Debt Hater

Paying $70 More A Month For Air Conditioning

I am a wuss.

As a child, I slept through HOT New York summers with no air conditioning in out 10th floor project apartment. My mom hung the summer curtains -- sheer nylon or acrylic things -- from the flimsy metal rods so the slightest breeze would toss the things aside so that we could get the blast of air nice and direct on our hot skin.

 During the day we watched TV on the plastic covered couches. We had to peel ourselves off after a while -- the heat having glued us to the couch. When it started to get really hot, we'd toss old bedsheets over the plastic and sat comfortably, no peeling. At night, we slept in our underwear on the beds with no top sheet. And we lived and I hardly remember being terribly uncomfortable.

So, I tried to summon that resilience when I had to decide whether to BUY an air conditioner for my apartment (it's one of them old buildings with no central air) AND pay an extra $70 a month to cover the electricity costs.

Last weekend, when the temperature cracked 90 degrees, my apartment on the back side, the dark side of the building hardly got warm. With the ceiling fan turning, it was utterly pleasant. But it was also dry.

For those of you who don't know, D.C. gets hot, humid and nasty long before the summer solstice. I had thought about it way back when I signed the lease. They explained up front that I was on my own for A/C and it would cost extra. I was like, "Yeah yeah, I did my budget math."
But now I'm like "I could do a lot (ahem, SAVE a lot) with $70 a month." It comes out to about $280 for the summer, NOT including the cost of the A/C unit.

I'm going to get the A/C. I just can't be miserable and hot over the summer. But it makes me wonder, what happened to my ability to cope? When I was a kid, I just lived. Now I'm like, "It's too hot! I'm gonna die. I neeeeeeeed aaiiiirrrr."

I turned into a wuss. :-)

DH

Holed Up In My Apartment This Weekend With Food For Hair

This weekend forecast in D.C. calls for sun, sun and more sun and temperatures climbing to nearly 90 degrees.

I love sun, but I think it's too early for all that heat!

Regardless, it's just the kind of weekend folks should be out and about, but I will be in my apartment, at least until Saturday night. I am taking out my braids.

For all you sisters out there, you know this is labor intensive and no, I won't have help. So I have movies to watch while I take out the kanekelon without pulling out my own locks. I figure the unbraiding itself will take 6 hours (CORRECTION: Took me 10 hours!). Then there is washing, deep conditioning and styling, which could take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours (yes, you read it right).

Any time I take out braids, it becomes a weekend affair. By Saturday night, I am exhausted, but feeling good with my fresh head.

This weekend, though, I decided to be decadent and am turning the whole affair into a home spa event. I've spent about $83 on various apparatus and natural ingredients (I'm making moisturizing sprtiz and a deep condition treatment from food and stuff like aloe, yeah, I know what you're thinking!).  Y'all know me by now -- I tend to go overboard. I am committed to debt freedom and I save regularly, but I just ain't frugal. I try, but I fail... a lot!

I found all this great stuff at a blog called Newly Natural so I am excited to try it.
Thankfully, all is an up front investment -- the ingredients will last for the rest of the year if I use them judiciously.

I'm also going to give myself a mani/pedi (with stuff I already have. No spending here!) and a body scrub (again, already have it) and have a new 'do when I am done.

Sunday I should be free, so I plan to get outside and pump up the color in my brown skin with some sun. If you're on Twitter, follow me and lend me some suggestions for a nice day without spending any cash. I'd appreciate it!

Love, peace and hair grease!

DH

I Forgot About Uncle Sam

So I got transfer happy after getting my bonus, refilling my e-fund and transferring the money for my trips.

