Posted in Travel on July 31, 2008| 4 Comments »
I’ve been getting the itch to go travel lately.
It doesn’t even have to be somewhere out of the state – a weekend get-away would be really nice.
And I know this is an oxymoron, but does anyone have recommendations for not-terribly-expensive bed-and-breakfast places in San Diego or Santa Barbara region?
I’m thinking of under $150 a night, double occupancy.
One place I’ve read about is the Franciscan Inn in Santa Barbara – does anyone have had good (or bad) experiences there?
Posted in Life on July 28, 2008| 8 Comments »
Tonight I went to Barnes & Noble to study.
During breaks between problem sets, I…
did NOT read Marie Claire or Real Simple or House Beautiful (all magazines I love)
did NOT flip through cook books with pages and pages of photos of delicious foods
did NOT dream about the latest in-style outfits in InStyle
did NOT catch up on Britney Spears’ latest news in US Weekly
did NOT follow the school rankings in US News
What did I do?
I browsed through personal finance and investing books.
Seriously.
Do I need help?
Posted in Life on July 25, 2008| 7 Comments »
Watching P.S. I love you in bits and pieces and crying shamelessly at all the sad parts.
Posted in Shopping on July 25, 2008| 14 Comments »
I saw this sun dress, and it’s lovely.
Lovely. Perfect to wear for a brunch or a party.
It’s been discounted to from $297 to $103, which is not an unreasonable price for a silk dress.
Did I mention it’s lovely?
But you know, $103 will pay for a lot of things:
– almost all of monthly car insurance premium (my rate got lowered!)
– one bout of car repair (depending, of course)
– 23 gallons of gasoline
– 62% of my monthly loan repayment
– 1/9 of a new computer next year
– 3-5 credits at a community college
All of the above are MUCH more important to my short- and long-term well-being than a lovely silk tiered sun dress.
Much more.
Do I sound convincing yet?
Posted in School on July 23, 2008| 13 Comments »
Could it be… that I actually LIKE studying for the GMAT?
Well, “like” is a strong word, but it’s interesting to learn (and apply -correctly, I hope!-) all the rules that exist in GMAT-land.
I’m starting to see the tricks and trap answers that GMAT writers build in to the questions, and why I have to re-adjust my thinking from “normal-everyday-life” to “only-in-GMAT-world”.
I really should be spending more time studying every day (right now I top out at 2 hours a day), but at least I’m seeing some progress. Even though it’s slower than I would’ve liked, I just have to keep going.
It’s weird, because now studying has become a measure of how good my day goes… usually I figure I had a good day if I got off work by 6:30 or 7, CB and I had a nice conversation, I had some yummy food, AND I did well on my problem sets. If I got a lot of problems wrong or I didn’t have enough time to study, I would just feel blah the whole day.
Who here is studying for the GMAT (or LSAT, or MCAT, or GRE)? Stand up and be counted, because I want to recognize my compatriots in the standarized testing battle grounds!
Posted in Goals on July 22, 2008| 3 Comments »
I just had the most amazing training session today, where I got a taste on how to work through a problem with different strategic frameworks and think about the issue from those perspectives.
The session taught me a lot, but more importantly it showed me what I want to learn more of.
I left the meeting feeling energized and excited about the area where I want to develop a career, I’m more certain than ever that I want to go business school, and I feel confident that I am at a good place for developing analytical skills at my current job, and that moving forward, I’ll be pursuing graduate education (next 3+ years) and doing more more strategic / marketing work down the road (post-MBA).
Feeling excited about a possible career? That’s wonderful.
Edit: If any of my readers are in marketing / brand management and would be willing to talk to me about your career path, please let me know. I’d really like to hear about your experiences.
Posted in Food on July 21, 2008| 7 Comments »
Even though it’s only Monday, I’m already thinking about the weekend…
I usually spend around $30-$35 for a brunch for two a couple Sundays a month. It doesn’t break the bank, but I was wondering if I can’t recreate a brunch at home. I have a tiny little balcony that would fit our small dining room table and two chairs, and I figured that I can try my hand at making brunch and staying in instead of going out.
So, I figured that for a meal of toast, omelet and fruit, here is what I need:
1. Eggs – $3 per dozen
2. Diced roasted chicken breast for omelet – already have it
3. Whole wheat bread for toast ($3 per loaf)
4. Fruit – any kind will do ($5)
5. Mushrooms – omelet ($2 per pack)
6. Butter – already have it… FREE!
7. Scallions – for omelet ($2?)
So here’s the total: around $15. For two. Which is about half to what I usually spend for brunch for two at a restaurant.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
Posted in Life on July 15, 2008| 5 Comments »
Feeling sleepy before it’s 11 PM…
Time to hit the sack.
I made the bed this morning so now I have the pleasure of turning back the covers and scooting into my wonderful bed.
Why am I so tired….?
Oh right. Today I:
-Studied for 2 hours
-Read romantic novella in a foreign language
–MAXED out 2008 Roth IRA
Wow, no wonder I’m exhausted! Goodnight! 🙂
Posted in Saving on July 15, 2008| 16 Comments »
Roth IRA
I remembered that I have around $300 stashed in some ING accounts… I’ve tried the separate sub-account for everything under the sun method, but it just was’t for me. Originally I decided to consolidate those funds into my Freedom Fund, but then I saw that I was this close to maxing out the Roth, and I just said screw it.
I put the $300 into the Roth IRA, added another $50 from my paycheck (in addition to the $750 automatically transfered to the Freedom Fund…things are getting reeeealy tight here), and maxed out the Roth.
2008 Roth, you are SO done.
This marks the THIRD year in a row that I’ve contributed the maximum to my IRA ($4,000 in ’06, $4,000 in ’07, $5,000 in ’08). This is the only retirement savings I’ll be putting in for this year, as I won’t have access to a 401(k) through work until next year ($5,000 is a little less than 10% of my gross), and I’ve decided to priortize cash savings over taxable stock investing.
<10% isn’t super, especially by pf blogger standards. But I calculated that from 2007 to 2008, I saved around 28% of my gross income toward retirement. I’ve also put away (more aggressively this year than last) for the Freedom Fund.
Overall, I think I’m on the right track.
Freedom Fund
So now, Freedom Fund = $13,000.
Which is enough for… almost 8 months of no-income living. By the end of August, I’ll have 9 months. I think when I get to a year’s worth ($20,000), I’ll celebrate.
It’s not as if I’m in danger of being out on the streets (Mom & Dad = ultimate safety net), but it just makes me feel better that I have money in the bank. It makes me feel like I have a PLAN of action. So that if anything happens with the job, I can take a deep breath, peek at my fairly ample fund, and re-group. I wouldn’t panic.
I’d also plan on getting a retail job at night to supplement my fund, but given this shaky economy, it’s probably best to not even count on retail jobs (although I have seen numerous help-wanted signs around my neighborhood…). Also, I assume I’d be drawing on unemployment benefits.
But ideally, the Freedom Fund money is earmarked for the very expensive grad school test-taking / school-visiting / application process, and any left over will function as a mini-cash cushion. (Because by the time I get into a school… the Freedom Fund will be shrunken down to size).
Posted in School on July 10, 2008| 6 Comments »
Is bad. Very BAD. B-A-D.
Vow:
I WILL:
-Wake up tomorrow, at 5:30 AM, and study
-Really, really study
I will NOT:
-Hit the snooze button until it’s time to get out of bed at 7:45 AM
-Say to myself “just 10 more minutes…”
-Succumb to the urge to watch youtube
Who’s with me?!
Well Heeled Blog 