Last Day Net Worth: August

By tracking my net worth on the last day of the month, I hope to keep the numbers more consistent based on the usual fluctuations of paying bills and stuff like that. Without further ado... AUGUST!

ASSETS
Cash (checking, MMA, W2S): $40,097.08
GNMA: $13,104.29
Total Bond Index: $13,437.74
Total Stock Index: $21,106.90
Total Liquid: $87,746.01
Percent Change: 0.31%

Roth IRA (Target Retirement 2045) $5,166.46
403(b) (S&P 500 Index) $13,883.13
Total Retirement $19,049.59
Percent Change -4.38%

Total Net worth $106,795.60
Percent Change -0.56%

Stocks went down, bonds and cash went up. Down overall though, but just a little bit. If only the stock market would chill out! I asked last month about interest in learning more about my investment choices and I am finally get my act together and writing. I'm planning two posts, one about my general assets and one about my retirement assets. Those should be up at some point at the end of this week or early next week.


And the question so that you have to comment... what's something that you regularly splurge on that people might not know about? And by splurge, I mean something that you spend money on each month that is (1) kind of expensive, in your opinion and (2) something that not everyone spends their money on. Me? I would say yoga classes. I paid $50 this month to start at a new studio and I will likely be paying closer to $100/month, but it's worth it to me!

Today I'm grateful for: when my opinion is valued

I went Shopping...

After my successful no spend on clothes month last month, I went a little crazy this month. I don't know if it is a better idea to spread the spending out a little bit more or go with the no spend on clothes months. I debated about no spend days awhile ago, but I've always felt that no spend on clothes months were different than no spend days. I don't know if that's justifying it to myself or what... thoughts? Do you buy a lot of items at one time or spread it out a few items here and there?

So the Jewish High Holidays are coming up and I like to have 4 new outfits for services. I had a number of good coupons that were running out, so I thought I'd go this weekend. Anyway, like last time I did a big shopping trip , I thought I'd go through my haul.

I got:

Accessories (A headband and a belt--size xs! from H&M. And a gorgeous handbag from Nordstrom--love the tassel!).


3 Pairs of pants (the one on the left are from Banana Republic and the ones on the right are from Ann Taylor)


3 cardigans (I got the one on the left in black and tan from Banana Republic and the one on the right from Loft). Highly recommend the one on the left for petites though I didn't see the black color online at all. It's soo cute and ribbed, so it fits really slim, even though the sleeves are long. I think I overpaid for the one at Loft, so I really need to keep an eye out for a better sale!


1 top (I got the top below from Banana Republic. It is so soft and fits super slim. It has a silk ruffle-ish design on the front that is hard to see in this picture.)


1 dress (from Ann Taylor). For a nicer picture go here, though they only have it in black. I think I need to get it altered slightly though. I think if I raise the straps everything will fall more nicely.


I had major coupons for Ann Taylor, Loft and Banana Republic, but the damage is still a little scary....

Total Damage? $713.00. And that's only the stuff I kept... I always bring home a lot more stuff, try it on with different outfits and with stuff I already own and then return everything that I don't love.

Breakdown (in order of least to most expensive):
H&M: $10.40 (headband and belt)
Loft: $54.73 (teal ruffle front cardigan. Was $69.50 used a 25% off coupon. I think I might be able to get this at a better price, because this still seems a little pricey.)
Nordstrom: $165.90 (purse)
Banana Republic: $238.80 (pants: $70.68--$108 before discounts, two cardigans: $64.13 each-- $98 before discounts and a purple top: $29.44--$45 before discounts. I used the 30% friends and family discount and I had $20 in rewards from my credit card.)
Ann Taylor: $94.08 (tan pants--originally $128. Used 30% off one item discount)
$149.09 (turquoise dress: $63.99--$79.99 before discounts, $138 before sale, dark pants: $78--$98 before discounts)
(I had them break it up into several transactions so I could use a 30% off one item coupon, 20% off purchase mailer and $25 off pants coupon.)

So I'm feeling a little poorer even though I spend over $100 of that in gift cards. Don't judge me too harshly... I love quality clothes that actually fit well and I'm pretty sure that I love every one of these items. And if I decide otherwise, I will return a few things. I do have the makings of 4 new outfits for the holidays, so that is a major win and I didn't pay full prices for any of the clothes (just for the accessories).  Also, I found this great deal on discount gift cards with cardpool which help quite a bit....