Then, this morning, I notice that I had a NEGATIVE balance in my checking account.
HUH?! After I was rolling in the dough?
I forgot about Uncle Sam. The balances I saw initially didn't reflect the chunk of taxes that were taken out of my paycheck. That's because I had already scheduled a transfer from my e-fund to checking to cover the cost of my car repair. But I forgot about that. So... the balance I saw reflected both deposits, the paycheck and the e-fund deposit. I thought it was the entire paycheck and bonus, because I forgot that the gov was going to get its cut up front. Uncle Sam took a few thousand dollars (yeah that's right, a FEW, not A), which left me more than a grand short.

Duh me. Got a little too excited. A negative balance in my checking account sobered me right up.
I'd be happy to pay the taxes at the END of the year, but up front? Sucks.

So now I am doing some math. I have to transfer a chunk back out of my e-fund into checking to cover the credit card payment for my car repairs.

Dagnabbit!

DH

Filling in Some Money Holes

I ranted about how my job was sucking not too long ago.
It's actually gotten a little better, but I'm keeping my options open...

I also wrote about how the company is ok, but in this economy, there are no champagne bottles popping over here. Though no one said that we weren't getting raises or wage increases, we all knew it wasn't happening (how do we know, because some of us, including ME, ASKED for raises. If you don't ask, you will definitely not receive). And after I asked repeatedly about bonuses, the vague messages I got from management pretty much said "All signs point to NO."

Thankfully, I was wrong. We got bonuses. My bonus was enough to plug the hole moving and shopping made in my e-fund. There was also enough left to pay for my auto repairs.

I've been saving for close to a year for my 32nd birthday trip and I had enough in there to make my impulse trip to Tokyo possible. I just had to keep saving to fill in the Tokyo hole. But now, with my bonus, I can pretty much fill in the whole budget balance for both trips. The money I had been putting away for the vacation will now be diverted to my e-fund -- I'm still aiming for 6 months of living expenses!

Any remainder (still doing some math), will go into the e-fund.

YIPPEE!

I should also be on track to max out an IRA by April 2010.

I'm actually excited about redoing my budget this weekend.

Shi shi shaaa!
(For those of you who watch King of the Hill, that's what Dale Gribble says when he think he's the man).


DH

It's the End of the First Quarter of 2009 and Here's How I'm Doing

In January, I wrote out a generalized list of things I'd like to accomplish in 2009.

Since three months of 2009 are already over (really, time is flying a little too fast for me), I wanted to check in and see how I was doing:

    * Contribute to my emergency fund with the goal of reaching 6 months of living expenses.
       Um, I was on track until I moved (and got into a car accident)! This is still a priority for me and I may replace most (if not all) of the money I used for moving by the end of this month...

    * Contribute to my 401k, but putting in all in the ROTH.
       Um, I stopped contributing when I was getting ready to move. Now that I'm past that, I will restart my contributions this week. I may, however, contribute to both a ROTH and a traditional IRA.

    * Get on the path to homeownership.
      Not yet, but I am scheduling an appointment with a financial planner in the coming month to talk about what I would need to do to be in my own place within the next 16 - 20 months.

    * Develop new skills and learn new techniques to help me on my career track.
       Um, not yet.

    * Earn more money through various ventures including more freelance writing.
        I've finished my first freelance assignment for this year, but I need to be more pro-active about this. I will send out two queries by the end of May.

    * Go on a big vacation this year with the target date my 32nd birthday, September 25.
        YES! Totally on track for this. As a matter of fact, today I plan to book my hotel and, possibly, my airfare.

    * Make new friends and make time for old ones.
      I'm working on it. I've made several attempts to get together with some folks, but our schedules have been colliding! I also plan to attend more events where I can meet people -- they're already on my "social calendar."

    * Take better care of my physical self -- including taking up yoga, exercising regularly and improving my diet.
    Ok, I haven't done squat the first three months of this year. This past week, however, I have started working out at home and this week will begin using the gym at my office building. I am also planning to attend yoga classes twice a week starting Wednesday!

