all4money's financial journal

We decided to nix the Busch Gardens trip for the 4th. It would've cost around $1500 for us to spend 3 days there -- just didn't seem worth it. Instead we decided to take our kids canoeing tomorrow for the first time. The oldest DD has wanted to go forever so we decided to go for it. The river is just 30 minutes away and for a 10 mile adventure lasting about 5 hours, it only costs $47 for all 4 of us to go! I'll pack a picnic and we'll stop on the river to have lunch - it'll be great! We'll then spend Sat the 4th with my cousin who is hosting a cook out for our extended family - yea, no cooking or mess I need to deal with! Then Sunday we'll go to our local amusement park, of which I got tickets at 50% off last year at an auction. So, all said and done, we've reduced our expenses for the weekend by a truck load and we'll still have a great time staying local.

1. Wasn't too bad on the weight loss track even though I didn't make my 5 lb mark (lost just 3). Oh well... will do better in July! Notice how it varies sporadically each day -- but I just worry about the first and last day's weigh-ins.



2. I had been awarded a $1,000 scholarship back in Feb to help pay for grad school from my professional association. I submitted for reimbursement yesterday so that will be super nice to get that check soon.

3. DH has gone through his closets of collectibles and has sold so much in June. I wish he'd sell everything and at the same time stop buying anything but alas, that is just a dream... so I'll take what I can get.

4. We have planned on doing the Busch Gardens/Williamsburg tour over the 4th weekend. I hope it won't be too hot! I also hope that it won't be a budget busting vacation either.

5. There isn't too much word on the house front. The buyer's realtor won't get back in touch with our realtor concerning the status of their client's interest on our house. So, the conversation we have going on now is whether or not we want to (1) go ahead and place an offer on the new house contigent on the sale of ours or (2) reduce the price of our house first and see if we get any bites. I really don't want this house to get away from us - we've seen so many and this one fits the bill for us. I can tell you guys this... within the last 6 months, 2 houses closed in this same neighborhood for $100K less than the asking price of this house that we want. We plan on offering $100K less than their asking price based on the comparables. So, since this is such a low offer, we didn't know if they would even entertain an offer with a contigency... but there is absolutely no way this house would appraise for what they are asking.

I always love seeing pictures posted so I thought I would post this one of the house we are seriously looking at buying...



What do you guys think? And just for fun, how much would you pay for this house just based on this one picture? The house is over 3400 sq ft, 0.77 acres, built in 2002, 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths, 2 car garage, stainless steel appliances, hardwood floors, etc.... we absolutely love the location!!!

As I've posted before, we have our current house on the market for sale and so we've been looking for a "new" house. This one just fits everything that is on our must-have list. We have one very interested couple looking at our house and once they bite, we are definitely going to put an offer in on this one!

Summer vacation plans -
DH and I are planning to take our kids to Busch Gardens Williamsburg VA in late July. Anybody ever been? We've not and think it should be a fun trip. Ticket prices on their website are outrageous though. Geez, when did it cost so much to take a family of 4 to go have a little fun? We are planning to be gone at least 3 days since it's so far away from home... don't know what else we'll do while we're in Williamsburg. I wonder if our kids would be too bored with a visit to Colonial Williamsburg. So, with hotel stay, gas, food, and ticket prices, I'm sure we'll end up spending well over $1200 in 3 days! Ugh.

1. Started on a health/weight-loss kick back on May 1. I lost 5 lbs in May (attached a graph tracking actual weight per day). Glad to see the trend going down instead of up! I hope to lose 5 more in June...



2. My first summer school class is killing me. It's regression analysis (aka: yucky statistics) and is just horrible. I swear that if I can just pass it with a 'C', I'll be a happy camper.

My second class starting in July will be a bit more interesting... it's consumer behavior.

3. In spite of the economic turmoil hitting our budgets for the new year (starting in July), my boss has signed in a 9% raise for me!!! I feel like those AIG and CEO guys that everyone told to give back their bonuses. It shouldn't be fair that I get a raise while at the same time we are having to let people go at work. My boss says that it's an equality thing with my own position, budget problems or not, and that I shouldn't concern myself about it.

4. Had a free lunch today at Applebee's. My MIL took me and the family out today so that was nice! She's also invited us over for Friday night dinner so that's another free meal this week... gotta love free food!

