This weekend I traveled to Washington, DC to run the Army 10 miler with a high school friend and a college friend. On Thursday, I transfered $300 from my “Travel” sinking fund and today I came a little over budget. I forgot a few key things that cost me some extra money. This worked out because I had $88.07 in my checking out from my last trip. Let see how I fared.
$ 11.82 (Toothbrush & Memory Card for Camera)
$ 39.28 (Phone charger, long sleeve shirt, pop tarts)
$ 1.61 Gas
$ 20.61 Gas
$ 3.82 (Breakfast at airport)
$ 4.20 (Layover snack)
$154.63 (Rental car)
$ 3.50 (Parking at memorial in DC)
$ 5.50 (Parking meter)
$ 58.15 (flight fees)
$303.12 TOTAL
$ 3.12 Over
Due to the extra money that was in the account I will be transfering 84.95 to my emergency fund.
*****
I really enjoyed my time in DC and I was reminded of how great the city was. We had perfect weather and the sites were lovely.
On Saturday we went to dinner at an italian resturant that a friend of a friend recommend. She said it is cheap and not to expensive. The bill was $67 for 3 people to split some lasgana and ceaser salad. An to think the person who recommended the place thought we should order another $30 dish. As I reviewed the menu I was reminded how much I love the cost of living in the midwest/south.
Did you know that you can park for 15 minutes at a meter for $0.50? I felt so ripped off when I had to deposit $5.50 just to east dinner.
I don’t think I will move back that way, but if I do I will need to make the big bucks for sure
Several days ago I posted a quote about running from Runner’s World magazine on my Facebook page. No big deal, I do this all the time. The difference was that my friend MJC wrote “I need you to sign up for the Army 10 Miler”. We are both runners but have never run together. Another friend, SGJ, is coming to my town (from Washington, DC area) next weekend to run a half-marathon and I feel the need to return the favor. Immediately I send a message to SGJ about the 10 Miler because it is close to her and next thing I know I have committed.
This morning I received a reminder text from SGJ that registration opened today and that spots go fast. Needless to say I commited today and paid $58.80. It isn’t in the budget for May, since I have already implemented my last May budget. I have an outstanding check of $200, hopefully the person doesn’t cash it until June. If they do cash it I will move the money from my Travel sinking fund. I hate to do it, but it is the best back up plan I have.
MJC is moving from VA to TX, so I texted her this morning to see is she was going to do it. Of course, she is not sure. She is hoping to fit it in with a work conference. You see what she started….either way I look forward to seeing one or both of my friends in October.
Each month I save $647.08, but this is not for my eFund or retirement. I have several cost that are recurring, but they are not monthly. Instead of taking a huge hit everytime these things come due, I have decided to set aside a small amount each month. For example my Life Insurance is $190 due every January. Beginning in January this year I set aside $15.83, which means I will have $189.96 (the 4 cents will come from interest earned) in savings come January 2012. In January, I will transfer $190 from my savings account to my checking, so I can pay my insurance company.
Personal: $410.83 per month ($4929.96 per year)
Business: $235.25 per month ($2835.00 per year)
Sinking funds have made managing my finances much easier and less daunting. All my calculations are based on my last payment for each bill, so it is likely that variable bills (car insurance) will be incorrect. At the time the bill is due it will be easier to make up the difference than it is to make up the whole amount.
Sometimes it is tempting to dip into the $2000+ sitting in savings, but I have gotten used to having it there over the years. (I really want an iPad)
Next category: Housing
Do you do something similar?
One thing I haven’t done is share the detail of my budget. Over the course of the next few days we will take a deep dive into the details of my budget.
GIVING = 597.92 per month
Giving is something I enjoy doing. 10% was a difficult number to wrap my mind around, but as you can see I grew into into it. Currently, the money goes to a friend of mine who is teaching in the middle east through a missionary organization. She will be returning to the States in December 2011, so I will have to find a new home for my money beginning January 2012. I have no idea what the cause or organizaiton will be but I am positive that when the time is right it will be clear to me. I do not expect this amount to change in the near future.
Recommendations
- If want to be giving 10% of your gross or net, but aren’t sure how to do it start from where you are and increase it 1% every month. If your current giving is 2% of your income, then next month try bumping it up to 3% to see how it shakes out.
- Make the donation when you get paid via bill pay, don’t hoard it until you have lump sum to give. This goes for people who give to the church, too.
- Give to something or someone that matters to you.
QUESTIONS???
May isn’t over, but my month is now that my paycheck has been allocated.
CREDIT SCORE (http://www.creditkarma.com/)
I am not to concerned with my score, but it is something interesting to follow.
- My credit score is a 693 (increase 86 points since last month)
My guess is this happened because I had to qualify for a USAA credit card in order to sign up for their deposit service.
- My grade is a C (fair)
NETWORTH (https://www.networthiq.com/people/ifiwereawealthygirl)
- Assets are high this month because I have been stashing money aside when I found out that there was a possibility of losing my job. After taking to HR, I found out that is not the case. The money will be used to pay on my student loan.
BUDGET
- Giving was up because my mom asked me to support some walk she is doing, but she hasn’t given me the information so I don’t know the cause.
- Sinking funds have been seperated from savings, so we can see what part of my paycheck is going to lump sum payments throughout the year. About $236 goes to my business.
- Food & Gas are down because I didn’t spend on these things for the week that I was in Egypt.