    * Take better care of my emotional and spiritual self, including spending more time having fun!
       YES! I have been working on some things. I've been out and about quite a bit the last few weeks and I have a lot of things coming up including 10 year college reunion, local festivals and events I'm interested in, visiting family, a brief trip home to NYC next month, an impulsive trip to Tokyo in June (more on that next post!). Yeah, I'm having more fun... fun costs money, but I am being smart.

    * Write for myself. (I've always wanted to write a novel. So I will get started!)
       Ok, haven't started in the novel, but I have been going to a creative writing workshop and I'm close to finishing two short stories. I'm trying to spend 3 hours a week writing for myself, but it's been sporadic.

Having Fun With My Eyes Wide Open

I'm sorry, but spending money is fun.

It was fun buying my new desk (on sale, then I bought the display piece on the store floor so it was another 25% off!) and then putting it into my place just where I wanted and needed it. It was fun going to the sports bar to watch UNC trounce Villanova, having a beer and a burger and cheering along with other fans. It was fun shopping for a meal I cooked at home for me and my guy. It was fun sampling sake at the Japanese festival. It was fun buying a shirt I had wanted, but waited for and it was 50% (and then not paying for it because I returned some jeans that didn't fit, money back, not even exchange!).

It's not the actual spending or the actual handing over of the cash (that's NO FUN AT ALL), it's what the cash gets me. Delicious food. Gas and freedom to go wherever there is open road. Clothes that make me feel marvelous. Gifts for the people I care about. Donations to organizations working to make the world a better place. Experiences like wine tasting, rafting, cooking classes...

The difference between spending money now and spending as I got into debt or while I was in debt is night sweats. I don't have night sweats now. I don't have night sweats now because I know just HOW MUCH money I have in the bank, how much is coming in each month and how much is going out and where. With my financial eyes wide open, I can actually ENJOY my purchases instead of hoping that each little thing doesn't collapse my financial house of cards.

I don't have night sweats because I know I am consistently and automatically saving money, so it ain't there for me to spend. I don't have night sweats because I've developed discipline. I make note of every purchase, donation or deposit. I check my balances and look ahead before making a purchase to make sure that money isn't already spoken for. I don't have night sweats because I actually have plans for my money. If I need more, I have plans on how to earn it. I don't lie in bed freaked out about "Where am I going to get the money for that?"

Trust me, this is not some grandiose excuse for spending way more money than I had available in regular checking last month. No excuses, I have to replenish the e-fund. But I know how I'm going to do it. No night sweats for this debt hater.

DH

Nina, Back And Prettied Up: Paying For Car Repairs

As I said in my last post, I got into a fender bender that smashed the casing on Nina's taillight and dented and cracked the bumper.

You may also remember, that I canceled the comprehensive and collision coverage on Nina last summer. So, if I was going to get the car fixed, I was on the hook for the total amount of the repair. Even with coverage, the deductible was still $1,000 I didn't want to pay.  Since the taillight still worked, I was SERIOUSLY tempted to leave it all broken up like that because I just didn't want to pay to get the car fixed.

Why did I cancel the coverage? You can read my post for the math formula I used to make the decision. I had been socking away the money I was saving on car insurance into my emergency fund in the even that something like this happened. I just didn't expect it to happen while I was already burning through cash for my move. (In a twist of irony, I got into this fender bender in the parking lot of a the store where I bought my new couch! Had I not been moving, I wouldn't have gotten into this mess in the first place!)

Long story short, I was afraid to get pulled over for for the busted taillight (even though the turn signal and everything else worked fine). The first estimate was $2,096. After that, I was like "Nina, I love ya, but you gonna stay busted!"

About a week later, I was prepared to drop the $2,000, figuring I wasn't going to get a better estiamte. But then, my senses kicked me in the head "Don't you know it's STUPID to get ONE estimate? Stop being lazy!" So I went to two other body shops.  Second one, same $2,000. At the third one, they told me they could fix light and bumper for $950. REALLY? Then the estimator walked around my Nina, showing her battle scars (ok, negligence scrapes, bruises and dings as well as dings and scrapes that happened when I was somewhere else and the car was parked, minding her own business). He told me they could fix every last ding, scratch and bit of rust for $1,481.

