Last Day Net Worth: March

Another month come and gone.  Crazy how times flies.  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. So here it is...



Liquid Assets
Cash (checking, MMA, W2S): $39,437.98
GNMA: $16,041.49
Total Bond Index: $16,128.92
Total Stock Index: $28,997.44
Total Liquid: $100,605.83
Percent Change: 1.87%

Retirement Assets
Roth IRA (Target 2045): $6,456.28
403(b) (S&P 500 Index): $20,689.41
Total Retirement: $27,145.69
Percent Change: 3.24%

Total Net worth: $127,751.52
Percent Change (from last month): 2.16%

Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!  The extreme goal for the year is still $175,000, but I don't think that is going to happen.  Especially if the goal to travel happens, which I hope it does!  However, hopefully the new jobs bumps my salary up closer to $50K, so that will help.  But I'll probably have a month or two of no real income, so that will not help.  Lots of variables, so stay tuned!
 
Where is your net worth and where do you hope it will be at the end of the year?
 
Today I'm grateful for: honesty and becoming a better communicator

gift card dilemma

My father is a man of few wants.  He doesn't have a lot of "stuff" even though he has the means.  He often gets rewards through a vendor he uses through his job or gifts from his employees.  However, being someone who wants for nothing, these things are not necessary for him.  And he graciously passes along the bounty to my sister and me.  When I was home recently, he shared the wealth in the form of 5 gift cards totaling $215.  They are:

$15 Starbucks
$25 Saks Fifth Avenue
$25 Best Buy
$50 Maggiano's
$100 Dick's Sporting Goods

I have big plans for a few of the gift cards...  Date night with Mr. Cupcake at Maggiano's!  New Northface fleece from Dicks!  But I'm unsure what to do with some of the others, since I'm not sure I need anything and since $25 at Saks or Best Buy won't make such a dent.  If I'm buying something at Best Buy, it's going to be a fancy flat screen, I don't want to buy CDs or DVDs.  And if I'm buying something at Saks, well, $25 won't go far.  I'm thinking that I will sell those 2 online.  Plastic Jungle is offering me about $40 for the two of them.  Have any of you used that site or a similar one with good results? 

And then there's the $15 in Starbucks gift cards, which are in the form of three $5 cards.  I can't sell them, because the value is too little.  I'm not a coffee drinker, but you never know when life might take you into a Starbucks...  Maybe I should keep 1 and have a blog contest for the other 2?  What do you think? 

Today I'm grateful for: such a thoughtful boyfriend.

updates and making out

I've been MIA for the last week.  Oops!  I blame new love... who wants to blog when you can hang out with your boyfriend?  Snuggling and/or making out = way more fun than blogging, sorry!

Things have been on auto-pilot with the money, but here are some random things:
* Looks like March is going to be a no spend on clothes month.  I haven't gone shopping yet this month and with just a few days left, I think I can make it to the end.  Awesome!  It's been awhile since I've had one of those.
* I think I screwed myself out of $200ish dollars from my flexible health spending account from 2010.  I thought that I spent an extra $400ish than I apparently did.  I managed to find some old receipts that I tuned in to shrink that difference, but I think it's too late to do anything else.
* My resume is 95% updated.  I'm almost there!
* I am going to try to be a better updater.  I'm sorry!

Today I'm grateful for: warm showers and comfy pants

Dating and Money and Mr. Cupcake

I'm kind of a traditional sort of gal when it comes to dating.  I expect certain things at the beginning... doors to be opened for me, meals to be paid for, compliments to be given.  It doesn't all need to be extravagent, but it needs to happen.  And Mr. Cupcake (aka my boyfriend... yes, we had "the talk") is passing with flying colors.  But now that's he's my boyfriend, the paying for everything can turn into splitting things or into me paying sometimes.  We sort of had a talk... in that awkward, the check just came, you don't really have to pay for it sort-of way.  And it went like this:

Me: We can split this.
Him:  It's $15.
Me: I know, but you don't have to pay for everything anymore.
Him: It's $15.  Total.
Me: ...

And then I let him pay.  How anti-feminist of me.

