only to give it away. Check out Bolder Giving to read about more people who are extremely generous. Their mission " is to inspire us to give at our full potential by providing remarkable role models and practical support."

I am not giving to my full potential. It isn't though I'm spending selfishly, I just have other goals that I'm putting ahead of charity. Building up my emergency fund. Paying off student loans. However, these goals aren't mutually exclusive to giving to charity. In my defense, I volunteer about 1 hour a week at Big Brothers Big isters. Still, I feel that I could give more. So, what am I going to do about it? I will start small, and donate 1% (minimum) of my income next year. To those who tithe (or those who are simply more generous than I), a mere percent may seem laughable, but it is more than I contributed this year. It is a start, right?

Here is my sketched out plan for 2008. I'm moving to an expensive city, but I took the difference of the salary and the rent increase, and I'm coming out a little ahead. Of course, there are other factors.... Anyway, savings are blue, if you can see the different colors.


This doesn't include a signing bonus or any leftover relocation perks, but those will just go automatically into savings and other initial costs of starting over (apartment deposit, etc.)

I'm not sure if I really will only spend 200 on groceries and 100 on restaurants, but I'm sure going to make an effort. I also have to start paying my own car insurance and secure renters insurance. I have no idea what the cost for those will be, but I allowed 100/month. I have $200 of unbudgeted money monthly, and $100 for entertainment--I really spend very little on entertainment currently, so we'll see.

Ah, I love planning. Or perhaps I'm really just procrastinating on finishing up my take home final for my graduate class.

I accepted a job for January 2008 back in early September. This may come as a surprise to anyone who noted that I was in Los Angeles last weekend interviewing for a (different) job.

To my credit, I did stop applying for jobs when I accepted my first offer. Company A just moved very quickly, while Company B moved very slowly. I sought advice of those in industry (an experienced mentor) and others who love me (parents) and was told that I should go on the second interview, and really, do what was best for me. If nothing else, I could use the weekend to find an apartment.

I have not received the formal offer from Company B, but notification that HR is putting something together. I anticipate it will be similar to the other offer--at least as good, maybe slightly better.

Here is the thing: I want to work for Company B significantly more. I met a lot of great people and liked the atmosphere a lot more. However, I have committed to Company A with a start date of late January.

I do know it is unethical to back out of my first offer, but I think I will do it anyway. I will allow myself this mistake in my career, and will never do anything like this again. I will keep myself out of this position. It is a bad place to be in. At the same time, I have to do what is truly best for me. If the company lost a contract tomorrow, they wouldn't feel bad about calling me up and saying "Never mind, you aren't hired". Still. It is not something I am proud of. I just want to say, I'm not asking advice over whether or not to do this, just HOW to handle it.

I'm drafting a letter of "resignation" (or rather, "renege-ation"). For the sake of getting the information to them as quickly as possible I probably will man up (woman-up?) and call them, as unpleasant as that may be. Ok, let's be realistic--I probably will send them an email? I will also send a formal letter (I think). I don't know how to handle this situation, because it is not the types of situations I usually get myself in.

Please offer any suggestions on how to handle this. Here is my first draft:

With great apologies and regret, it is necessary to inform you that I will not be starting employment with Company A this January 2008. I understand that backing out of my commitment is disrespectful to you, and I have wasted the time of you and your company. I am truly sorry for this and will not make this mistake again with any company.

I do not wish to start my career with Company A only to leave for something that is better fit after a short period of time, and waste more of your time invested in me as an employee. With this in mind that I have chosen a different path. My choice was not for monetary reasons, but simply I felt that the job was a better fit for me. Of course, I stopped applying for jobs at the time of my acceptance, however the process moved very slowly with the second company and I'm only now finalizing my decision. I understand that accepting an offer that I was not entirely confident in was a poor choice on my part. I should have, at the very least, requested more time to consider all my options, before making a commitment that I could not keep. Again, I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience I have caused for you.

Thank you for the time you have already spent on me as a candidate and for your gracious offer of employment. I can not apologize enough for backing out of my commitment.

