End of December--Monthly/Weekly Update

Last week I achieved 79% of the items on my to do list, a seven percent increase from last week. 

 

I also achieved 42% of my overall financial goals for the end of 2008.  Not bad considering 2008 won’t be here until tomorrow.  I’m definitely on track to having a positive net worth within the next two years!  Just $8,776 to go before I reach my first benchmark.

 

 

	2008 Debt Reduction Total
		Goal	Actual	Difference
CC pay off		$6,000	$4,702	-$1,298
Roth		300	0	-300
HELOC		5,000	113	-4,887
401(k)		1,201	195	-1,006
Emergency Fund		1,500	665	-835
Mortgages		1,200	406	-794
529		300	100	-200
Student Loans		600	152	-448
		$15,000	$6,333	$8,667
Percent complete		42.22%

 

Net Worth Statement Coming Soon…

 

 

December Budget Results

I am currently $320 over budget.  When I first started budgeting, I would stupidly, chock it up and not make adjustments for the next month and end up over withdrawing my bank account and/or carrying a balance on my credit cards.  I know duh!  If you’re over budget you have to make up for it right.  It never occurred to me that I would have to readjust my budget to accommodate the previous month’s over spending. But, anywho… Lessons learned.  Since I’m over budget, I have to adjust my budget for January.  One day soon I will come in under budget and will be a great day. 

Tithes:  I reduced my tithes for January.  Not the best way to get a financial blessing but I’m hoping God will give me a little leeway.  I know cutting back on tithing because I couldn’t control my spending is bad, but I always tithes and do not volunteer in the church.  Now since I’m cutting back my tithes, I’m going to start volunteering at the church.  Eventually, I want to get to where I volunteer at the church and pay my full tithes! 

Clothing $133 to $0: This will be hard, but I will not spend any money on clothes this month.  End of story. 

Gasoline $175 to $175:.  My on again off again boyfriend lives in Arkansas so occasionally I may go out there to visit.  Next week he’s moving to Tulsa.  So maybe that will help the off-again type of relationship and my gas costs.  We’ll see. 

Groceries $250 to $250:  Gotta feed my kids no matter what.

Fast Food $70 no change- I have to be honest, I can convince myself not to shop for clothes for an entire month but I can’t convince myself not to eat out for an entire month.  I’m already planning to take the kids to a Japanese restaurant for New Year’s Eve. 

 

How Is This Affecting My Debt Reduction Plan?

Emergency Fund: The biggest Casualty in my December’s over spending is the hit to my emergency fund.  I had planned to add $400 to the fund but I had to cut it to $300.

HELOC and CC: I’ll pay $416 on my HELOC $250 on my credit card debt, which is in line with the plan.  Unfortunately, one of the roommates from my rental property hasn’t paid his part of the rent.  So, I’ll be $100 short from the part of the rent payment I also used to pay the HELOC, so that’ll put me behind $100 but I’m hoping he’ll draw his unemployment and get the rest of the money like he said he would.  We’ll see.

These changes will even me out for January but I just gotta keep my wallet in my pocket for the weekend so that I don’t do any further damage.

 

12/24/2007--Weekly Update

Happy Day after Christmas!

My productivity for last week was at 72%, which was a big increase from 52% from the week before.  I’m still gaining weight, which means I am going have to start counting calories using fitday.com.  But how do I figure out how many calories I should restrict my self to?  Well, using the following calculator, I have to eat less than 1,422 calories per day to lose 1 pound per week.   For the curious, below is a table that helps me keep track of my productivity.

12/17/07	Mon	Tues	Wed	Thurs	Fri	Sat	Sun
Jump Rope
Prayer
Work
T&E
PE Work (6/wk)
P.E. Home
Single Post
Life Post (5/wk)
Edit Coal
Tai Chi (2/week)
Yoga (2/week)
Cardio(3/week)
Weight Lifting (2/week)
Water (4 glasses)
5 Comments
Yahoo Groups
Vitamins
Reviews
My Points
Calorie Goal
Week 3		Clean Car	Clean Desk	Clean Closet	Clean Bathroom	Mop Bathrooms	Library
Results

 

Temptation of the Month--Laptop

I would like a new laptop my current laptop is almost four years old and the sound does not work.  But it works fine and it may last me another year.  So I can not justify buying this list laptop listed on Hustler’s blog.  But man, I really want it, especially since it is so cheap.  But that $200 would deter me from my debt pay off plan.  $200 isn’t much but if you consider I’m always over budget.  Not to mention, I need to get my fence fixed, I need new tires, I need to get my toilet fixed, etc, etc…. the list goes on and on.  If I’m gonna spend my money on something right now, it needs to be the necessities.  Sigh, I feel better, crisis diverted. 

