November Net Worth & New Goals

Holy plummet!

I was prepared for a bit of a dip due to clearing out my travel fund for Argentina. That combined with my Roth and 401(k) performance = wow, my 2009 goal is seeming pretty out of reach! My net worth is now $38.9K, down $332 from last month. My retirement accounts alone decreased in value by 3% just last month.

December is not exactly the ideal month to batten down the financial hatches, especially with the Guy’s 30th birthday coming up! Loads of festivities in order for that. On top of all the various holiday celebrations. But here goes… my goals for December.

> Organize writing/other projects and create a detailed plan of attack
> Log significant writing time (1 hour per weekend)
> Limit work badge spending to $40 for month of December
> Stick to a 2-drink only policy for holiday parties out. (This will be tough....)
> Stick to the 5-day workout plan.
> Send an extra $100 to my emergency fund at the end of the month. (Right now, my budget hangs together by keeping savings slimmer this month, but I want to try to reverse that if I can… my stretch goal.)

Black Friday Deals

So I was out yesterday in all the (subdued) early morning madness. I think I had a pretty good get, all in all... not the most frugal, but I got what I needed to get done very quickly, so we'll go with efficient, at least!

My Deals:
> A really nice sweater and dress shirt from Brooks Brothers for the Guy (Originally $200 / My Total: $110)
> ALL of my Christmas ornaments for my first tree (Originally $15 / My Total: $7.50)
> A pair of nice Isotoner gloves for me (Originally $18 / My Total $12)
> Two pairs of boots - an early gift from my Mom (Originally $160 / My Total: $80 for both!)
> A DVD for a friend (Originally $20 / My Total: $4)

Original Goods $413
Discounted for........... $214

Sidebar Update

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Hope everyone is enjoying their own version of food and family...

Now that I'm back from my trip and my travel fund was completely depleted, I decided to reorganize and reprioritize my sidebars a bit... My #1 goal is to hit that emergency fund goal, and I am more focused there than ever. As I try to meet my 2009 Annual Net Worth Goal I am going to be more focused on balancing each month's budget based on income and expenses. I want to make sure that I am using every $1 of my twice monthly paycheck that is not spent to go into that emergency fund (vs. just hanging out in a stray checking account).



The Guy and I have decided that we're getting a dog on April 1st and our goal is to save $1000 before that time to cover dogwalking expenses. In financial terms, April 1st is SO CLOSE. So I have to get serious about this one.



Finally, I'm realizing it's not going to be even close to realistic for me to save anything substantial for grad school or a wedding right now, so I have opened that subaccount in ING, but until I get through with goals #2 and #3, I'm not going to worrry about it too much. Perhaps more focus will really help!

Squeals of Excitement at the Pump, and yet....

Today I saw gas for $1.66 a gallon. Wow, how quickly things have changed. I can now fill up my tank for exactly half of what it cost just a few short months ago. And yet, I know as the price falls and falls, we can’t be that excited. This article is good education on why the lower oil prices fall, the more difficult the global economic recovery will be.

Recap on my Argentina Vacation

Amazing, amazing, amazing. And might I say, it ended up being a very well-designed and reasonable trip. Nothing is reasonable when you’re doing the vacation lifestyle for 10 whole days. But we had a great exchange rate for the majority of our trip (3.3 pesos to the dollar) and we made some modest choices to balance out our splurges!

The Itinerary:

Buenos Aires: Stayed in the trendy Palermo Soho neighborhood in a tiny boutique hotel and did tons of sight-seeing (Recoleta Cemetery with all of the Evita memorabilia, Puerto Madero and San Telmo antique markets, shopping in Palermo). Great food and fun nightlife, but this was in essence, sort of like being in New York, in South America. It was just a really cool big city with all of the cool big city perks and oddities you’d expect. All of the European influences are right on, and I could understand all of the BA nicknames
Highlight: a Boca Juniors futbol match – sitting on the first row, absolutely free. Courtesy of a hook-up from a friend’s company.