Of course, I was thinking, "Nope, just fix the taillight and bumper, thankskbye."
But then I thought... I plan to hold onto this car as long as it will go go go. Still, it would be nice to improve the resale or trade in value. And I had planned to save up to get Nina detailed and cleaned up (including engine and breaks) as my one-time major investment in the car.

Sold, I told them to give 'er the works.

And they did.

When I picked Nina up on Friday, she was shiny and finey (yes, I made that word up). It looks like nothing ever happened to the rear bumper (which had gouges and scrapes in it from years ago). The little door dings and a long door scrape were gone and the mysterious and ugly scrape on the front bumper had vanished. Nina looked mah-velous!

So... that is coming out of the e-fund. Which puts me deeper in the hole than the $1,222 I mentioned in my monthly report. None of this is debt, but savings deficits. I'm trying to get to 6-months of living expenses. Right now, I'm back to about two.

The (potentially) good news here is that Nina's Blue Book value may have increased with me fixing all the body work. Where she was worth about $4,500 resale, she should be worth about $7,500 now -- and it cost me half that increase to fix her.

Again, I don't plan to sell or trade her in, but, if it came down to it, this way I should get more money for her. But, considering my previous calculations to justify canceling C&C, with the new resale value, should I consider getting C&C put BACK on the car? Hmm... looks like I have another date with some calculators.

DH

March Monthly Report: Um, $1,222 In the Hole!

Hi y'all,

Do you know how when little kids do something bad, like break something or get food all over the living room, they tend to disappear and are very quite and you wonder what they're up to and then you find out and you have to find them to punish them because they're avoiding you?

It's an apt analogy for me, my budget and the blog.

I think this is my first post in about two weeks since I moved into my new apartment. In the interim, I've been doing one thing -- spending money!

I started to chronicle this in my post about depleting my emergency fund. Here it is broken down further:
Moving truck                      $188.56
Gas                                   $30.00
Tolls                                  $29.00
Moving help                        $135.00
Meals                                 $52.97
Furniture                           $882.69
Deposit & Rent                   $1,415.00
Credit card check fee         $43.95 .00
Supplies, utensils, etc. (Target etal)     $583.56
Cable hookup                        $111.00
Computer speakers                $116.00

TOTAL: $3,587.73

I can't blame it all on necessity -- retail therapy is a helluva drug!

So, how am I just $1,222 in the hole? Generosity, tax refunds, coming under budget in a bunch of categories and selling my wonderful old couch. My father transferred $503 into my account to "help me out." My local tax refund was $480. I sold my old couch for $180, though, in hindsight, I underpriced it.

Then, of course, were the purchases that had nothing to do with my move or the apartment, such as the charity trip I took back to my alma mater (which cost me all of about $45). Then, um, the $307 on clothes and shoes. It was a gala for work and because we were invited at the last minute and I went shopping at the LAST minute, I didn't have time to hunt for deals. I actually bought clothes full price retail. What?! Haven't done that in a LONG time!!

Ok ok, so I'm in the hole. There's no debt here, I'm using the money in my emergency fund to cover the expenses. But I'd rather have that money in my fund! (I have been contributing to the fund as I spent -- I automated my savings so it goes to the e-fund straight from my paycheck). Pinching pennies and cutting expenses isn't going to refill that hole very fast, so I will need to generate some income as well as save and not go crazy the next few months.

I did work on a freelance assignment worth $700, so that will actually cover most of the shopping deficit. Then I may have discovered $100 in my budget I can commit to my emergency fund.

Oh yeah... then there's the car. And the little accident I was in. And the big money I had to spend to fix the car since I got rid of collision coverage. See, kids messing up, hiding out... that's been me on the blog. I'll get into the car stuff my next post.

I'm back because I need you guys. Keep me on track!

DH