Stacking Pennies . . .

I went on a long weekend to visit a friend this past weekend. We didn't do any major vacations this year, so I am enjoying several little vacations. Spending money on travel is something that usually doesn't pain me, as friends and new places are something I value highly. The trip was pretty inexpensive, considering plane tickets out of my city are rarely less than $300. After that, the costs were minimal.

Cost of vacation:
$309 - plane ticket
$5 "breakfast" at airport (is potato chips and iced tea really breakfast?)
$11 lunch for me and friend
$15 a rather disappointing sushi dinner.
$9 brunch at a really cute organic restaurant
$10 magazines at the airport (Hmmm, sort of regret this one!)
$5 for Pride and Prejudice (A good deal for a book, and one I want to read anyway)
$5 lunch at airport
$20 parking (could have asked a friend, but the convience was worth it to me)

That is a total of $384, which is not bad at all. Our activities were mostly outdoorsy free things, so that was inexpensive, plus that is also more enjoyable to me.

The cost of carelessness
The previous summary neglects to mention the fact that I left my digital camera on the airplane. I tried to chase it down, but I am now certain it is lost into the abyss. It was a nice camera--a Kodak Easy Share Z740, with 10x optical zoom --but at the same time, I sort of hated it. It was too bulky to easily fit into my purse and sort of embarassing to bring out in social settings. It was a gift from my parents, and while it took amazing pictures while I was abroad last year, I did want a smaller one. Still, I would have waited. And kept this one for more professional shots. Looking online, it sells new for $279, which is painful to know. I'm not even counting the 1G memory card that was inside of it.

I also recently started a photography class, so waiting to buy a camera was sort of out of the question. It was Monday, I needed one by Tuesday at 7:00. I did some research and quickly determined I wanted a canon SD850, a subcompact which sells for about $350 in local stores and just over $300 online. I also looked at the SD750, SD1000, and some in their A series (not as small). I ended up settling for the SD1000, at $250 in local stores. I didn't think I could wait for shipping, but at 5:27 pm, I noticed that amazon.com said if I bought it in the next 3 minutes, I could have it the next day. Even with shipping, the total was only $225, and I didn't have to pay the sales tax I would have at Target or Best Buy. I had about 20 seconds to think about it, so I did it. I then found a 2G SD card for $18, which is on the way (slowly, due to free shipping)

In summary:
Cost of vacation - $389
Cost of carelessness - $243

And the vacation money was much much much more fun to spend. Ug.

My next major expense is yet another plane ticket... It looks like it will be $315 for me to fly to Los Angeles to visit the boyfriend for a long birthday weekend in October, so I estimate about 400 total, but I might be low-balling it. I'm going to do better with the airport purchases by planning ahead, and maybe have a friend to drive me to the airport (though $5/day really is a bargain).

After that, I would like to say, no more vacations for months (they eat into my savings goals), but then it is Christmas season (present time), and we are considering new years in Las Vegas. After THAT, no vacations for quite some time!

Last week, it was the battery. It was about as old as the car (seven years) and cost 100 for them to diagnose the problem and replace it. I wasn't too upset about this, as it was a minor repair and I hadn't spent any money on the car in awhile.

Today, it was something more serious and expensive. Forgive me if I get this wrong, but I believe they said the brake shoe broke and needed to be replaced, and also the rotor got ground due to the bad brake. I had assumed it would just need brake pads, and was dismayed to find it would total $350 to fix.

I hate dealing with cars. I don't know a lot about them, and I don't have a mechanic I completely trust. It isn't as though I think that my brake shoe didn't break (who knew brakes wore shoes?), but I just don't know if the price was $100-200 extra, or a fair deal.

Anyway, it hurts my savings goals a bit, but what is the point of having money in the bank if I'm still going to get bent out of shape about every unplanned expense?

Another new development that will detract from savings is. . . a possible trip to London in the next six months or so. I have a friend working there until March, and I'm toying with the idea of making it happen....

Strictly speaking, I "shouldn't" go until I have done all the great financial things that people do: Have a giant e-fund, max out 401k and Roth, have a fund for a house downpayment. But I'm on the right track and travel is one of my top values, and I'm comfortable with spending my money on a trip. Anyway, this is still in the initial planning stages, but hopefully, more to come.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)
-I have it planned and have gotten rid of everything undesireable, but am reallocating my target date retirement fund more slowly (since I'm comfortable with that investment)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)
-Check.

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal
-Check

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.
-Check!

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)
-Failed on this. Try again next month! Should be much easier as the boy will be leaving town.

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.
-Check! 780 Q/630 V, writing, no clue. The only thing that matters for me is the quantitative part

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.
-Check. No response to the jobs, but I'm not in hard core job search mode just yet.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)
-Hmm, not so much. This was partially due to program changes and a reorg that has made work a little slower. It would be silly to stay extra when I don't have 6 hours of extra work.

So, it seems I did ok overall, but still could improve. I think if I miss goals, that either means I'm being ambitious or I'm not striving hard enough to meet them. This month may have been a bit of both.

Moving on to. . .

September Goals
1. Continue 13% 401k and 100 to Roth IRA
2. Replenish travel fund with $100 (and likely, drain it again to buy a ticket to LA for october)
3. Contribute 450 to student loan payback account
4. Contribute 875 to HYSA (275 more than autodeposits... slighlty cheating since i expect some of that to come out of todays paycheck)
5. Spend less than 100 on restaurants and less than 30/week on grocery.
6. Finish and send in grad school application, stay up to date in class

Goals 3 and 4 are a quite ambitions, especially when taken together, but I did some calculations of what I will need to do to acheive my year end goals, and I need to do some drastic savings, so those goals encompass an overal goal of being frugal this month. Really, I almost expect to fail on those, but I would LOVE to meet them, so I won't adjust down.