Mendoza: Stayed in the Park Hyatt for one night – WOW – this was our little splurge. For the remainder of the time, stayed in a little stone lodge in the middle of the countryside, cheap and absolutely charming. Visited wineries all day for two days, and then hiking and rappelling near the base of the Andes. This was our absolute favorite part of the trip. Mendoza’s little plazas and quaint streets and restaurants seemed somehow more authentically Argentinian. We got a real sense of the place and the people as we visited the wineries, talking to their owners or our taxi drivers. The famous “pride” of Argentinians didn’t seem like bravado as much as it did in BA, just a contented “of course” kind of sensibility about their lifestyle. Hiking was rather strenuous (glad we added some weight training into our workout routine beforehand) but full of incredible views. Our guides with the Argentina Rafting Company were excellent, and I enjoyed hearing about their travels and lifestyle about as much as anything.
Highlight: a dinner we had in an old winery in the suburbs of Mendoza – a restaurant called “1884” – this was the best meal of our lives, and the character of this place, so romantic and as old world as you get, will be a memory for a long, long time.

Iguazu: Right on the border between Brazil and Argentina are the most breathtaking falls and the only subtropical rainforest I’ve ever frequented. The wildlife and the falls were absolutely beautiful but the port of Iguazu itself was pretty much a deserted tourist town so we only stayed one night and booked it back to Buenos Aires before we left.
Highlight: Seeing a wild toucan fly up to us on the path headed to the falls.

Taxis and food (despite being cheap) added up and were what most of our money went to on the trip… I bought very few souvenirs (mostly wine), but all in all was still over budget by $237. Oops. Still, for the value we got out of the trip, I was VERY happy!

I'm Back...

And it was incredible... More to come later when I'm over the jet lag and recovered from a week long vino hangover.

Tomorrow is the Day....

I leave for a fabulous 10-day vacation in Argentina tomorrow. So you won’t see any posts here for 10-12 days or so. When I return, here’s what’s on tap:

+A recap on my trip expenses
+My Plan to Improve my Credit Score
+I Will Teach You to Be Rich’s “Save $1000 in 30 days Challenge
+How’s my Holiday Gift Planning Going?
+A Recessionista Thanksgiving
+New Blogs/Good Reads
+Evaluating your Portfolio in 3 Steps

Holiday Gift-Giving Budget Plan

My strategy for keeping my holiday gift giving low has been three-fold.

Making a list of everyone to whom you really want to give a gift – For me this year, it will just be my immediate family, the Guy, and two of my close friends. My extended family does exchange names, so I won’t find out about that extra gift until we draw at Thanksgiving. I would also love to give a gift to my grandparents and potentially The Guy’s parents, so if I see something that is just the perfect fit, I will probably splurge for that as well. The Guy and I will probably go in together for something small for the two couples we’re close with.

Stagger a buying plan. My strategy is usually to use my credit card rewards points to redeem for gift cards so I can supplement my usual holiday buying budget. This year I had earned more than I thought on the two credit cards I use only seldom (my main card is the Starwoods Amex which I save for hotels and travel). I’ve already redeemed a $100 gift card which I’ll use for the Guy and I have about $50 left to redeem for my friends and family. I’m going to try to buy lots of fun, unique presents in Argentina as well… I wish I had more skills that I could make more of my presents. Stories or poems would be all I’d have to offer. I will probably burn a few mixes for my Mom since she always loves the CD’s I make her. But I wish I had more ideas….

Make/Buy a few reserve gifts for the unexpected burdens of reciprocity. There are always a few unexpected gifts, from coworkers or more removed friends that you want to have something ready for. I think that holiday baking is going to be my main recourse here. I could buy a few Christmas ornaments.... Otherwise, I’m still looking for another shelf stable option to have handy so I won’t be caught in that embarrassing “oh, I left your gift in the car” moment.

Anywhere at Any Price

One of my favorite sections of the Sunday paper is the opening quotes section behind the first page of the Business section. Sometimes you really understand more from that kind of brevity than a long nuanced article on the same subject. Yesterday, my favorite was:

“You can get anything, anywhere at any price.” – Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst for the NPD Group. After retail sales plummeted in October, stores were offering eye-catching bargains.

It is true that between all the channels for a good deal – from an in-store sale, outlet malls, online discounter, overstock.com, etc., etc., it does seem that this might be true. If you’re willing to compromise on a feature or two or look long enough, you can find what you’re looking for at a price you can afford. And now that deflation and economic impact on retail business are in the mix, it’s doubly true.

Wondering if everyone else would agree to that statement or if there are some things, some categories, where that just isn’t the case. What’s in your shopping bag that price variability hasn’t touched yet?

My 2009 'Annual' Goal...

Recently, in a comment-exchange with Well-Heeled, I realized how valuable it would be for me to have an annual savings goal in addition to my monthly goals. I do think it would help me keep a longer-term, broader perspective beyond all the ups and downs and surprises from month to month.