5. Our house is still on the market with no offers. DH and I have resigned ourselves to see how it goes (contract with the realtor up in August) and not to rush into buying anything new in the meantime. If/when we do sell, we can live with my parents for as long as we need to which would help us save at least $2,000 a month in mortgage/utility bills! That could add up! So, we'll just wait and see what happens.

Ever wonder what makes us go crazy at times for certing things? I was just thinking about my current "obsessions"...

1. The Twilight book series... I went to the beach with my in-laws over Easter and MIL brought the Twilight book with her. I picked it up one morning since I had nothing else going on and didn't put it down until I finished it that evening! Then, I had to go out and buy the movie that night so I could watch it. Asked DH to buy me the entire 4-book box set for Mothers Day and now I'm on the last book and feel depressed that I'm about to finish the story. What's wrong with me to be so obsessed with Edward Cullen?!

2. Other people's houses... Why do I care at all what other people live in? I think I'm just too nosy. I look up friends' and co-workers' info on the web and am intrigued as to what their house values are and where they live, etc. Isn't that a form of stalking? Geez. I need a life.

Oh, well. I probably divulged too much on what my current obsessions are and how weird I might be, but I thought it was an interesting thought... What drives a person to think and obsess over anything at any given time? Sure, give it a month or so and maybe my obsessions will turn its contriving mind to something else... it would be interesting to know what my triggers are.

*****
Finished up with the Spring semester and have 2 weeks of no school before the summer sessions start. Yahooie! I have just 3 more classes to go and then I'll be finished in Dec. I have no idea what I will do differently (career-wise) with my newly acquired MBA but at least I'll have it. Who knows in todays economy? It can only help me in the long run - I hope.

My birthday is coming up and I will be 34. I feel like I'm getting so old. I had lunch with my niece who is 15 and her "boyfriend". They are in that awkward stage of young teenage hormones... made me feel ancient! Again, I can only say "Geez". Oh well. I do miss those "unknowns" and the butterflies concerning the dating game. Remember when your palms got sweaty as you got ready for that first date, first kiss, first whatever? I miss that sometimes. Of course, I love being settled down with the family but I can daydream back to those innocent days too.

It looks like the "stimulus" for 2009 will hit our paychecks starting with our March check (we get paid at the end of each month). Between DH and I that means an extra $133+ in net income each month. Now, what should I do with this extra money? I'm back to the question of whether to save this money or apply it to outstanding debt. Hmmm... just glad to have it!

An interesting development is going on at my workplace... one of our directors is on the radar as not being here very much. After looking at her absence record from when she started with us, she's taken a total of 96.5 days from Aug 06 - Nov 08 which includes all sick and vacation leave time... In this same time period, I have had 37.5 days out of the office. I guess I'm wondering if others out there ever track how much time they really take off work year after year.

Auto insurance premium due Dec 22 = $389.96

Spring 09 grad school tuition = $1,314.00

Term Life Insurance annual premium due Jan 09 = $772 (for both DH and me)

That's $2,500 that I just hate to see go out the window so soon after the Holidays... of course we have to throw in our Holiday shopping charges due to pay in January too (we charge everything to get the cash back rewards). Ugh, ugh, ugh.

Another year has gone by already! Geez.

Looking forward to 2009, I sure hope that things turn out alright in our financial life with the economy the way it is...

Biggest Financial Goal:
Pay off the entire $18,000 credit card balance (all at 0% interest) by Nov 09 This means that we need to pay at a minimum $1600 each month. Doable!

Other Goals:
**graduate with my MBA in Dec 09 (ending 3 years of grad school - paid with all cash!)
**sell house (currently on the market), move in with mom for the duration of 2009 to save money to help pay for "dream home"
**increase monthly savings by $200 (or $2400 for the year)


2008 YEAR END balances:
Mortgage = $274,000 @ 5.25%
Car loan = $15,300 @ 5.75%
CC = $18,000 @ 0% thru Nov 09

Hi, y'all. I don't post much but I do visit the blogs each day and read up on everyone's happenings... guess it's my turn to contribute.

1. I got a notice to expect an increase in my grad school tuition for Summer 09. I am doing my MBA program completely online with one of our state's universities and have one more year to go (graduating in Dec 09). Because of the economy the way it is, apparently, the school has decided to increase the tuition cost of just the online programs and not the campus-based programs... GEEZ! So, instead of paying $657 for a class, it's now going to be upwards of $1032 per online class... It doesn't seem fair that they are increasing the online tuition only!