My year end goals were:
-4k in Roth
-4k towards student loan
-10-15% towards retirement (with hopes of having about 15k by end of the year)
-10k total in HYSA (starting balance, under 3k)

So far I have:
-3.7k in Roth (93% complete)
-2100 towards loan (58%)
-about 12k in 401k (currently contributing 13%)
-about 6.5k in the HYSA (65%)

I'm way ahead on the Roth IRA, on track for the my 401k, and a little behind on the other two. Percentage wise, I'm the furthest behind on the student loan repayment fund, however, it really is less than 2k to accumulate through the rest of the year. I think the hardest one will be the 10k in savings, especially since I may have to use some of that money to visit the boy by airplane when he moves. I currently automatically deposit 300 per a (bi weekly) paycheck, but even if I don't dip into it I'll come up about 1k short. I should be able to sneak a little extra in out of my year end bonus, and maybe I can make it happen!

I take distance education masters class, which are fully reimbursed by my work once complete. Last semester, I didn't want to bankrupt myself and take the 2k out of my accounts, so I paid a fee to pay in installments. This time, I paid the bill upfront with money that will go back into my student loan account. It was a good feeling, a true sign of progress

I think there may be a slight self-righteous attitude about how to deal with market swings floating around. All the "smart" pf bloggers are buying now, or wishing they could buy at the very least. Or rather, most are staying the course. While I have yet to read anyone say they are pulling out of the market, or even cutting back, I have heard some nervous chatter. This nervous chatter seems to get bombarded with comments about how perhaps the nervous poster doesn't have the stomach for the stock market.

This is the first time I've ever been "in the market" during a dip, and it would be a lie to say that I don't notice and abhor the fact that my 401k contributions aren't even keeping it level. Of course it makes me nervous! No one likes losing money, even though I know, deep down, that I'll make money in the long run and that I'm not retiring for years and years. It is much more fun to see my accounts and net worth grow rather than stagnate!

Still, I think I am able to handle it. I'm not changing anything, and I'll keep investing as planned. Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I am not suited for investing! It just means my net worth updates will be much less exciting to me.

I'm glad I frame my goals in terms of "contribute $x to this", so market conditions have little bearing on whether I can accomplish them!

Speaking of goals, a mid month spending checkup may be in order. I've nearly spent my "eating out" budget (don't I always!) but am on track for grocery and probably gas. I'll be buying a plane ticket soon (!) but I have been stockpiling small amounts of money in a travel fund that I can use for that, so it should be an almost transparent purchase. I haven't spent close to my budget on personal, entertainment, or clothes. Things are looking good.

The BF's parents were in town this past weekend, and they treated us all weekend. I spent 8.50 on the Bourne Ultimatum for us before they got here, but other than that, it was on them. I enjoyed the treat, and they wouldn't have allowed us to pay for ourselves.

Although they are much older than we are, we both went into lucrative fields and can make about as much money as our parents. With 25 years of experience nursing, I think my mom makes about the same as I do, but she can make much more when she works overtime (I'm salaried). My dad's wages fluctuate, as he is self employed, but I think he makes less than my mom.

I've found myself thinking about money more than I would like to. When we discussing my boyfriends sister, I had a strong desire to find out how much money she makes. She has a MS in accounting and CPA certification, and his mom has mentioned several times "she makes good money" and they just bought a brand new car. I went so far as to google salary data, but didn't find any solid numbers, so I gave up.

But really, who cares? I make more money than a lot of people my age. I also make less money that a lot of people my age. I think the more important thing is, I'm careful with my money. It isn't that I don't splurge on unnecessary items, but it is that I know that I'm splurging and I make sure that I believe it is worth it.

I hear a lot of buzz about how young people today aren't careful with their money, but I must run with a different crowd. Everyone I know is saving at least 8% in their 401ks. Some are taking advantage of the employee stock purchase program. I don't know anyone who carries a balance on their credit cards, and most seem savvy about things. Many friends are probably less frugal than I am, but most were lucky enough to have no student loans. Anyway, I like that my friends are starting out on the right financial foot.

Speaking of the right foot, I finally convinced the boy to get a high yield savings account, along with his first credit card! I'm so proud, and it only took me 6 months of telling him the virtues of online accounts. :)

I'm driving to see my family this weekend and riding with my sister. She asked if we could split gas, and I obliged. Part of me thinks it isn't fair because we are taking their SUV, and I'm hardly saving anything by carpooling with them. But being frugal is good, being cheap is annoying. She stays home with my nephew and I know I make more than her husband. It would be really rude of me to be a cheapskate when I know they are trying to buy a house. Besides, plane tickets were around $500 at the cheapest!

I made some pseudo-goals for July, but I see now they weren't defined well. I'm not going to report progress on them, except to note I did not reduce eating out as planned. Ah well. It'll be very low all fall, as my love will no longer be in town with me.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund. This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)

Wow, a lot of goals! I think they are all achievable, but still challenging enough to not be trite!