Admitting that my whole financial world will be changing next year when I take out enormous loans to go back to school, I think this will be a realistic goal for now until next August – so most of 2008. In reality, my goals on the sidebars are really more like my financial “to-do” list.

My net worth has gone up $7,000 over the past year, since I started tracking. So my “most of 2009” goal should be to increase it the same amount in 3 months less time. Should be kind of interesting in the current market, but not entirely unrealistic...

2009 Annual Goal: Increase Net Worth to $46K

Giving into "Great Deal" Temptation

When I finally gave in to the “great deal” temptation, I realized just how long it had been since I bought something I didn’t NEED. My splurge:

a huge Samsonite Rolling Duffle for only $40 at Costco.
I checked the website to post the exact item (and tempt all of you as well), but it doesn’t appear to be a national offer – perhaps only in regional (Midwest) warehouses.

The need is arguable. I do have a big suitcase already. It is old, squeaky and difficult to wield at high speeds through airports. But it is a large suitcase that works. But THIS one is sleek and versatile, and only $40 – and my old suitcase will run out at some point, in which case this deal might not exist. So all in all, I still think it was a wise purchase despite its falling decidedly into the nonessentials bucket.

The Real Source of Profit = Creativity

I generally think that's true in the most basic sense. Continuing on that same theme, and in the spirit of optimism we currently find ourselves in two days after electing a transformative figure to the American presidency….

“Creativity is intrinsically surprising and the source of all real profit and growth” says George Gilder of Forbes Magazine. This article on the Coming Creativity Boom spells out the new technologies and developments that will be changing the American economy after our current state of crisis fades:

1) “cloud computing”
2) graphics processing
3) nanotech engineering
4) energy-saving construction materials.

Gilder speaks from the perspective of a venture capitalist who sees how much these firms and hedge funds deal and manage in the field of creativity, entrepreneurship and innovation. One fact that was a “wow” to me: the venture capital industry generated 17.6% of the United States GDP in 2006.

The “Coming Creativity Boom” is a great read if you’re in the mood for some optimism after all of the economized gloom and doom on the cable news networks.

Huh?

After my confusion on open enrollment in health care benefits a few weeks ago, I introduced some clarity (and some more confusion) after my most recent visit to Walgreen’s to pick up my Rx. Because of the money in my company health care account and how it’s set up, I usually pick up my Rx and it automatically deducts from this money, and I am charged $0. The confusion I referenced before was about what happens after that money runs out. According to the policy, I pay “full sticker” for health care up to my deductible, and then I move to a co-pay. It's not that hard to understand. I guess my confusion is tied to my unfamiliarity with what “full sticker” health care even costs.

Well, I finally ran the well dry on the company funded health care spending account, and was a little shocked to receive the total of $24 for my two prescriptions. One Rx rang up as $.53. The second (my usual monthly prescription which I thought was around $50 “full sticker”) rang up as $23. What? Now $24 is not a lot for a Rx by any means, which is great, but just plain confusing.

But what is clear is that for the last two months of this year (before my health care spending account addition for 2008 kicks in), I need to budget for Rx expenses. I know universal health care is only one of the issues on the plate of president-elect Obama - and we may not get there in one year or one term - 'but we will get there.'

Wow

First of all, WOW. What an evening.

Put your Vote where your Tax Cuts are!

Election Day. Hopefully a day of exuberance and then we can all go back to talking about something else. I truly respect all of those non-partisan “Just go Vote!” people. But I am just not one of them. (By the way it took me two hours to vote this morning. I live very close to a university... so I was very encouraged by the 'youth' vote turnout! And very frustrated at the time...)

In honor of the day, I had to write about politics one last time. Money Magazine’s November issue hosted a decomp on the candidates tax policies (from the Tax Policy Center): "What Would They Do to Your Tax Bill" It makes it abundantly clear that the McCain plan is to raise no one’s taxes, but not cut anything significant for people who aren’t in the half-millionaire category and above.

Definitely check out the whole article, but I will just highlight one income bracket (my own)! For folks that make anywhere from $37,596 to $66,354 (20% of the population), Obama’s plan would cut their tax bill an average of $1,118. McCain’s plan would cut their tax bill $325 on average.