2. Our house has been on the market since August... no real big interest in it. Although housing prices have dropped in the country on average, our county has been hit very little so prices are still quite high. Our house is 2600 sq ft, built in 2006 and is listed for $349,000... overall, a fabulous house. We are trying to sell it so that we can find a house on a flatter lot (we live in the mountains) for our children to play in and so forth. We have been actively looking and after looking at probably 50 or so houses, we found the perfect one this weekend! It's a 40 year old brick rancher on a .75 FLAT acre with an awesome river bordering the backyard... and on the other side of the river is a great golf course. This house needs a lot of work but we just can't beat the location and the features of the lot itself. It's listed for $435,000. The next door neighbor's house is worth well over $3million (I'm serious; it's absolutely beautiful). I sure hope that the house is still there when/if we ever sell ours and will cry if it gets sold first. Cross your fingers for us.

My grad school classes start back up on Wed. Charged the $1300 for tuition... money is so tight this month. Somehow we racked up over $7300 on our credit card that is all due by Sept 3.... (we charge everything and pay it off each month). Geez, we've had an expensive month!! Take out the tuition bill and it comes to $6000. DH bought about $1000 worth of stuff to resale leaving about $5000 for regular monthly stuff. We had to do back-to-school shopping and had the summer beach trip to account for --- but still, I don't like seeing our balance so high.

Ok, we just got back from our summer vacation at the beach. We had a great time in general, but you know how it is… we went to the beach with the whole family (12 people total) and that always means drama. My mom has always been like this but she really irked me this time… let me explain.
Mom has this thing with money. Her whole universe circles around money. I guess that is why she has so much of it now.
She gets on my nerves at times even though I expect it and know she’s like this. Mom wanted to have everyone at the beach this year… She was treating my older sister’s family of 4 to this vacation which is fine with me. They don’t have much money and with two small kids under 2 years old, this was the only way they could go to the beach. But, I do not agree with the fact that she was also treating my younger sister and her husband to the trip as well. Mom was paying for her room even though they have great paying jobs, have no debt, and have no children. Me, DH, and our kids have to fend for our own hotel room which I’m fine with as I should pay my own way but Mom did say that she would pay for a few of my meals. Ok, great… Now, Mom is not a fan of going dutch – if you pay, you pay for everyone… and she expects me to pay for some meals but doesn’t expect my sisters to pay.

Day 1 – Mom pays for dinner at The Olive Garden ($110)
Day 2 – Mom pays for lunch at McDonald’s ($45). I pay for dinner at Subway ($25).
Day 3 – Our little core family goes off on our own during the day but we meet up with everyone for dinner. Mom makes it a point to say that my little sister and her husband paid for lunch at the K&W ($60). What does it matter to me?
Day 4 – I pay for brunch ($97) at a local pancake house, Mom pays for dinner ($75) at Ruby Tuesdays, and then we split up for the evening. When we met up again that night, Mom makes it a point to tell me that my older sister paid for a midnight snack at Burger King ($12). Again, what does it matter to me since I wasn’t there anyway?

When we were leaving the pancake house, my mom hung behind as we all were piling out of the building to check and recount the tip that I left on the table. She already knew how much I left to begin with. Why does she do this? She ALWAYS does this when I pay for any meals. And, why does she make it a point to tell me that my siblings paid for meals when I don’t care. She doesn’t make it a point to tell them when I pay for things… but it’s always been that she wants me to know when they do things “good”. And the argument can’t be made that we just make more because my younger sister and her husband make good money too and without kids, they have more disposable income anyway. Here’s the irony in the whole situation… my older sister, the one without any money and a huge amount of debt, drives a brand new 2008 Town and Country to the beach. My younger sister drives a brand new 2008 Honda Pilot to the beach. DH and I drove our 1996 Toyota Sienna - so you tell me, who out of the group should get more of my mother’s “money attention”? I’m not extravagant by any means but yet I’m under the microscope all the time.

DH and I took our kids to play mini-golf one night and when we got back to the room, the first thing out of mom’s mouth was not “did you have a good time?” but rather “how much did it cost to play”. Same thing when we went to the water park… when we got back, all she cared about was how much it cost to get in…
After spending 4 whole days with her, I guess this just got on my nerves even more than usual. I’m so glad to have gone and spent this time with everyone but let’s just say that I am very glad to be back home too!