Today I'm grateful for: teal and turquoise. The colors in most of my purchases!

July Spending... You DO Care!

Thanks to a few loyal readers, I realized that there is interest in learning about where my money is going. Even though I am superlate about posting these (because I double check my spending spreadsheet when I get my credit card bills which come in the middle of the next month), I am going to try my best to remember where my money goes. And there will be an interesting question at the bottom so that you have to comment... I love hearing from my readers!!!

JULY SNAPSHOT
Total Income: $3,124.98
Total Expenses: $2,116.84
NET (Income - Expenses): $1,008.14

INCOME
Wages: $2,563.98 (included a slight increase because of the change in my health insurance)
Rebates/Sold items/Blog: $510.00 (sold some items and had some blog revenue)
Babysitting/Catering/RS: $51.00 (end of a work project "bonus")
Monthly Total: $3,124.98

HOME EXPENSES
Rent: $875.00
Electricity: $30.27
Cell: $78.46
Cable/Internet: $114.11


TRANSPORTATION
Gas: $75.37 (much higher than average because of some road trips and a trip to the beach)
Bus/Taxi/Metro/Toll Fare: $41.00 (tolls on said road trips)

DAILY LIVING
Grocery Store: $74.98 (low because I was out of town a bunch)
Drug Store: $7.46 (getting good at the drug store game!)
Dining/Eating Out: $157.10 (high because I was out of town a bunch)
Clothing: $0.00 (yay! My no spend worked!)

HEALTH
Rx/OTC: $115.00 (the stupid new insurance has a high deductible. Good thing that I have a lot of flex health spending money lying around.)

ENTERTAINMENT
Newspaper; $14.80 (pays for 3 months-ish)
Netflix: $9.44
Gifts/Donations: $10.49 (bought flowers to a dinner party)
Vacation/Travel: $425.91 (all of the travel expenses related to wedding #1)
Salon/Beauty Supplies: $87.45 (haircut before wedding #1)


Total Spent: $2,116.84
Total Saved: $1,008.14

The extra income and lack of spending on clothes helped to make this month manageable with the increase in spending due to the wedding. Go me!

The question... What's your favorite (unique!) thing to do that is free? I need some new ideas!

Today I'm grateful for: knowing the local news

July Spending... Do you care?

It's been several months since I last posted about my monthly spending (a post that generated zero comments, I might add...). I've still been diligently tracking my spending because I find it interesting and it has become habit by this point. But I don't know that you care what I'm spending. I often find myself skipping through those posts on the blogs of others and I wonder if you care to read it on my blog. Do you care?

My problem is that I STILL haven't called to change the billing cycles on my credit cards and by the time I get the bills it is so far past the previous month I barely remember where the spending has gone. I can't see myself making the call to my credit card companies anytime soon. I have my finalized July spending and if you care, I'll update it on here. Otherwise, I'll just post periodic life updates that include my spending.

Today I'm grateful for: interesting conversation starters.

Wedding Weekend #2 D-R-A-M-A

So wedding #2 is this weekend (the one where you helped me pick the dress). I'm looking forward to it, but also looking forward to this wedding season ending. This bride has been a lot less crazy than the last one but I don't really need another reminder that I am Single with a capital "S." See, this bride has decided against letting us invite dates, even the wedding party. I understand where she's coming from, cost saving and all that, but it's just another reminder that I will have no one to slow dance with. *Sigh* Okay... done my pity party.

Now onto more petty wedding stuff... Crazy Bride (of wedding #1) and Bride #2 (of this weekend's wedding) were also in each other's bridal parties. Crazy bride went to Bride #2's bridal shower and got her a small gift (for the shower) then had her actual wedding gift shipped to Bride #2's home. The actual wedding gift was something from the registry at Bed Bath and Beyond and was also on sale for buy one get one free. Crazy bride spent about $30 for an $80 gift (after the BOGO and coupon) and the worst part is that Bride #2 is totally aware that this happened. Now there are some hurt feelings from Bride #2 about how much she spent on Crazy Bride's gift. Oy!

This leads me to wonder is the value of the gift or how much you spent on it more important (and screw the thought behind the gift crap!)? How would that make you feel?

Today I'm grateful for: Arlington County Fair!