I went on a long weekend to visit a friend this past weekend. We didn't do any major vacations this year, so I am enjoying several little vacations. Spending money on travel is something that usually doesn't pain me, as friends and new places are something I value highly. The trip was pretty inexpensive, considering plane tickets out of my city are rarely less than $300. After that, the costs were minimal.

Cost of vacation:
$309 - plane ticket
$5 "breakfast" at airport (is potato chips and iced tea really breakfast?)
$11 lunch for me and friend
$15 a rather disappointing sushi dinner.
$9 brunch at a really cute organic restaurant
$10 magazines at the airport (Hmmm, sort of regret this one!)
$5 for Pride and Prejudice (A good deal for a book, and one I want to read anyway)
$5 lunch at airport
$20 parking (could have asked a friend, but the convience was worth it to me)

That is a total of $384, which is not bad at all. Our activities were mostly outdoorsy free things, so that was inexpensive, plus that is also more enjoyable to me.

The cost of carelessness
The previous summary neglects to mention the fact that I left my digital camera on the airplane. I tried to chase it down, but I am now certain it is lost into the abyss. It was a nice camera--a Kodak Easy Share Z740, with 10x optical zoom --but at the same time, I sort of hated it. It was too bulky to easily fit into my purse and sort of embarassing to bring out in social settings. It was a gift from my parents, and while it took amazing pictures while I was abroad last year, I did want a smaller one. Still, I would have waited. And kept this one for more professional shots. Looking online, it sells new for $279, which is painful to know. I'm not even counting the 1G memory card that was inside of it.

I also recently started a photography class, so waiting to buy a camera was sort of out of the question. It was Monday, I needed one by Tuesday at 7:00. I did some research and quickly determined I wanted a canon SD850, a subcompact which sells for about $350 in local stores and just over $300 online. I also looked at the SD750, SD1000, and some in their A series (not as small). I ended up settling for the SD1000, at $250 in local stores. I didn't think I could wait for shipping, but at 5:27 pm, I noticed that amazon.com said if I bought it in the next 3 minutes, I could have it the next day. Even with shipping, the total was only $225, and I didn't have to pay the sales tax I would have at Target or Best Buy. I had about 20 seconds to think about it, so I did it. I then found a 2G SD card for $18, which is on the way (slowly, due to free shipping)

In summary:
Cost of vacation - $389
Cost of carelessness - $243

And the vacation money was much much much more fun to spend. Ug.

My next major expense is yet another plane ticket... It looks like it will be $315 for me to fly to Los Angeles to visit the boyfriend for a long birthday weekend in October, so I estimate about 400 total, but I might be low-balling it. I'm going to do better with the airport purchases by planning ahead, and maybe have a friend to drive me to the airport (though $5/day really is a bargain).

After that, I would like to say, no more vacations for months (they eat into my savings goals), but then it is Christmas season (present time), and we are considering new years in Las Vegas. After THAT, no vacations for quite some time!

Last week, it was the battery. It was about as old as the car (seven years) and cost 100 for them to diagnose the problem and replace it. I wasn't too upset about this, as it was a minor repair and I hadn't spent any money on the car in awhile.

Today, it was something more serious and expensive. Forgive me if I get this wrong, but I believe they said the brake shoe broke and needed to be replaced, and also the rotor got ground due to the bad brake. I had assumed it would just need brake pads, and was dismayed to find it would total $350 to fix.

I hate dealing with cars. I don't know a lot about them, and I don't have a mechanic I completely trust. It isn't as though I think that my brake shoe didn't break (who knew brakes wore shoes?), but I just don't know if the price was $100-200 extra, or a fair deal.

Anyway, it hurts my savings goals a bit, but what is the point of having money in the bank if I'm still going to get bent out of shape about every unplanned expense?

Another new development that will detract from savings is. . . a possible trip to London in the next six months or so. I have a friend working there until March, and I'm toying with the idea of making it happen....

Strictly speaking, I "shouldn't" go until I have done all the great financial things that people do: Have a giant e-fund, max out 401k and Roth, have a fund for a house downpayment. But I'm on the right track and travel is one of my top values, and I'm comfortable with spending my money on a trip. Anyway, this is still in the initial planning stages, but hopefully, more to come.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)
-I have it planned and have gotten rid of everything undesireable, but am reallocating my target date retirement fund more slowly (since I'm comfortable with that investment)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)
-Check.

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal
-Check

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.
-Check!

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)
-Failed on this. Try again next month! Should be much easier as the boy will be leaving town.

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.
-Check! 780 Q/630 V, writing, no clue. The only thing that matters for me is the quantitative part

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.
-Check. No response to the jobs, but I'm not in hard core job search mode just yet.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)
-Hmm, not so much. This was partially due to program changes and a reorg that has made work a little slower. It would be silly to stay extra when I don't have 6 hours of extra work.

So, it seems I did ok overall, but still could improve. I think if I miss goals, that either means I'm being ambitious or I'm not striving hard enough to meet them. This month may have been a bit of both.

Moving on to. . .

September Goals
1. Continue 13% 401k and 100 to Roth IRA
2. Replenish travel fund with $100 (and likely, drain it again to buy a ticket to LA for october)
3. Contribute 450 to student loan payback account
4. Contribute 875 to HYSA (275 more than autodeposits... slighlty cheating since i expect some of that to come out of todays paycheck)
5. Spend less than 100 on restaurants and less than 30/week on grocery.
6. Finish and send in grad school application, stay up to date in class

Goals 3 and 4 are a quite ambitions, especially when taken together, but I did some calculations of what I will need to do to acheive my year end goals, and I need to do some drastic savings, so those goals encompass an overal goal of being frugal this month. Really, I almost expect to fail on those, but I would LOVE to meet them, so I won't adjust down.