So, does anyone else know anyone like my mother or is my mom just very “special” in her own way? 

I thought this was an interesting analysis... here is the last 10 years of our combined salaries:

Year Gross % change
1997 50,611
1998 57,689 14%
1999 55,202 -4%
2000 67,661 23%
2001 63,206 -7%
2002 75,662 20%
2003 82,818 9%
2004 82,458 0%
2005 99,966 21%
2006 89,425 -11%
2007 97,282 9%

The declines in 99 and 01 represented when I went out on unpaid leave to have our children. Also, in 2006 there was a decline because I dropped a part-time job since we were moving to a new part of the state. All in all, I'm pleased with how we have progressed. In ten years, we have seen our gross income increase $46,671.

Update on my last post... DH and I have been looking at that land for the last few days, took parents out for their input, did research with the realtor and tax office... just can't make up our minds. We've always bought brand new houses and have never built anything... the unknown is scary. I am now almost leaning toward passing on this one and to concentrate our efforts on finding something already built. Maybe we'll venture out and just buy a place to rent or flip or something. The possiblities are out there but it's hard to decide on which way to go concerning the risk associated with each option.

Oh, I have the itch to buy a piece of land... help me see the light. It's 1.231 acres for $105K. It's right on a private lake and the area is just gorgeous! It's only 5 miles out of town, work, and school which is very important to us because we don't want to move far out. Yet, it's serene and quiet. We could build our dream home - heck, maybe Ima's husband would help us! Bring me back down to reality and tell me all the reasons to get this dream out of my head. It's all I can think about!

1. Went to Pigeon Forge last week. We had a great time. We visited the Aquarium in Gatlinburg, Dollywood, WonderWorks, and played putt-putt. All in all, we fit as much into 3 days as possible but we could have stayed there a week longer! DH got sick and spent the last day at the urgent care clinic - got bronchitis and was near getting pnemonia.. the doctor visit and the medicines cost $120 (and that's with our insurance!) which threw a unexpected kink in our finances. But, we had a good time and will return later on taking my parents with us next time.

2. Got my raise in today's paycheck finally. It was a long time waiting but sure was nice to finally see.

3. Signing up for Summer and Fall courses today. Grad school is going slowly but at least it's going. I'm halfway through now and so far, so good.

4. April 1 marks the first day of our walking group at work. About 20 of us joined together to walk, walk, walk as much as we can for the next 3 months. It's a local competition that we joined to bring awareness and improve overall health. We've also joined the national "March for Babies" (formerly known as the March of Dimes) campaign and our local walk is April 12. If anyone wants to sponsor me for this great cause, just let me know.

5. My little sis got into a car accident a few weeks ago. It wasn't her fault. Someone ran a red light and smacked right into her. So, her paid off 2001 Honda Civic was totalled. She got a broken nose and other medical issues to deal with now. I'm sure she and her hubby will get a very nice settlement from the accident, especially due to the fact that they had plans to go on an international trip just 2 days after the accident happened... needless to say, that trip had to be canceled. Anyway, the reason I'm posting about this is because, this past weekend, my sis and her DH goes out to purchase a new vehicle. Her DH's car was not driveable anyway so they were left without a vehicle. Instead of getting that lady's insurance company to give them a rental car, they wanted to go ahead and buy one. They bought a brand spankin' new 2008 Honda Pilot. Sis said she got them to accept $32,000 for it. Yes, they can afford it and they are doing very well financially, but didn't I teach her anything?! She's never wanted a brand new car before and she knows that it is a waste of money... I'm just glad it's her money and not mine.

6. My 15 minutes of fame on TV went off pretty well. The interview clip played over and over again this weekend. It was fine, but I'm glad that it's over and hope I won't be asked to be on the show again. I like my privacy and to be anonymous.

7. Finally got around to do doing our taxes last week. We'll be getting a total refund of $1415 which is all that bad. Of course my goal is to zero out but a little refund doesn't hurt. I did my parents' taxes as well. It was weird to see that they earned more in interest than they did working! They've always been savers and it definitely shows. I can't wait until I get to that point some day!