- Medical/Health is low because I budget for a doctor’s appointment twice since I had to reschedule
- Personal is up because two friends from college are coming to visit.I Increased my blow money. JGS is running a half-marathon with me and DSP is just coming for fun. This will be the farthest west that DSP has ever been in the US.
- Recreation is high, but I am being reimbursed for $258.
- Other: Bought a new external hard drive.
- Debt: not much left to say.
It is hard to believe that the first quarter of 2011 has come and gone. I wanted to be able to have charts and graphs to show progress, but if I wait I don’t think this post will be completed. In stead of the charts I will provide some good info.
ASSETS: $4094.36
LIABILITIES: $47153.35
NETWORTH: $44624.14
- It is crazy to know I have $4000 in my savings account. $1000 is my eFund and the rest are for sinking funds (car insurance, renters insurance, life insurance, Christmas fund, travel fund, cell phone replacement)
- FEB: My business was started with no debt. Extra income can now be put towards aggressively paying off debt.
- MAR: A poor performance review has lead me to the decision to put the extra income in a savings account just in case I find myself in a really bad spot in the next few months.
- My 401K has increase 24% in the past year. To bad there isn’t much money in there and it is just recovering from the big drop.
- I took time off from dance, but will return the first full week in April.
- I attended Janet Jackson’s concert out of town. (Birthday Gift)
- I received $85 to go towards a car detailing package for my birthday.
Enjoy the second quarter and I will fun charts next time.
>No I didn’t run out an buy the new version of Quicken, but I did dust off my old copy. I have had copies of both Quiken and MSMoney since I began my personal finance journey. To be quite honest I have used them many times and quit, because it was to complicated or overwhelming or it was just smarter than me. Regardless of the reason I haven’t used it.
In December I finally got a USAA account. (YES!!!!!!!!!!!!) This forced me to look at where my money was and how I wanted to manage it. Until now I have only used Excel for budgeting and tracking my sinking funds and networth. Everything else I calculated on a monthly basis. In a effort to make things easier I decide that 2011 would be the year of Quicken. I commit to using it for one year then making a decision to stop or continue. The one year time frame will force me to learn how to effectively use the software. The is a statistic out there that say we (people) only 20% of the capabilities of any given software, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.
So far…
- I am going to close one checking and savings account, which leaves me with a checkin and savings for business expenses and 3 checking and saving for personal use. I know this is too many, but I will work on simplifying.
- I have entered all my accounts and student loan debt, but only my USAA will update online. I have it set this way because it gets really confusing when money is moving between accounts and they need to be catagorized.
- Setting up a report for sinking funds was tedious, but it is complete. So each month I just have to click a button to see where I am at.
- Budgeting will still be done with Excel. I am not a fan of Quicken budgets..yet.
Do you use Quicken? What tips or other general advice can you give?
>
After returning from my vacation I slept the whole day away. Since there is nothing on TV I have been catching up with some of my favorite bloggers. As you can imagine many are posting about 2011 goals. One goal in particular has caught my attention. This is the “No Spend” challenge, which last a week, a month or a year.
Depending on the person the rules and exceptions of the “No Spend” challenge vary. I would imagine that a “NO Spend” challenge would mean that one could not spend money on anything that is not a necessity. This would include using gift cards to purchase things that one enjoys, because they have a monetary value. Gift cards should be used prior to or after the “No Spend” time period. Others can pay for dinner or coffee if this is something they would normally do and they aren’t doing it just because they feel sorry for you. For example, if mom come to town or the boyfriend wants to take you on date.
What would a “No Spend Month” mean to me?
- Pay bills: Rent, water, renter’s insurance, phone, food, gas, oil change, electricity, doctor bill, student loan (total cost = $1,416.67)
- Things to stop/cancel: Charity donation, internet, clothing fund, gym membership, dance class tuition, blow money (total value = $755.70)
- Things to increase: Savings and debt payments (total current value = $2,061.24)
You can see that I would have the opportunity to increase my savings or debt by $755.70 if I participated in a “No Spend” challenge.
Will I have a “No Spend” month? Why or why not?
I will not be conducting a “No Spend” challenge, because I am comfortable with where I am spending money. Over the years I have tried to become purposefully about my spending and savings.
- I committed my charity donation ($597.92) to a friend volunteering overseas and I would not be comfortable not fulfilling my commitment to give.
- The internet ($22.78) is a luxury that I split with my roomie.
- My clothing fund ($40) is there to replace cloths throughout the year.
- Gym membership ($10.85) is considered preventative. Without the gym I may be paying more for clothes and health care in the long run.
- Dance class ($55)is something I do for fun and I am not willing to cancel it, not even a month.
- Blow money ($80) is money I can spend any way I want to. I feel that it is low enough that it doesn’t make or break my budget.
In the coming months I will be spending money to get a business up and running. I will also be putting money in sinking funds, so I will be prepared for large lump sum payment such as car insurance, renters insurance, christmas 2011, life insurance, etc. Even though I am not committing to a “No Spend” month, I am committed to being mindful of how I spend and save money in 2012.
Are you participating in a “No Spend” month? If so, what is your goal? If not, why?
>CREDIT SCORE (http://www.creditkarma.com/)
I am not to concerned with my score, but it is something interesting to follow.
- My credit score is a 667 (dropped 7 points since last month and overall)
- My grade is a C
NETWORTH (www.networthiq.com/ifiwereawealthygirl)
BUDGET
What questions do you have? Since I have to get back to work I don’t have the opportunity to provide a written summary.