My year end goals were:
-4k in Roth
-4k towards student loan
-10-15% towards retirement (with hopes of having about 15k by end of the year)
-10k total in HYSA (starting balance, under 3k)

So far I have:
-3.7k in Roth (93% complete)
-2100 towards loan (58%)
-about 12k in 401k (currently contributing 13%)
-about 6.5k in the HYSA (65%)

I'm way ahead on the Roth IRA, on track for the my 401k, and a little behind on the other two. Percentage wise, I'm the furthest behind on the student loan repayment fund, however, it really is less than 2k to accumulate through the rest of the year. I think the hardest one will be the 10k in savings, especially since I may have to use some of that money to visit the boy by airplane when he moves. I currently automatically deposit 300 per a (bi weekly) paycheck, but even if I don't dip into it I'll come up about 1k short. I should be able to sneak a little extra in out of my year end bonus, and maybe I can make it happen!

I take distance education masters class, which are fully reimbursed by my work once complete. Last semester, I didn't want to bankrupt myself and take the 2k out of my accounts, so I paid a fee to pay in installments. This time, I paid the bill upfront with money that will go back into my student loan account. It was a good feeling, a true sign of progress

I think there may be a slight self-righteous attitude about how to deal with market swings floating around. All the "smart" pf bloggers are buying now, or wishing they could buy at the very least. Or rather, most are staying the course. While I have yet to read anyone say they are pulling out of the market, or even cutting back, I have heard some nervous chatter. This nervous chatter seems to get bombarded with comments about how perhaps the nervous poster doesn't have the stomach for the stock market.

This is the first time I've ever been "in the market" during a dip, and it would be a lie to say that I don't notice and abhor the fact that my 401k contributions aren't even keeping it level. Of course it makes me nervous! No one likes losing money, even though I know, deep down, that I'll make money in the long run and that I'm not retiring for years and years. It is much more fun to see my accounts and net worth grow rather than stagnate!

Still, I think I am able to handle it. I'm not changing anything, and I'll keep investing as planned. Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I am not suited for investing! It just means my net worth updates will be much less exciting to me.

I'm glad I frame my goals in terms of "contribute $x to this", so market conditions have little bearing on whether I can accomplish them!

Speaking of goals, a mid month spending checkup may be in order. I've nearly spent my "eating out" budget (don't I always!) but am on track for grocery and probably gas. I'll be buying a plane ticket soon (!) but I have been stockpiling small amounts of money in a travel fund that I can use for that, so it should be an almost transparent purchase. I haven't spent close to my budget on personal, entertainment, or clothes. Things are looking good.

The BF's parents were in town this past weekend, and they treated us all weekend. I spent 8.50 on the Bourne Ultimatum for us before they got here, but other than that, it was on them. I enjoyed the treat, and they wouldn't have allowed us to pay for ourselves.

Although they are much older than we are, we both went into lucrative fields and can make about as much money as our parents. With 25 years of experience nursing, I think my mom makes about the same as I do, but she can make much more when she works overtime (I'm salaried). My dad's wages fluctuate, as he is self employed, but I think he makes less than my mom.

I've found myself thinking about money more than I would like to. When we discussing my boyfriends sister, I had a strong desire to find out how much money she makes. She has a MS in accounting and CPA certification, and his mom has mentioned several times "she makes good money" and they just bought a brand new car. I went so far as to google salary data, but didn't find any solid numbers, so I gave up.

But really, who cares? I make more money than a lot of people my age. I also make less money that a lot of people my age. I think the more important thing is, I'm careful with my money. It isn't that I don't splurge on unnecessary items, but it is that I know that I'm splurging and I make sure that I believe it is worth it.

I hear a lot of buzz about how young people today aren't careful with their money, but I must run with a different crowd. Everyone I know is saving at least 8% in their 401ks. Some are taking advantage of the employee stock purchase program. I don't know anyone who carries a balance on their credit cards, and most seem savvy about things. Many friends are probably less frugal than I am, but most were lucky enough to have no student loans. Anyway, I like that my friends are starting out on the right financial foot.

Speaking of the right foot, I finally convinced the boy to get a high yield savings account, along with his first credit card! I'm so proud, and it only took me 6 months of telling him the virtues of online accounts. :)

I'm driving to see my family this weekend and riding with my sister. She asked if we could split gas, and I obliged. Part of me thinks it isn't fair because we are taking their SUV, and I'm hardly saving anything by carpooling with them. But being frugal is good, being cheap is annoying. She stays home with my nephew and I know I make more than her husband. It would be really rude of me to be a cheapskate when I know they are trying to buy a house. Besides, plane tickets were around $500 at the cheapest!

I made some pseudo-goals for July, but I see now they weren't defined well. I'm not going to report progress on them, except to note I did not reduce eating out as planned. Ah well. It'll be very low all fall, as my love will no longer be in town with me.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund. This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)

Wow, a lot of goals! I think they are all achievable, but still challenging enough to not be trite!

I went on a long weekend to visit a friend this past weekend. We didn't do any major vacations this year, so I am enjoying several little vacations. Spending money on travel is something that usually doesn't pain me, as friends and new places are something I value highly. The trip was pretty inexpensive, considering plane tickets out of my city are rarely less than $300. After that, the costs were minimal.