We have a weekly show on a local TV station that my boss hosts. I was hoping that I would never be asked to be on it. Well, it looks like I have to do it after all. I'll be taping the show tomorrow and it should air within the next two weeks. I've been asked to speak about our annual budgeting process so it'll be alright but to think that our entire county will now be able to put a name and a face together... no more running to the grocery store in my pj's! Oh, well. My kids will get a kick out of seeing mom on the tele. The only thing is that I have a huge zit on my chin right now!

In a previous post, I mentioned that I could go to Orlando for a conference and if I did go, I would take the family as well.... after talking about it many times, we finally decided to nix the idea. I just couldn't pull the kids out of school for a week justifiably and I would not be able to spend 100% of my time with them. So, instead, we are heading to Pigeon Forge, TN - Woo Hoo, right? I know it doesn't sound too exciting, but around here, everyone loves going there and since we've never been, why not? It's just about 3 hours away so it's a lot closer than FL. We'll visit Dollywood, drive up to Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, and check out WonderWorks (a hands-on museum for kids). I think the kids will have a blast. And, we are planning to go during the week of Spring Break so that we don't have to pull the kids out of school. All in all, I think it's going to work out just fine. So, if anyone has ever been to Pigeon Forge, give me some feedback on where to stay, eat, and play. We need to go ahead and make our plans since it's only 3 weeks away!

The board approved my raise last week. That puts another $5K into our kiddy each year. This will put our household income into the 6 digits for the first time so that's exciting. Also, in July, DH is expected to get a 10% raise and I should get another 5% or so. Things are going quite well for us salary-wise.

We have one auto loan through our credit union. Since interest rates keep going down, we "refinanced" the loan at a lower 0.5% with them... it is so easy and convenient with our credit union. All it takes is one little email to them requesting the refinance and voila. They don't pull another credit report and you don't have to fill out any other paperwork. I love it. It's the easiest thing to do and they have such low rates to begin with that it's a win-win for us anyway you look at it.

I just requested another $100 check from our credit card rewards program. That makes for $200 already this year alone that we will get from that.

In the mail today, I received my ebates check for $10+ which is from my online shopping at Christmas time. Love getting back money, don't you?

Tomorrow is my sister's birthday and I went to the credit union to put $100 in her checking account. She's a SAHM with two kids under 2 years old! Her DH works a lot of overtime to try to keep them afloat but they barely make the household utility bills. Collectors are constantly calling them but if they don't have the cash, they just don't ... so when I can, I give my sis a little here and there to help them out. $100 will buy a lot of diapers for them. I called her to tell her so that she could expect to see it in her account and she was so grateful. She started to cry and it humbled me. I hate that she lives over 2 hours away sometimes.

Subject: Estate Planning


Dan was a single guy living at home with his father and working in the
family business.


When he found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father
died, he decided he needed a wife with which to share his fortune.


One evening at an investment meeting he spotted the most beautiful woman he
had ever seen.


Her natural beauty took his breath away. "I may look like just an ordinary
man," he said to her, "but in just a few years, my father will die, and I'll
inherit 20 million dollars."


Impressed, the woman obtained his business card and three days later…


She became his stepmother.


Women are so much better at estate planning than men.

Well, we just got our annual escrow statement. Looks like our monthly payment is going up by $73 per month starting in March. We are still okay because we budget an even $2,000 for our mortgage/escrow/extra principal payment so this still leaves us under that amount. Our credit union has our mortgage and they require that we have an escrow account... HOWEVER, the great thing is that the money sitting in escrow earns us, not the bank, interest. For 2007, we got a whopping $9.12 in interest for the escrow amount. Woo hoo... it's actually not too bad considering the small amount that gets deposited in there each month, I suppose. Anyway, the extra $73 per month is due to the tax on our house being "official" now... it was a new construction when we bought it so we had to guesstimate what the taxes were going to be last time.

I can go to a conference in Orlando in April if I wish... Since my expenses will be paid for, the question is... would it be worth taking the kids out of school for 3 days to go as well? As I posted before, we finally took the kids to Disney World for the first time last June. We visited Sea World, Magic Kingdom, MGM, Epcot, and Animal Kingdom. And, in all honesty, we thought that would be it for at least 10 years or so... well, who would've thought that an opportunity would come our way so soon? Last time we drove the 10+ hours. If we go this time, it will have to be by plane. My airfare and meals will be paid for... as will the hotel will be paid for. All we would need to budget for are expenses for hubby and the kids: 3 airline tickets and food. We thought that since we experienced Disney and Sea World last time, we'd go visit Universal this time. After looking at park tickets and airline costs, we could probably get by with about a $1200 budget.