Ways I don't set an example

We bloggers are really good about talking about how awesome we are (cuz we're pretty awesome... right?), but sometimes it's harder to talk about our weaknesses. J. Money's post about ways he doesn't set an example got me thinking. I'm pretty good about tracking my spending; even though I haven't posted it on the blog in awhile, I'm diligently updating my spreadsheet. However, there are a few things I suck at tracking, mainly stuff that I have to pay cash for. This includes:

(1) laundry (sadly, I have to pay with quarters)
(2) parking meters
(3) cabs (I don't take them thaaat often, but I usually forget to include them in my spending reports)
(4) metro fare (for some reason I always use cash for this, even though you can pay by credit card)
(5) splitting a bill with a friend by paying cash

I'm usually good about adding extra earned cash (babysitting, etc.) to the spreadsheet, but not taking it away. Selective memory? Probably.

What works for me is using a credit card for EVERYTHING. I'm sure some financial gurus would disagree, but I pay mine off every month and it gives me a way to double check my spending so I don't miss anything. Step 1: receipt. Step 2: itemized credit card bill. If I miss step 1, then step 2 is there as a back up.

What is something that you don't do well when it comes to your money?

Today I'm grateful for: surprise Chipotle

minimalism vs. materialism

A recent New York Times article and a few blogs (umm... the writer of this one is way hotttt!) that I've discovered have inspired me to think a bit more about my lifestyle. I'm far from having just 50 or 100 items to my name, but I definitely gotten rid of a bunch of excess from my life and now put a lot more thought about what comes into my home (yes, new shoes... no, free crappy key chain).

But there are the items that you do need "just in case." How does a minimalist deal with the toolbox or office supplies or luggage or a photo album or only on occasion clothes or extra sheets... I mean, maybe if you're the living out of a suitcase-type of minimalist, you don't need those things (or don't need a lot of those things), but I don't want to have to go out and buy a hammer every time I need it because I get rid of it. I mean, I could probably borrow one, if I really needed it, but I don't want to do that.

I'm not a super nostalgic person, but I do like to have a photo album or two and pictures of friends and family scattered around my apartment. I don't think that I could get rid of that.

I have "just in case" items that I wear or use once in a blue moon, but I'm not ready to get rid of them. Things like a long skirt for when I go to Israel or an Orthodox synagogue, tevas for outdoorsy things, costume pieces, clothes for messy stuff like painting. I have luggage of various sizes for different types of trips. There's not a ton, but I need a garment bag and a rolling suitcase (or 2) and a duffel bag. I need extra sheets for when I have guests over.

Things that I can and likely will get rid of in time:
(1) a just-because chair in my bedroom
(2) a bookshelf
(3) a few items from my kitchen
(4) more clothes
(5) a Target shelf
(6) papers

And I like shopping for clothes. I like looking cute and having different options. I'm not ready (and I don't know if I'll ever be ready) to not buy new clothes or shoes or accessories.

I'm still deciding how much is enough and how much is too much. I don't think I've found the balance yet, but I'm still working on it. I know there are different degrees of minimalism and I'd like to go a little bit further, but I can't go thaaaaat far. How do my minimalist readers deal with those once and awhile items?

Today I'm grateful for: a day to recuperate, rejuvenate and recharge

Random Updates

It's been a busy July. There's a big summer project at work that sucks up all my time and energy and I'm pooped! Luckily it juuuust ended, so I'm spending today sleeping and getting my life back in order. Here are some random updates:

(1) Thanks to my challenge with Paranoid Asteroid (and my lack of free time), I had my first no spend on clothes month of the year! I'm proud of myself, but kind of sad that it took me 7 months to make it there. I'll give myself a little slack because I included 2 bridesmaids dresses and their various alterations in with that clothing budget.
(2) My sister and I are going on a mini vacation next weekend. It's going to cost about $350 plus gas to get there for my share, but I'm very excited.
(3) I got a $70 bonus from that big summer project. Sure, it's not a whole lot, but that will give me some money to end that no spend on clothes month!
(4) I appreciate all of your love and support and advice on my dating post. I'm going to try to get myself out there more, but I'm also going to stop trying so hard.
(5) My new health insurance kicked in and I'm not as happy with it as I thought I would be. There is some sort of deductible for prescriptions and I'm not thrilled with the high out of pocket cost at the moment. I really need to get my act together and read the fine print.
(6) I might have a weekly babysitting gig once school starts with my favorite little munchkin. That'll be awesome cuz it will probably be an extra $100ish a month, plus I'll have an excuse to do fun things that I'm "too old" to do.