Cost of vacation:
$309 - plane ticket
$5 "breakfast" at airport (is potato chips and iced tea really breakfast?)
$11 lunch for me and friend
$15 a rather disappointing sushi dinner.
$9 brunch at a really cute organic restaurant
$10 magazines at the airport (Hmmm, sort of regret this one!)
$5 for Pride and Prejudice (A good deal for a book, and one I want to read anyway)
$5 lunch at airport
$20 parking (could have asked a friend, but the convience was worth it to me)

That is a total of $384, which is not bad at all. Our activities were mostly outdoorsy free things, so that was inexpensive, plus that is also more enjoyable to me.

The cost of carelessness
The previous summary neglects to mention the fact that I left my digital camera on the airplane. I tried to chase it down, but I am now certain it is lost into the abyss. It was a nice camera--a Kodak Easy Share Z740, with 10x optical zoom --but at the same time, I sort of hated it. It was too bulky to easily fit into my purse and sort of embarassing to bring out in social settings. It was a gift from my parents, and while it took amazing pictures while I was abroad last year, I did want a smaller one. Still, I would have waited. And kept this one for more professional shots. Looking online, it sells new for $279, which is painful to know. I'm not even counting the 1G memory card that was inside of it.

I also recently started a photography class, so waiting to buy a camera was sort of out of the question. It was Monday, I needed one by Tuesday at 7:00. I did some research and quickly determined I wanted a canon SD850, a subcompact which sells for about $350 in local stores and just over $300 online. I also looked at the SD750, SD1000, and some in their A series (not as small). I ended up settling for the SD1000, at $250 in local stores. I didn't think I could wait for shipping, but at 5:27 pm, I noticed that amazon.com said if I bought it in the next 3 minutes, I could have it the next day. Even with shipping, the total was only $225, and I didn't have to pay the sales tax I would have at Target or Best Buy. I had about 20 seconds to think about it, so I did it. I then found a 2G SD card for $18, which is on the way (slowly, due to free shipping)

In summary:
Cost of vacation - $389
Cost of carelessness - $243

And the vacation money was much much much more fun to spend. Ug.

My next major expense is yet another plane ticket... It looks like it will be $315 for me to fly to Los Angeles to visit the boyfriend for a long birthday weekend in October, so I estimate about 400 total, but I might be low-balling it. I'm going to do better with the airport purchases by planning ahead, and maybe have a friend to drive me to the airport (though $5/day really is a bargain).

After that, I would like to say, no more vacations for months (they eat into my savings goals), but then it is Christmas season (present time), and we are considering new years in Las Vegas. After THAT, no vacations for quite some time!

Last week, it was the battery. It was about as old as the car (seven years) and cost 100 for them to diagnose the problem and replace it. I wasn't too upset about this, as it was a minor repair and I hadn't spent any money on the car in awhile.

Today, it was something more serious and expensive. Forgive me if I get this wrong, but I believe they said the brake shoe broke and needed to be replaced, and also the rotor got ground due to the bad brake. I had assumed it would just need brake pads, and was dismayed to find it would total $350 to fix.

I hate dealing with cars. I don't know a lot about them, and I don't have a mechanic I completely trust. It isn't as though I think that my brake shoe didn't break (who knew brakes wore shoes?), but I just don't know if the price was $100-200 extra, or a fair deal.

Anyway, it hurts my savings goals a bit, but what is the point of having money in the bank if I'm still going to get bent out of shape about every unplanned expense?

Another new development that will detract from savings is. . . a possible trip to London in the next six months or so. I have a friend working there until March, and I'm toying with the idea of making it happen....

Strictly speaking, I "shouldn't" go until I have done all the great financial things that people do: Have a giant e-fund, max out 401k and Roth, have a fund for a house downpayment. But I'm on the right track and travel is one of my top values, and I'm comfortable with spending my money on a trip. Anyway, this is still in the initial planning stages, but hopefully, more to come.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)
-I have it planned and have gotten rid of everything undesireable, but am reallocating my target date retirement fund more slowly (since I'm comfortable with that investment)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)
-Check.

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal
-Check

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.
-Check!

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)
-Failed on this. Try again next month! Should be much easier as the boy will be leaving town.

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.
-Check! 780 Q/630 V, writing, no clue. The only thing that matters for me is the quantitative part

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.
-Check. No response to the jobs, but I'm not in hard core job search mode just yet.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)
-Hmm, not so much. This was partially due to program changes and a reorg that has made work a little slower. It would be silly to stay extra when I don't have 6 hours of extra work.

So, it seems I did ok overall, but still could improve. I think if I miss goals, that either means I'm being ambitious or I'm not striving hard enough to meet them. This month may have been a bit of both.

Moving on to. . .

September Goals
1. Continue 13% 401k and 100 to Roth IRA
2. Replenish travel fund with $100 (and likely, drain it again to buy a ticket to LA for october)
3. Contribute 450 to student loan payback account
4. Contribute 875 to HYSA (275 more than autodeposits... slighlty cheating since i expect some of that to come out of todays paycheck)
5. Spend less than 100 on restaurants and less than 30/week on grocery.
6. Finish and send in grad school application, stay up to date in class

Goals 3 and 4 are a quite ambitions, especially when taken together, but I did some calculations of what I will need to do to acheive my year end goals, and I need to do some drastic savings, so those goals encompass an overal goal of being frugal this month. Really, I almost expect to fail on those, but I would LOVE to meet them, so I won't adjust down.