PF Bloggers Are Changing the World!

According to the news (sorry, I can’t access the internet from work or I’d post some links), Christmas shopping is down this year as compared to this time last year.  I definitely haven’t spent nearly as much as I did last year.  Let me be the first to blame Personal Finance blogs.  Millions of Americans (me included) were not taught about money as kids, most people don’t have time to read but there is something about PF blogs and reading other people’s experience with trying to manage their finances and get out debt that hits a nerve.  As a result, people are not only managing their money better but the people who would have been out this year charging credit cards are now showing restraint.  Maybe Generation X and the Baby boomers are learning that it’s more important to save than buy a toy that’s going to get broken two days later.     

 

Last year bloggers were voted the most important people of the world by People magazine.  Well, I think they’re right.  PF bloggers, in particular, are going to change the world and I don’t think “The Man” is going to appreciate that very much.  He wants us spending money and going into debt.  Not saving money, getting out of debt, and living a debt free life.  So I’ll leave you with these words “Fight the Power and Stay out (or get out) of Debt!” 

NonFinancial Goal-lose 10 pounds

One of Nonfinancial Goals for 2008 is to lose 10 pounds.  I was at ~152 pounds when I made that goal in October.  I’ve since gained 4 pounds, despite doing yoga twice a week, tai chi twice a week, cardio twice a week and weight lifting twice a week.  If my clothes fit me better, then I wouldn’t be complaining but I’ve noticed that my clothes are tighter.  I may be gaining muscle but I’m definitely not losing fat, which means I need to start watching what I eat.  I don’t want to start counting calories.  I’m trying to make permanent life changes and calorie counting is not something I want to do for the rest of my life.  I enjoy exercise, I don’t necessarily enjoy counting my calories.  But if that’s what it takes, that is what I’ll have to do.  I’m hoping all I need to do is increase my cardio, so this week I’m going to implement getting up thirty minutes earlier (gasp) to jump rope.  We’ll see how it goes.

Weekly Productivity Report--trying to work smarter not longer

I only achieved 54% productivity for the past two weeks, largely because I have not been studying for the PE exam on the weekends and not blogging like I should.  In order to increase productivity this week I am going to immediately work on my blog posts for the “single and blessed” blog when I get home.  I think I’m feeling a little conflicted over the blog because it is part of writer’s tour and I haven’t been posting anything on the blog except personal things.  Writerly posts take time and thought.  Personal posts are more simple and take less time.  Maybe it doesn’t matter what I post just as long as I post. I am slowly working on working smarter not longer. 

Credit Stupidity and Call Avoidance

After I bought my home, I thought the hell with good credit.  I don’t need it anymore I have a house.  So when I had a medical emergency a year and a half ago and the hospital sent me an incorrect bill, I didn’t fight it.  Or more precisely, I didn’t take the time to call the hospital and give them the correct information.  Herego, they sent my bill to collections.  No biggy, I thought.  Especially, since it’s a hospital bill and lending agencies don’t usually look down on medical bills.  But I’m getting smarter.  Credit is very important, it’s a sign of character.  And more importantly, a bad credit score is an excuse to make money off me by charging absurdly high interest rates.  Well, today I called and gave the hospital my correct insurance information.  Hopefully, it’s not too late and I can work on getting the delinquency of my credit report.  I think I’ll also call and pay the delinquent C.ingular (Now AT.&T) account that I don’t feel like I’m responsible for since I canceled before thirty days was up and I returned the phone.    

All of this could have been solved by a couple of phone calls, but I hate customer service reps.  But today all of the reps have been nice and helpful, making me feel even stupider for not calling and taking care of things a long time ago.