Today I'm grateful for: a night of 11 hours of sleep. I needed it!

Check Up!

Yup. I'm lacking motivation for posting lately, so I'm taking the easy way out with a pre-packaged post courtesy of My Pretty Pennies and her Monday Morning Check Up. Is this good enough to get added to your blogroll? :-P

1. The most I’ve spent this last week (between last Thursday and Today) was on: groceries at Trader Joe's was almost $60... or maybe rent? That's $875, but my landlord hasn't cashed it yet.

2. Today I feel _meh_ about money. I'm on autopilot and I'm okay with that.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was _went peach picking with friend at a farm. It was about $15 for an afternoon of awesome adventure, peaches and a wine tasting at the vineyard next to the farm. That's a lot of bang for my buck_.

4. I will consider this week a success if I _make it to Friday when a big work project will be O-V-E-R_.

5. Would you rather own a lake house, a beach house, or a mountain house? _beach house. Always a beach house. Every time I go to the beach with my family I always say to my parents (like it's a new idea) "you know what be a great addition to our family? A beach house!" Sadly, they never agree with me. Someday when I'm a millionaire..._.

Today I'm grateful for: a sister vacation coming up soon!

Dating Blahs

As more and more of my friends get married and as I read your blogs and hear of more and more engagements or sweet date nights or moving in together stories, it makes me feel like I'm not doing something right. Why are you the lucky ones and I'm stuck meeting creepers from the internet, going to bad speed dating events, or happy hours that feel more like meat markets? Yes, this is jealously rearing its ugly head. And I know that I'm doing the best I can, but I can't help but feel like a lonely failure. The free dinners and drinks (on said bad dates) are helpful for the budget, but there is only so much forced conversation that a girl can take.

Help me! How did you meet your husband/wife/boyfriend/girlfriend? And how did you know that he/she was "the one"? Any advice for me about how to find him?

Today I'm grateful for: fresh flowers

Monday Morning Inspiration: Small Budget Big Style

It's been awhile since I've had one of these posts (I blame the lazy-ness of summer!) and I've had this one sitting around for quite awhile. Sorry!!! This Monday morning, we'll get our inspiration from Shenneth of Small Budget Big Style, a blogger inspires me with her fantastic style (check out her other blog!) and fantastic fiscal responsibility.

What inspired you to start your blog?
After reading several personal finance blogs during 2007, I decided to try blogging myself in April 2008 and Small Budget, Big Style was born. The name of my blog was was derived from a show that came on HGTV: Small Space, Big Style (anybody else remember that show?). I had ideas of having a purely style-focused blog, but soon realized I really enjoyed blogging about my efforts to live within my means. Blogging helps to keep me accountable for how I spend my money and I enjoy reading blogs as much as I enjoy maintaining one. I believe Boston Gals Open Wallet, Girls Just Wanna Have Funds, Fabulous Financials were three of the first PF blogs I started to read on a regular basis.

What inspires you on your financial journey?
I am inspired by all of the amazing blogs and bloggers I’ve discovered in the past few years. PF bloggers are such a knowledgeable niche of individuals and many of their stories inspire me to keep plugging away at my financial goals. I also have a few fiscally minded real-life friends that are really smart about managing their finances and break all those stereotypes that 20-somethings/Generation Y’ers are dismal at managing their money, investing and saving for the future, etc.

What is something you are working towards?
Becoming debt free!

I am also working on a social entrepreneurial endeavor that I hope to share more information about in the near future. 'Side hustles' don't have to always just benefit you monetarily!

Name one ... that inspires you:
Book(s): I’m naming more than one book since I’m a self-professed bibliophile: The Bible, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell, The Success Principles by Jack Canfield
Song: Feelin’ Good by: Nina Simone
Place: New York City
Blogs: Not actually a PF blog, but Makeunder My Life is a very inspirational blog for anyone seeking to live an intentional life.
Person: My mother is a regular source of inspiration for me. She’s my biggest cheerleader and always encourages me to continue to work toward my goals and dreams.

What are you grateful for today?
I’m grateful that I woke up this morning because every day brings a new opportunity to make yourself or the world around you a better place than it was the day before. There is always another goal to set/achieve!


Today I'm grateful for: Shenneth's inspiration