Sincerely,
Me

I was hoping to wait until 2008 to talk about my goals and plans for 2008. However, I'm a planner to the extreme and I can't help myself from starting now.

There are a lot of unknowns in the first part of next year. I'm moving to a new city with expensive rent. While I have one job offer, I'm waiting on the one that I want more (tomorrow? Very soon!) so I'm not sure what my salary will be. Still, no matter what, there are some goals I can set right away, and adjust as needed.

First, I want to max out my Roth IRA again. That is about $415 a month of post tax money to be directed into savings immediately. In my first year and a half of working, I've already saved about $20k in retirement accounts. As my salary increases, I'll be able to contribute more each year. I think I'm on track to have a comfortable retirement. I have a vague idea of retiring early, but still am not ready to make a plan for that goal.

In that same vein, I want to contribute at least 10% to my 401k. This is pretty painless and will get me a full match of (probably) 6% total from my company. Based on my first job offer, that will mean I'll save about $15000 in 2008 for retirement. If I feel that I can afford it, this will be increased, with a stretch goal of 15% towards 401k.

I also want to pay a little extra to my student loan account. My goal is only going to be $1000 extra this year. I'm required to pay about $1500. In 2007 my goal was $4000 total. This is really cheap money so paying it off is more for the mental benefits. That means my month payment will increase to $215, though I'll likely pay it in chunks rather than automatically every month. If any of my goals are faltering, this will be the first to go, as it is the least cost effective.

Next, I want to continue (but decrease) to auto-contributions to my emergency fund, and really turn it into an emergency fund. I have a general purpose high yield savings account which is my efund, but I don't treat it as an efund. It's just a savings account with a continually increasing balance. I think contributing $50/week to this account will be sufficient. I pretty much grew it to 10k from scratch this year, so it is a big decrease. I'm excited to have a base fund so I can focus on other goals.

Now... the "boring" goals are out of the way!

For my fun goals, I want to add $25/week to my "travel" fund. If I have extra money, I'll increase this amount, but it is a start. I have a travel fund earmarked, but it has had really stagnant growth. I also want to start saving up for a newer car. My car has about 75k miles on it and will last another couple years... but I need to start building up some money to purchase my next one. I want to pay for my next car in cash, and I will be spending at least 10k, maybe more. If my budget works out, I'd like to save $100/week for this, giving me just over 5k by the end of the year.

So that is it! These goals will be tweaked once I'm settled into my new apartment, new city, and new job.

In unrelated news, they are announcing who replaces my current manager at work today. I hope they promote from within the group and that Bryan is it. I think that he would have the job if he wanted it, but I'm not sure he is interested in management.

This was not only the most satisfying thing to put on my to do list, but also the most satisfying to check off!

Actually, I really like my job. They don't discriminate based on age and experience--if you are good, you will be given good tasks and responsibility. In my short time there (1.5 years), I was able to be recognized as a "high performer" and given a key role on my team. Which is really great--you don't have people forcing you to "pay your dues". If you can do the task, your dues are considered paid and you are thrown in there. There are several young employees (under 30) that have really big leadership roles in our group, and I don't think I am too far behind. Besides that, I have gotten to work on challenging and rewarding projects and like my coworkers.

I'm resigning because I'm relocating to Los Angeles (for personal reasons) and the branch in that area really doesn't do any interesting work. I was very nervous about putting in my notice, until my manager informed us all that he had been promoted and would be moving to a branch in Texas. That made it easier for me. I set up a meeting with my manager, which I titled "Short Discussion", which I assume made it obvious what it was about. I don't usually schedule meetings with my manager, and a vague title usually means the employee is quitting. He said he knew when he got the invite.

So, I resigned, effective January 11th. I gave them about a month's notice, which maybe is more than "standard" but I felt it was appropriate, considering we get a week and a half off for Christmas.

Today my manager presented me with the idea of working remotely from Los Angeles, with a salary differential for cost of living figured in. I was really surprised by the idea, and felt it showed they really appreciate my work. Ultimately, it probably won't work out. I don't think I'd do well working in isolation. At this point in my career it is best for me to be surrounded by really brilliant people and learn as much as possible from them. Not to mention, how would I meet new people if I worked alone? I expressed my concerns, and really, I don't think it would be best for the company either. He was fine with that, but said he just had to discuss it with me.