Time Keeps On Ticking

It’s already the middle of December.  There are only two more weeks to go until another payday and another opportunity to pay off some debt!  I’ve decided to increase my misc spending (food, clothing, fast food) because I haven’t been hitting the mark.  Plus, I don’t want to live so frugally that I start resenting my debt plan.  Hopefully I’ll remain under budget for this month.  I had to give up some un expected money this month ($150).  I also have a baby shower and two add’l christmass presents to get.   So the chances are pretty slim that I’ll be able to stay within budget but I’ll definitely try.

The Variables of Being Rich

What defines a rich person.  Do you define a rich person by their net worth?  I have a negative net worth and I’m constantly reminding myself that it doesn’t mean I’m negative or even a bad business venture (if I look at myself as a business). 

Am I worth less now than I was when I was working at Burger King and had no degree but also no student loan debt?  No, I’m not cause I make hell of a lot more with the degree than with out it.

So is it the amount of money a person makes that defines them as a rich person.  Nope. A co-worker makes less than me but has 10 times more money in her savings account than I do.  

Then we have the people who do not have a dime to their name, but every time you see them they have a smile on their face and are constantly trying to help other people out, sometimes to the neglect of their own family’s needs.   Does that make them poor? Like most important decisions in life there are no black and white answers.  There are so many variables that sometimes it’s just easier to look at one or two of the variables and neglect the rest.  I’m trying to look at the overall picture.  The student loans are good debt, but I made a mistake and should have (1) paid on the interest while I was in school and (2) made sure every single dime went towards school expenses.  I am by no means rich, but neither am I poor.    

Speaking of variables, I to decide on a cheep mutual fund for my Roth. 

December 2007 Networth Status

Assets	November	December		Difference	% change
Cash Savings	$3,600.00	$3,120.00		-$480.00	-13.33%
Home	$121,778.00	$119,578.00		-$2,200.00	-1.81%
Rental	$70,000.00	$70,000.00		$0.00	0.00%
Retirement	$3,992.00	$4,113.78		$121.78	3.05%
529	$98.40	$99.44		$1.04	1.06%
Roth	$0.00	$0.00		$0.00	0.00%
Misc (Car, etc)	$7,000.00	$7,000.00		$0.00	0.00%
Total Assets	$206,468.40	$203,911.22		-$2,557.18	-1.24%
Liabilities				Difference	% change
CC	$4,360.00	$2,727.22		-$1,632.78	-37.45%
Home	$98,986.00	$98,833.00		-$153.00	-0.15%
Rental	$67,014.00	$67,014.00		$0.00	0.00%
HELOC	$9,900.00	$9,833.02		-$66.98	-0.68%
Student Loans	$54,918.72	$54,844.60		-$74.12	-0.13%
Total	$235,178.72	$233,251.84		-$1,926.88	-0.82%
December's Net Worth	-$29,340.62			-$630.30	-0.42%

 

This is my blog’s first official Net Worth statement so it took a while to complete.  I was up pretty late last night.  I still have a lot of work to do.  Unfortunately, the more I tweek my finances the lower my net worth becomes.    The short term results are slightly depressing but the long term results will be a benefit. 

 

Cash:  There was a one month reserve in my savings account for the rental property.  I paid the first mortgage payment this month, so my savings took a hit.

Property:  I need to figure out the blue book value of my car.  I estimated $5,000 and $2,000 for my plasma t.v. and other misc items.

Rental + Home:  When I originally calculated my net worth, I used the appraisal value from when I bought the rental property.  Currently, that is an overestimate, so I decreased the value by $6,000 to match Zillow.com.  I changed the value for November so the change isn’t reflected in my net worth statement but it still dropped me $6,000.  Next year I’ll use the county assessor’s page instead of Zillow.com.

Credit Cards (The Biggest Loser!):  I paid off a $2,200 credit card.  The December balance includes $253 of current charges that will be paid off on the due date.  $463 is the only interest accruing credit card debt I have and that $463 will be paid off later this month.  Woohoo!

Am I on track to reach my 2008 financial goals ?  YES. My debt payment plan is ahead of schedule.  Although, I will have to change my Net Worth goal from -$9,000 to -$15,000.  I’ll most likely have a positive net worth by 2010 instead of the middle of 2009.   No biggy, I can’t control the economy but I can control how much debt I pay off.  So, although I would love a positive net worth, I need to look at the bigger picture and take note of the things I can control.  Reduce debt, Increase assets, spend less than I earn, and the rest will fall into place.