Sun-Wed
Airfare for 3 = $520
Taxi/shuttle to hotel for 3 = $60
2-day Universal tickets for 4 = $332
Food for 3 = $300
(Hotel provides free shuttle to Universal)
Total = $1212

Am I missing anything here? Is it worth the $1200 in essence for the family to visit Universal? While I'm at my meetings, DH and the kids can play at the hotel or go across the street to several shops, etc... so they should have plenty to do. We just aren't sure if it would be worth it or not? Thoughts?

Received $100 today... let's see how much adds up for 2008!

Each year, my New Year's resolution has always been financially based. This year for 2008, I look forward to increasing our net worth by decreasing our debts and increasing our investments (ooh, what a novel idea, I know!).

More specifically:

1. We owe $19,000 on our last vehicle loan - just got it a few months ago after we paid off our other loan. Our monthly payment is $385. Don't start flaming us --- we made a great decision in getting this vehicle, was able to put some down and got the loan at a great interest rate - lots of research and patience in finding just what we needed.
Anyway, let's go ahead and increase the payment by $115 to make it an even $500 each month. That should shave several months off the loan. This obligates $1,380 extra for the year.

2. We have an $18,000 balance on a 0% credit card... of which most of the balance is earning interest for us. Our 2008 goal will be to maintain our $500 per month payment that we have established ourselves (min. payment required is only $10, can you believe that!?) Once the promotional period ends in Sept, we'll transfer it to another 0% offer unless the stock market really goes on an upswing... we have the money to pay this off in non-retirement funds but will wait until the market gets better in a more consistent fashion. This obligates $6,000 for the year in monthly payments.

3. We have for a long while invested systematically into our Roths and mutual fund accounts. The Roths got $50 each per month, the mutual fund got $100, and the brokerage money market fund got $50. We will increase the Roth contributions by $50 each and the money market fund by $25. That will mean an obligation of $1,500 more this year from last.

Now looking at it, these goals are very doable and should be no problem to reach...I look forward to a very successful 2008!!

It's taken me this long to get over Thanksgiving. In my last post, I indicated that we were hosting Thanksgiving dinner for around 25 people. We ended having 22 folks. I had cooked a 21 lb. turkey and it turned out fabulous... had plenty to go around and still had lots of leftovers. Now, here's where I got upset on turkey day. My mother-in-law didn't want to host the dinner so we offered... so why in the world did dear MIL cook and bring over her own turkey and gravy???!!!! She said that she was afraid that I wouldn't have enough turkey for everyone --- I got so fuming mad that it's honestly taken until now to get over it. Needless to say, MIL left my house with her turkey and gravy as none of it was needed. I was so offended by the mere thought that she didn't think I could plan for so many people. Geez! Wouldn't that make you guys mad?

DH and I work for the same employer... we each get a "bonus" today. He grossed $2080 and I got $1200. Mine is actually $2400 each year but I get half in Nov and half in June. So, anyhow, after taxes, that’s another $2600 to put toward the wall debt. The balance is $17500 right now. So, after the $2600 and another $4900 that we have saved up, that leaves a balance of $10,000. We had planned on paying off the entire balance from the sale of some mutual funds that we have…. But with the stock market the way it is right now, I’d rather go ahead and transfer that balance to another credit card, 0% until Sept 08 for a $90 fee, to leave the mutual funds where they are until the market improves. Our mutual funds value will definitely be worth more than the $90 fee if I leave it alone right now.

With other news, my touchy-feely boss has announced her retirement as of June 30, 2008. We are actually losing 3 top level folks within the next few months because of retirement so it’ll be interesting around here to say the least.

So, today is my last day at work before the Thanksgiving Holiday. Tomorrow will be prep day at the house. I bought a 20 lb. turkey to feed the 25+ folks we’re expecting. I have so much cleaning and stuff to do! Happy Thanksgiving all!

Why can't we seem to "get ahead"? We aren't behind by any means, but I'm so ready to be able to invest each month to what I know is the level that we should. Currently, we just put aside $200 in retirement/savings each month. We should be able to put at least $1200 away each month. But, to find that extra $1000 each month just seems to be a lost dream. It's frustrating sometimes.

