So my rent went up + new spending plan

The 3%+ increase wasn’t unexpected, but it’s never good to see fixed expenses going up (especially during a time when energy and grocery prices are increasing so rapidly).
I’ve also put together a new budget spending plan, just in time for July! I’ve been a little too liberal with spending lately, and its time to be [...]

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American Girl

Does anyone remember American Girl? I first received the catalogue from Pleasant Company back in the mid-1990s (before Mattel acquired it), and fell in love with Samantha.
Now there are so many characters I couldn’t keep track of them, but the ones that were in my catalogue were Felicity, Kirsten, Addy, Samantha, and Molly. I guess [...]

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Gas. Hurts.

For the month of May I spent over $200 on gas. This month, on top of the gas expenditures, I have to take my car in the shop for an oil change and minor repairs (~$120?).
Like most Californians, I’ve adjusted (slowly and reluctantly) to the painful reality of increasing gas prices. I am mentally preparing [...]

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Doing what I have to do so I can do what I want to do

I’ll turn 24 in several months, and whereas in high school and college I’ve always sort of went along with the crowd in terms of what I SHOULD want, now I’m really thinking about what I DO want, what steps I can take to get there, and how financial management plays a role in all [...]

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My financial “restructuring” plan

In this shaky economic environment, I am fortunate that my job is not in jeopardy (knock on wood). But given that most employment is “at-will”, very few of us have the luxury of being unprepared for the financial impacts of a job loss.
Companies often go through financial restructurings during times of difficulty, so I thought [...]

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Ugh = my $1,500+ credit card bill

I paid it off, but STILL. I have definitely had more cash OUTflow (to savings and spending) than I had cash INflow this month.
Basically, I’m operating at a deficit because I’m not willing to pull money out of my Freedom Fund. (I usually keep around ~$1,000+ in my online savings account as a cash [...]

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Girls just wanna have funds

This girl likes funds.
I found a CNN Money article that listed the 7 types of funds for a diversified portfolio:
U.S. Blue Chip
International Blue Chip
Small Cap
Value
Bond Fund
TIPs Fund
Money Market Fund
My current funds are:
U.S. blend fund
International fund
Bond fund
Money Market fund
Eventually, I’d like to add a small value fund and a REIT fund to my equity holdings and [...]

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So close, and other random thoughts

So close, and not so far away!
I am $500 away from maxing out Roth IRA for 2008. At which time, I’ll have maxed out my Roth IRA for THREE years in a row!
Goal adjustment
My original 2008 goal was to save $26,000. With the year half over, I have contributed $12,030 to Roth IRA and Freedom [...]

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Discouraging

Sometimes, saving money is discouraging. Especially if it’s:
1. For the short-term to medium-term (no compounding magic here!)
2. For a very very large amount (multiples of what you’ll be able to save)
For example, It’ll take me almost a year to save $10,000 in non-retirement assets, but that’s less than 1/10 the amount needed to fund 2 full years at [...]

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Labels and love

Tonight, I went to see Sex and the City: The Movie AGAIN (I already watched it opening weekend). What can I say, I saw, I loved, I got carried away.
The cinematography and costume designs were gorgeous. The dialogue was witty. And the four New York girls women? They shine like they always do. I’m not an unbiased judge, but I [...]

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