My year end goals were:
-4k in Roth
-4k towards student loan
-10-15% towards retirement (with hopes of having about 15k by end of the year)
-10k total in HYSA (starting balance, under 3k)

So far I have:
-3.7k in Roth (93% complete)
-2100 towards loan (58%)
-about 12k in 401k (currently contributing 13%)
-about 6.5k in the HYSA (65%)

I'm way ahead on the Roth IRA, on track for the my 401k, and a little behind on the other two. Percentage wise, I'm the furthest behind on the student loan repayment fund, however, it really is less than 2k to accumulate through the rest of the year. I think the hardest one will be the 10k in savings, especially since I may have to use some of that money to visit the boy by airplane when he moves. I currently automatically deposit 300 per a (bi weekly) paycheck, but even if I don't dip into it I'll come up about 1k short. I should be able to sneak a little extra in out of my year end bonus, and maybe I can make it happen!

I take distance education masters class, which are fully reimbursed by my work once complete. Last semester, I didn't want to bankrupt myself and take the 2k out of my accounts, so I paid a fee to pay in installments. This time, I paid the bill upfront with money that will go back into my student loan account. It was a good feeling, a true sign of progress

I think there may be a slight self-righteous attitude about how to deal with market swings floating around. All the "smart" pf bloggers are buying now, or wishing they could buy at the very least. Or rather, most are staying the course. While I have yet to read anyone say they are pulling out of the market, or even cutting back, I have heard some nervous chatter. This nervous chatter seems to get bombarded with comments about how perhaps the nervous poster doesn't have the stomach for the stock market.

This is the first time I've ever been "in the market" during a dip, and it would be a lie to say that I don't notice and abhor the fact that my 401k contributions aren't even keeping it level. Of course it makes me nervous! No one likes losing money, even though I know, deep down, that I'll make money in the long run and that I'm not retiring for years and years. It is much more fun to see my accounts and net worth grow rather than stagnate!

Still, I think I am able to handle it. I'm not changing anything, and I'll keep investing as planned. Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I am not suited for investing! It just means my net worth updates will be much less exciting to me.

I'm glad I frame my goals in terms of "contribute $x to this", so market conditions have little bearing on whether I can accomplish them!

Speaking of goals, a mid month spending checkup may be in order. I've nearly spent my "eating out" budget (don't I always!) but am on track for grocery and probably gas. I'll be buying a plane ticket soon (!) but I have been stockpiling small amounts of money in a travel fund that I can use for that, so it should be an almost transparent purchase. I haven't spent close to my budget on personal, entertainment, or clothes. Things are looking good.

The BF's parents were in town this past weekend, and they treated us all weekend. I spent 8.50 on the Bourne Ultimatum for us before they got here, but other than that, it was on them. I enjoyed the treat, and they wouldn't have allowed us to pay for ourselves.

Although they are much older than we are, we both went into lucrative fields and can make about as much money as our parents. With 25 years of experience nursing, I think my mom makes about the same as I do, but she can make much more when she works overtime (I'm salaried). My dad's wages fluctuate, as he is self employed, but I think he makes less than my mom.

I've found myself thinking about money more than I would like to. When we discussing my boyfriends sister, I had a strong desire to find out how much money she makes. She has a MS in accounting and CPA certification, and his mom has mentioned several times "she makes good money" and they just bought a brand new car. I went so far as to google salary data, but didn't find any solid numbers, so I gave up.

But really, who cares? I make more money than a lot of people my age. I also make less money that a lot of people my age. I think the more important thing is, I'm careful with my money. It isn't that I don't splurge on unnecessary items, but it is that I know that I'm splurging and I make sure that I believe it is worth it.

I hear a lot of buzz about how young people today aren't careful with their money, but I must run with a different crowd. Everyone I know is saving at least 8% in their 401ks. Some are taking advantage of the employee stock purchase program. I don't know anyone who carries a balance on their credit cards, and most seem savvy about things. Many friends are probably less frugal than I am, but most were lucky enough to have no student loans. Anyway, I like that my friends are starting out on the right financial foot.

Speaking of the right foot, I finally convinced the boy to get a high yield savings account, along with his first credit card! I'm so proud, and it only took me 6 months of telling him the virtues of online accounts. :)

I'm driving to see my family this weekend and riding with my sister. She asked if we could split gas, and I obliged. Part of me thinks it isn't fair because we are taking their SUV, and I'm hardly saving anything by carpooling with them. But being frugal is good, being cheap is annoying. She stays home with my nephew and I know I make more than her husband. It would be really rude of me to be a cheapskate when I know they are trying to buy a house. Besides, plane tickets were around $500 at the cheapest!

I made some pseudo-goals for July, but I see now they weren't defined well. I'm not going to report progress on them, except to note I did not reduce eating out as planned. Ah well. It'll be very low all fall, as my love will no longer be in town with me.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund. This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)

Wow, a lot of goals! I think they are all achievable, but still challenging enough to not be trite!

I went on a long weekend to visit a friend this past weekend. We didn't do any major vacations this year, so I am enjoying several little vacations. Spending money on travel is something that usually doesn't pain me, as friends and new places are something I value highly. The trip was pretty inexpensive, considering plane tickets out of my city are rarely less than $300. After that, the costs were minimal.

Cost of vacation:
$309 - plane ticket
$5 "breakfast" at airport (is potato chips and iced tea really breakfast?)
$11 lunch for me and friend
$15 a rather disappointing sushi dinner.
$9 brunch at a really cute organic restaurant
$10 magazines at the airport (Hmmm, sort of regret this one!)
$5 for Pride and Prejudice (A good deal for a book, and one I want to read anyway)
$5 lunch at airport
$20 parking (could have asked a friend, but the convience was worth it to me)

That is a total of $384, which is not bad at all. Our activities were mostly outdoorsy free things, so that was inexpensive, plus that is also more enjoyable to me.

The cost of carelessness
The previous summary neglects to mention the fact that I left my digital camera on the airplane. I tried to chase it down, but I am now certain it is lost into the abyss. It was a nice camera--a Kodak Easy Share Z740, with 10x optical zoom --but at the same time, I sort of hated it. It was too bulky to easily fit into my purse and sort of embarassing to bring out in social settings. It was a gift from my parents, and while it took amazing pictures while I was abroad last year, I did want a smaller one. Still, I would have waited. And kept this one for more professional shots. Looking online, it sells new for $279, which is painful to know. I'm not even counting the 1G memory card that was inside of it.

I also recently started a photography class, so waiting to buy a camera was sort of out of the question. It was Monday, I needed one by Tuesday at 7:00. I did some research and quickly determined I wanted a canon SD850, a subcompact which sells for about $350 in local stores and just over $300 online. I also looked at the SD750, SD1000, and some in their A series (not as small). I ended up settling for the SD1000, at $250 in local stores. I didn't think I could wait for shipping, but at 5:27 pm, I noticed that amazon.com said if I bought it in the next 3 minutes, I could have it the next day. Even with shipping, the total was only $225, and I didn't have to pay the sales tax I would have at Target or Best Buy. I had about 20 seconds to think about it, so I did it. I then found a 2G SD card for $18, which is on the way (slowly, due to free shipping)

In summary:
Cost of vacation - $389
Cost of carelessness - $243

And the vacation money was much much much more fun to spend. Ug.

My next major expense is yet another plane ticket... It looks like it will be $315 for me to fly to Los Angeles to visit the boyfriend for a long birthday weekend in October, so I estimate about 400 total, but I might be low-balling it. I'm going to do better with the airport purchases by planning ahead, and maybe have a friend to drive me to the airport (though $5/day really is a bargain).

After that, I would like to say, no more vacations for months (they eat into my savings goals), but then it is Christmas season (present time), and we are considering new years in Las Vegas. After THAT, no vacations for quite some time!

Last week, it was the battery. It was about as old as the car (seven years) and cost 100 for them to diagnose the problem and replace it. I wasn't too upset about this, as it was a minor repair and I hadn't spent any money on the car in awhile.

Today, it was something more serious and expensive. Forgive me if I get this wrong, but I believe they said the brake shoe broke and needed to be replaced, and also the rotor got ground due to the bad brake. I had assumed it would just need brake pads, and was dismayed to find it would total $350 to fix.

I hate dealing with cars. I don't know a lot about them, and I don't have a mechanic I completely trust. It isn't as though I think that my brake shoe didn't break (who knew brakes wore shoes?), but I just don't know if the price was $100-200 extra, or a fair deal.

Anyway, it hurts my savings goals a bit, but what is the point of having money in the bank if I'm still going to get bent out of shape about every unplanned expense?

Another new development that will detract from savings is. . . a possible trip to London in the next six months or so. I have a friend working there until March, and I'm toying with the idea of making it happen....

Strictly speaking, I "shouldn't" go until I have done all the great financial things that people do: Have a giant e-fund, max out 401k and Roth, have a fund for a house downpayment. But I'm on the right track and travel is one of my top values, and I'm comfortable with spending my money on a trip. Anyway, this is still in the initial planning stages, but hopefully, more to come.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)
-I have it planned and have gotten rid of everything undesireable, but am reallocating my target date retirement fund more slowly (since I'm comfortable with that investment)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)
-Check.

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal
-Check

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.
-Check!

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)
-Failed on this. Try again next month! Should be much easier as the boy will be leaving town.

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.
-Check! 780 Q/630 V, writing, no clue. The only thing that matters for me is the quantitative part

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.
-Check. No response to the jobs, but I'm not in hard core job search mode just yet.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)
-Hmm, not so much. This was partially due to program changes and a reorg that has made work a little slower. It would be silly to stay extra when I don't have 6 hours of extra work.

So, it seems I did ok overall, but still could improve. I think if I miss goals, that either means I'm being ambitious or I'm not striving hard enough to meet them. This month may have been a bit of both.

Moving on to. . .

September Goals
1. Continue 13% 401k and 100 to Roth IRA
2. Replenish travel fund with $100 (and likely, drain it again to buy a ticket to LA for october)
3. Contribute 450 to student loan payback account
4. Contribute 875 to HYSA (275 more than autodeposits... slighlty cheating since i expect some of that to come out of todays paycheck)
5. Spend less than 100 on restaurants and less than 30/week on grocery.
6. Finish and send in grad school application, stay up to date in class

Goals 3 and 4 are a quite ambitions, especially when taken together, but I did some calculations of what I will need to do to acheive my year end goals, and I need to do some drastic savings, so those goals encompass an overal goal of being frugal this month. Really, I almost expect to fail on those, but I would LOVE to meet them, so I won't adjust down.