Did you guys know that Christmas is right around the corner? Yep, it's on Dec. 25 again this year! DH and I will suggest to my sisters that we at least draw names this year for the grown-ups and then just buy for all the kids in the family. I wonder how they'll take that. Between the 4 sisters and each husband, that adds up to a lot of worthless junk that gets bought. We want to bring the focus back to the kids for this season. So, I guess we'll just have to see what their response is...

I'm beginning to despise my boss and her touchy/feely ways. She's such a 2-sided person at times. I like my job and the people I work with but I just can't wait to be rid of her. Her management style is very much opposite of mine and it's annoying. Of course, her contract is good for another 4 years so it'll be a long wait. In the meantime, I might keep my eyes open for what comes available elsewhere.

I've dropped back to taking just one class a semester for my MBA so that means that it'll be another 3 years before I fully finish. Geez. I would love to take a year's leave of absence and go full-time for a year to get it over with but with my kind of job, I just can't do that. Oh well.

We took a family trip to Disney World back in June for the first time. Afterwards, we thought that would be the end of Disney for at least 10 years or so... but it looks like I have to go to a conference in April right in Orlando... so we'll have to pull the kids out of school for 4 days but if we go again, that would mean airfare for me and our hotel stay would be paid for by work. Should we or shouldn't we all go again? We can't make up our minds... it'll still cost us around $1000 with tickets/food and all for all 4 of us to go - don't know if it's worth it or not.

I so have the itch to invest in real estate right now. It's driving me batty to not have any down payment money to go out and get a loan for buying a condo or a house to rent or flip. For the past 6 months or so, I've really seriously thought about real estate - it's becoming an obsession!

I think we all know that we can adjust our W-4s anytime we really need to with our payroll depts. But has anyone ever thought about adjusting the 401k type deductions at the time of bonuses and such? I haven't. But, it's occurred to me now that when you know you'll be getting a bonus check, that's the perfect time to play with your deduction amount so that most, if not all, of the gross earned will be tax-deferred into a retirement account. And, then of course, adjust your deduction back to the level it normally is right after the bonus check is cut. So for example, if you'll be getting a $2000 bonus at Christmas time, go in and take out whatever amount you can as a pre-tax deduction into your 401k, 403b, 457 plan and you'll be able to save so much in taxes and so forth. In our system, we have folks retiring that get a final paycheck "payout" consisting of leave balances that total up in the thousands - what a great way to tax shelter those dollars! We had financial advisors in here yesterday explaining how all this works throughout our system and how people really have benefited from it... I just never thought about it this way before -

My boss is going to request my raise before the board on Monday. Cross your fingers and toes that they’ll approve it. It would be so nice to get that additional money right now. You know, it isn’t like we are hard up for cash, but it sure does feel like it sometimes. We need to save $7k by Dec 1 to payoff the BT we had done for our landscaping work. I don’t think it’ll be too much of a stretch to do this but it sure would give us a bit more breathing room to receive an additional $360 or so each month with the raise. If they backdate it to be effective July 1, that would mean roughly, $1800 that I could designate to the $7k. And in Nov, DH and I both get our yearly bonuses that will add about $2635 after taxes so we’ll really only need to save $2565 from our normal budget…very doable.

I’m thinking ahead to Jan 2008. Once the wall is paid off in Dec, I’m going to really focus on building up our efund. We only owe $3k on our last car loan which should be a breeze to pay off as well. So, I’m really looking forward to getting back on a normal savings schedule in 2008. I’m going to set our efund goal savings in 2008 to $10k… breaking it down, it’s only $833 per month. With our $373 car payment savings redirected to the efund, that’s really just $460 that we’d have to save monthly. That gets me excited. And at least for a little while, we’ll be completely debt-free (except for the mortgage). I say for a little while because my dear DH has been waiting for 2 years to get a “new” car (we always buy used). Since we’ve moved back to the mountains, we need a 4WD vehicle so it’s not something I’ve disputed but have put off because I only want one car loan at a time. Although Dave Ramsey and others might argue that we need to save for a car to avoid car loans, I feel that it’s okay to get a loan for vehicles when one is smart about it. We never over extend or buy the newest models or borrow for like 6 years or anything. We try to find good quality used values and our credit union gives unheard of low interest rates so we maximize what we can. I’m just hoping that we won’t need to find something prior to next winter though… but we’ll just have to see.