Tomorrow, we can tell the rest of my team.

This blog has been exceptionally quiet (it never really is all that happening over here anyway) this week. Not only did I send my laptop in for repair (under warranty still), but I was out of town from Wednesday night until late Sunday night (I got to bed at 1:30 am). Perhaps more to come on that "vacation" later. I actually have a lot of potential topics stored up in my mind. For now, I want to talk about my credit cards.

At work, we are all chipping in for a going away present for my manager. My coworker is collecting five dollars from us all, and complained that none of the "young people" had cash. I asked her if she could just accept credit, but no such luck. Not even Visa.

One of my two primary credit cards is a Chase Freedom Visa card. One reason I chose this card was because it was a "Visa Signature" card, and any electronics I buy automatically have a doubled warranty. Sweet. Another cool perk is that any rental car I rent with it will automatically get CDW coverage, which will come in handy when I rent a car over New Years. The cash back bonus is alright, but I really don't spend that much for it to be exciting.

What has annoyed me about this card is the constant mailings encouraging me to sign up for costly services. More than once a month I get an envelope from them to sign up for some "Credit Protection Plan". In case I ever fall on hard times, this service will allow me to suspend payments for some period of time. Or something like that. Every time I call them for any reason, they push this service. It costs something like $0.89 per a $100 balance, so it isn't much, but still. They also said if you don't "carry a balance" it is free. After questioning this further, I learned that it wasn't exactly true. You can't just pay your balance every time you get a statement, you have to pay your balance BEFORE the statement is calculated for it to be free. Anyway, it is annoying. I don't want it. I don't need it. I have an emergency fund of almost 10k (yay, go me!) and know how to manage my money. Yesterday I opened some "check" that I deposit, which will enroll me in some $90/year service. I'm not sure what the service is, only that I don't need it.

My other card is a Discover Open Road card. Discover seems to have has a bad reputation, but I think they are great. The cash back program is solid (and you can pick what one best suites your life). They also let you choose your credit card design from a HUGE selection. Not that it is REALLY important, but where else will give me a flamingo pink credit card with an "S" monogrammed on it? Love it! Of course, you really can't get by with only a Discover card. While most places accept it, there are still a few who do not. Also, I opened a second Discover card once (to use a 0% balance transfer offer) and they made a huge headache about closing it. The first time I tried my call was simply "dropped" (I personally think they hung up on me because then the customer service rep gets to count it as a customer that was not lost), and the second time I had to argue for several minutes about why I wanted to just close it. Anyway, other than that, Discover has been very nice to me since I first got their card as a college student.

Credit cards have always been a helpful tool for me. I've never been late on a payment and never been charged a fee. I typically get a couple hundred dollars in cash back bonuses each year, and they are very convenient. Still, on principle, I think credit card companies stink. They charge outrageous rates and push to sell useless services.

I am not excited about this post, and considered not writing it. However, I need to be accountable to myself, so here are my results for November

• Resume tracking of spending! I didn't do this, and filled in the second half of November today. There is a $44 charge at Target that I can't remember what I bought. I think it was a mix of clothes and groceries. This is why I need to track as I spend!
  
• Limit groceries to $30/week or less and restaurants to $75 total I just barely met the restaurant goal, and only spent 100 on groceries. Of course, I spent a several days with my family for thanksgiving (food provided) so that made it easier.
  
• Study for and do well on midterm for my grad class. I did pretty well. I could have done better, but I scored well enough to be satisfied.

December is a hard month to set goals for. I know I'm taking a vacation at the very end of the month, which will involve extra going out/eating out costs. I have to do a lot of shopping, so the "gifts" category of my budget will be large this month. Then in January I'm moving cross country, and I have no idea how things will shake out there. In light of this information, I don't think I'm going to do month goals until February. There are too many unknowns to think about, and I don't think my goals could be very accurate. I just will track my spending and be sensible in spending. And also, to find a place to live in my new city. Still, that really isn't a goal, but an absolute necessity!