But what’s really enlightening is how Obama’s tax increases on the wealthy are really laid out. By now, everyone has been saturated by the media promise of “If you make under $250,000 a year, your taxes will stay flat or go down.” But for the income bracket of $227K to $603K the average increase is only $121. One hundred twenty-one dollars! That’s it! But for those making over $603K, the average increase would be $93,000. So, the significant tax increases are only going to the 1 of the population (half millionaires and above)!

Enjoy all of those election night parties!

Election Day (and unrelated) Freebies!

I just cleared my calendar tomorrow morning so I can potentially wait in looooong lines to vote. Woohoo! And to reward myself, lots of fun freebies!

AM: Starbucks Tall Coffee
(Sidenote, I really like the Starbucks “What if we all cared enough?” messaging. Quite bold and poignant.)

PM: Ben & Jerry's SCoop from 5-8pm

Also, just because we’re in the spirit of Freebies, I noticed on Hungry Girl today that there were two pretty good free samples highlighted: Splenda's new Mist Sweetener and Dunkin Donuts free coffee.

I signed up to receive samples of both! Check it out...

Net Worth for October

I updated my Networth from October – down again, to $39,303. My cash savings went up 1% but my retirement savings went down 5%. My 401(k) annual rate of return is actually down 12%. (The actual number of shares are +22 since September 1st. That’s nice at least!) Deep breath, long term investment, deep breath, long term investment. Plus, I depreciated my car another $500. I’m really not sure what this asset is worth, so I may let it hang tight for a little while until I know more.

I mean, it’s just not a fun time right now. But there is perspective to be had. I’m (we’re) doing what we can – we’re pretty well off all and all, and in five years these dips will be just one blip on the Net Worth journey.

Profile on Peer to Peer Lending in the Credit Crisis

In the special “Education Life” insert in the Sunday Times today there was an article on alternative ways to find money for college “Loans in the Time of Facebook”. It sounds remarkably appealing, but I’m less familiar with “social” or “Peer to Peer Lending” as it’s called, so I checked out a few of the sites advertised.

Virginmoneyus.com: Manages money between family and friends. If I were so lucky, this would be a great way to authenticate a loan through a third-party site.

Fynanz.com: Peer to Peer lending with a 5% bonus for lenders. You can search by school or state as well so you can see where other students are seeking to borrow.

GreenNote.com: This was the most inspiring of the sites in my opinion. Positioned as receiving a loan from someone who believes in you. Low 6.8% Fixed Rate

Prosper.com: The most established of the PTP lending resources I’ve found with the tagline “Let’s Bank on Each Other.” Similar, personal interst small loans.

It seemed that the fundamental problem highlighted in the article about all of these sites were that there are quite obviously too many interested borrowers and not enough lenders. For me, too, I think it’s just the uncertainty in the market, but I guess I would be a little skittish using these less-established resources… of course, we’ll see how the loan process goes for me, and I may be reinvestigating.

November Goals

Finally, finally, my grad school applications are IN! Now, my life can resume. What was my life before applications and essays? I can hardly remember… New November goals and priorities are what I need. For the most of November I will be in Argentina…. I’m devoting a good chunk of money from my normal budget to the trip, plus my travel fund savings, so hopefully that will be enough for a full and lively South American jaunt. Once I return, it will be back home for the holidays – plus I’m going to be transitioning to a new role within my company. So much change and so much up in the air, I hardly know where to start.

+ Reading, Writing & Creative Pursuits: This is #1. Devote real weekend time to organizing my current projects and reading more. (1 hour per weekend)

+ Provided the Animal Humane Society accepts my application and references, I’m excited to get started as an animal shelter volunteer! I’m shooting for twice a month.

+ Start reading the WSJ to prep for grad school interviews. There are enough unread copies floating around the office, so I’m going to try to do this the frugal way and not indulge in a subscription.

+ Meal Planning – We just made a Costco and grocery run today so our pantry is fairly well stocked. My goal is to spend $0 the rest of the month on food – so I will do some serious meal planning in the two weeks before and week after Argentina so we can spend our food budget on amazing steak dinners in Buenos Aires!

+ Create a detailed plan of all holiday gifts I want to buy this year and devise a buying strategy to keep costs low. More to come on this…

+ “Employee Badge” spending: Limit to $40 for month of November. I have been shocked at how high some of the totals have gotten the past few months! The monthly average has been $100 since July! $100 extra on food, coffees, etc. $40 should definitely be doable considering I won’t even be in the office half the month, but still, this will require a lot more bringing my lunch.