My year end goals were:
-4k in Roth
-4k towards student loan
-10-15% towards retirement (with hopes of having about 15k by end of the year)
-10k total in HYSA (starting balance, under 3k)

So far I have:
-3.7k in Roth (93% complete)
-2100 towards loan (58%)
-about 12k in 401k (currently contributing 13%)
-about 6.5k in the HYSA (65%)

I'm way ahead on the Roth IRA, on track for the my 401k, and a little behind on the other two. Percentage wise, I'm the furthest behind on the student loan repayment fund, however, it really is less than 2k to accumulate through the rest of the year. I think the hardest one will be the 10k in savings, especially since I may have to use some of that money to visit the boy by airplane when he moves. I currently automatically deposit 300 per a (bi weekly) paycheck, but even if I don't dip into it I'll come up about 1k short. I should be able to sneak a little extra in out of my year end bonus, and maybe I can make it happen!

I take distance education masters class, which are fully reimbursed by my work once complete. Last semester, I didn't want to bankrupt myself and take the 2k out of my accounts, so I paid a fee to pay in installments. This time, I paid the bill upfront with money that will go back into my student loan account. It was a good feeling, a true sign of progress

I think there may be a slight self-righteous attitude about how to deal with market swings floating around. All the "smart" pf bloggers are buying now, or wishing they could buy at the very least. Or rather, most are staying the course. While I have yet to read anyone say they are pulling out of the market, or even cutting back, I have heard some nervous chatter. This nervous chatter seems to get bombarded with comments about how perhaps the nervous poster doesn't have the stomach for the stock market.

This is the first time I've ever been "in the market" during a dip, and it would be a lie to say that I don't notice and abhor the fact that my 401k contributions aren't even keeping it level. Of course it makes me nervous! No one likes losing money, even though I know, deep down, that I'll make money in the long run and that I'm not retiring for years and years. It is much more fun to see my accounts and net worth grow rather than stagnate!

Still, I think I am able to handle it. I'm not changing anything, and I'll keep investing as planned. Just because I'm nervous doesn't mean I am not suited for investing! It just means my net worth updates will be much less exciting to me.

I'm glad I frame my goals in terms of "contribute $x to this", so market conditions have little bearing on whether I can accomplish them!

Speaking of goals, a mid month spending checkup may be in order. I've nearly spent my "eating out" budget (don't I always!) but am on track for grocery and probably gas. I'll be buying a plane ticket soon (!) but I have been stockpiling small amounts of money in a travel fund that I can use for that, so it should be an almost transparent purchase. I haven't spent close to my budget on personal, entertainment, or clothes. Things are looking good.

The BF's parents were in town this past weekend, and they treated us all weekend. I spent 8.50 on the Bourne Ultimatum for us before they got here, but other than that, it was on them. I enjoyed the treat, and they wouldn't have allowed us to pay for ourselves.

Although they are much older than we are, we both went into lucrative fields and can make about as much money as our parents. With 25 years of experience nursing, I think my mom makes about the same as I do, but she can make much more when she works overtime (I'm salaried). My dad's wages fluctuate, as he is self employed, but I think he makes less than my mom.

I've found myself thinking about money more than I would like to. When we discussing my boyfriends sister, I had a strong desire to find out how much money she makes. She has a MS in accounting and CPA certification, and his mom has mentioned several times "she makes good money" and they just bought a brand new car. I went so far as to google salary data, but didn't find any solid numbers, so I gave up.

But really, who cares? I make more money than a lot of people my age. I also make less money that a lot of people my age. I think the more important thing is, I'm careful with my money. It isn't that I don't splurge on unnecessary items, but it is that I know that I'm splurging and I make sure that I believe it is worth it.

I hear a lot of buzz about how young people today aren't careful with their money, but I must run with a different crowd. Everyone I know is saving at least 8% in their 401ks. Some are taking advantage of the employee stock purchase program. I don't know anyone who carries a balance on their credit cards, and most seem savvy about things. Many friends are probably less frugal than I am, but most were lucky enough to have no student loans. Anyway, I like that my friends are starting out on the right financial foot.

Speaking of the right foot, I finally convinced the boy to get a high yield savings account, along with his first credit card! I'm so proud, and it only took me 6 months of telling him the virtues of online accounts. :)

I'm driving to see my family this weekend and riding with my sister. She asked if we could split gas, and I obliged. Part of me thinks it isn't fair because we are taking their SUV, and I'm hardly saving anything by carpooling with them. But being frugal is good, being cheap is annoying. She stays home with my nephew and I know I make more than her husband. It would be really rude of me to be a cheapskate when I know they are trying to buy a house. Besides, plane tickets were around $500 at the cheapest!

I made some pseudo-goals for July, but I see now they weren't defined well. I'm not going to report progress on them, except to note I did not reduce eating out as planned. Ah well. It'll be very low all fall, as my love will no longer be in town with me.

1. Finish reallocating my 401k (as much as possible without incurring short term trading fees)

2. Contribute 700 to my HYSA fund. This is sort of an e-fund, but more just a general savings fun (100 more than auto deposits)

3. Keep 401k contributions at 13% and contribute the pre-planned 100 to Roth (basically a "stay on track" goal

4. Contribute $550 to the student loan payback fund.

5. Keep restaurant spending below 100 (seems easy, but it's my weakness!)

6. Study for GRE more, take it, and rock it! =) Not financial, but personal development at least.

7. Apply for 3 or more jobs and continue to update resume.

8. Work over time 2 weeks (at least 6 hours)

Wow, a lot of goals! I think they are all achievable, but still challenging enough to not be trite!