We're at the point where finances haven't really been discussed.  I just assume that he makes more money than me because everyone makes more money than I do.  I work at a non-profit.  He must make more than me.  He's 6 years older than me, definitely more established in his career, has a great place where the rent has to be a good chunk of change, and doesn't seem to worry about money at all.  However, I do know that he still has student loan debt from college.  Then that part of me that is obsessed with The Millionaire Next Door, reminds me that things aren't always what they appear.  He does spend more on credit cards than cash.  Is that a sign that he doesn't know how to manage his money?  Hopefully not.

The blogosphere is full of ladies in love chatting money with their honeys.  Which leads me to ask, when did you have "the money talk" in your relationship?  How did it go?

Today I'm grateful for: new blog obsession.

Road Trip Summer?

I'm still trying to figure out what's next, but what I do know is that I need a little break when I finish this job.  I need some time to travel and reflect.  To sleep and nurture my creativity.  A friend suggested an extended road trip.  I kind of like that idea.  Visiting friends, fellow bloggers(?), seeing new places, picking up friends for a leg of the trip here or there, meeting new people, being open to new experiences.  Maybe 2 or 3 or 4 weeks on the road?  When else in life could I make this happen?  I need to live in the moment more. 

I've never done a "real" roadtrip... Here are some places I would like to go (or go back to):
(1) Grand Canyon
(2) Mount Rushmore
(3) Niagara Falls
(4) Nantucket
(5) Disneyland
(6) Seattle
(7) Minneapolis
(8) Las Vegas
(9) Boston (love Boston... but not in the winter!)
(10) Portland
(11) Take a surfing lesson
(12) Chicago
(13) Atlanta
(14) Israel
(15) France
(16) Los Angeles
(17) New York City

I'll be finished in early June, so I'm thinking June and July will be good for some travel, whether by car, plane, train, bus... still unclear.  I have a few possible travel companions, so that's a win.  I don't want to do this all by myself!

A friend suggested blogging my way across the US, but my sister hates the idea.  I love it, but I know there's a million blogs just like it out there.  How could I make my (hypothetical) blog different?

Readers, what places across the US, do you want to visit?  Cities, sites, experiences...  What resources should I be looking into?

Today I'm grateful for: the love and support I'm feeling at work.  I know I will never work in another place like it.

Taxes Part 2 and Other Updates

Tax Updates
Taxes are done and filed.  Hooray!  I'm getting back $802 from the federal government and owe $151 to the state.  A little bit more on each than last time, but I'll take the net $651.  Also, I'm done and don't have to worry about taxes until next year.  I'll call that a win.  Refund should be in my account by March 25.

Other Updates
(1) A really good way to cut your food/entertainment budget is to get the stomach flu.  Throwing up means your food budget is going to stay low (how expensive are saltines and ginger ale?) and you aren't going out in public (the vomiting makes you not fun company) to spend any money on restaurants or stuff.  It's not ideal, but it works!
(2) Cupcake guy met my sister.  I think she liked him, but I'm getting that 1 month doubt-y feeling.  He is so great, so thoughtful and such a sweet guy, why am I dumb?  Cupcake guy is going out of town for a little while, so we'll see if absence does make the heart grow fonder.
(3) I'm weighing all of my options for travel this summer.  Possibly Israel will be on the agenda again. 
(4) I donated $150 last month to Invisible Children.  Now I just have to figure out where to donate my $100 to this month.  Thoughts?

Today I'm grateful for: no more sickness.  EVER!

Taxes Part 1

I started doing my taxes and it looks like I'm getting a refund from the federal government and owe the state (the same as last year), but I'll be coming out ahead.  I haven't finished and submitted yet because I realized that I was probably supposed to get tax information from my certificate program and didn't (which doesn't really surprise me).  I waiting on an email back before I hit send.  As a little teaser, here is my income from 2010.

Wages and Salary: $41,010
Interest and Dividends: $1,717
Total: $42,727

Someday the goal is for that "interest and dividends" section to far, far outweigh that "wages and salary" category.  If I learned anything from Rich Dad, Poor Dad, it's that I need my money to work for me rather than me working for my money!

And here's hoping that next year, wages and salary will will be over $50,000...

Today I'm grateful: new relationships, cupcake guy and I have been spending a lot of time together and while we haven't had "the talk," I'm pretty sure he's my boyfriend.  Repeat with me, 2011 is my year for true love.