Monday, October 29, 2007

Money Monday

Magazine update 4 3 LEFT!!!! I am not the only one who archives stuff this way... http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/10/27/preserving-the-things-that-money-cant-buy/

Getting things ready to sell is a lot of work. I hate that it is so time consuming to prepare something to sell. Why I just want to get something out of having all this JUNK! otherwise it would be soooo much faster to just give it to the salvation army.

What would I do today if I HAD no debt? Max out 403b contribution. You can contribute up to $15,500 per year. Right now I am putting away $5500. I could still invest DOUBLE and be much better off for retirement. I want freedom options not just to be comfortable! College. A few new pants. I have been desperately putting off buying any clothes. And a down payment on a home of our own. New laptop for fiancee would not be a bad thing either.

Tread & re-tread

I have to re fill out a form that someone did not date correctly. Its not a lot. But its time consuming. I have trouble with forms. (I know they serve a purpose and people who don't have forms are even harder to work with...) but I seem to resist the formality of being trapped by a form. When I have to re do steps I have already taken I fear things may go wrong. But in truth they already did and I am correcting it. Why do I fear so much? Why does it take so much COURAGE? Why does it take so much effort to be correct. Attention to detail. I flubbed that one two weeks ago. If I had checked the form when I was standing in the office I would not have to re do this extra set of steps.

On a plus note. I get to update my Savings today! I will pass the $840.00 mark. I am sooo happy about that! 42% complete.

October Budget.......

I kept my food shopping in line. Eating out was high but It is good to see where the hemorrhages happen. Cash is a huge issue. Eating out and child lines blur there. I have to have some cash though... I cant just give my daughter my debit card. I always need to have a little something to be able to go out to the movies with friends or make sure she has back up money on a date with a boy.... Anyone else have a daughter they give money to? I always tell her its nice if the boy pays but you have to be able to take care of yourself. Independence. Otherwise you never know what may happen right??? So I make sure if she is on a "date" then she has some money with her. I rarely see it come back.

Speaking of independence.... I keep $100.00 in my wallet folded and hidden in case of emergency. I used it for a urgent haircut Saturday and I went to the bank today and replaced it immediately. Do you think that counts towards the emergency fund? I keep the money there in case I get stuck somewhere (Out to dinner with friends and they want to split the check....) I guess it doesn't count towards your e fund. Your emergency fund is for unexpected expenditures. This is for surprises. Maybe they are different.

It is also time for open enrollment in my health care. I have decided to go with a more expensive health plan. I have a very very hard time paying lab fees and Dr fees after the insurance does not cover stuff. It kills me. I cant plan to use all the "medical spending" because I never have any idea how much I need to spend and you loose the money if you don't spend it. What good is that? I hate dealing with health care. So I have decided what is right for me to do is go with the more expensive plan. Because I will stop avoiding going to the doctor. I avoid going to the Dr totally. Not because I am afraid of going but because I am afraid of the bills. If I am not taking care of myself. It is not a savings. And It only took 7 years for me to figure that out. The difference in dollars is $1200 per year or $50.00 per pay period. Which is essentially my raise for next year which I will see in Jan when the new benefits start. So. I think its a wash. Its a little frustrating that I cant teach myself new habits. Maybe I will re-evaluate when digging out of debt is done because I will then be out of debt and I should have more cash in a medical fund therefore I will be able to cut costs. So see what debt does it costs you more everywhere. SIGH.....


I am not a financial professional. If you are looking for financial advise you should seek it elsewhere. If you would like to join me on the journey, walk with me for a while and be my friend......

No comments: