Monthly Recap

I'm in CT this weekend and foolishly left my laptop at home, which is where my budget is located. I'll have an update on January come Monday evening.

Have a good weekend everyday!

Health Insurance

I have a HMO. I took the day off yesterday because I had two doctors appointments. While running around town I realized that I was lucky. Even though I have a HMO I have access to many great doctors because I live in New York City. After two really good doctor's appointments I'm thinking how great my health insurance is.

Today I had an eye doctor's appointment. I need a new prescription for contacts. The contacts I have are horrible, they completely dry out my eyes so I hardly ever wear them. This is what I found out when I went to the eye doctor. I do have vision coverage through my medical insurance, but it basically covers emergencies. I don't even have coverage for glasses. Since when is being able to see not a requirement for work? I can't believe regular eye exams aren't covered. Not even every few years or so.

My appointment put me back $75 (not horrible since I can use my flex spending) and I'm not sure how much my contacts will be yet. I'm testing out a pair now and depending on how my eyes do I'll go back and either buy them or trying something else.

I'm just slightly annoyed. It's like my dental, the only thing covered is cleanings. I guess I should be happy the cleanings are covered.

It's Tax Season Again

Just a heads up, this is a bit of a random post about my thoughts during tax season.

Tax season is upon us again. Taxes normally don't stress me out, probably because I tend to do them early just to get them over with. When it comes to actually preparing my taxes I've used turbo tax, h&r block and an accountant. This year I'm going with a tax prep software again.

There is one thing that annoys me about taxes. I'm never sure if I have every form I need, especially because I like to do them early. It is an issue for me every year. For example I forgot about the form for the student loan interest until one came in the mail today. 

I decided to do a google search on tax for checklists and this is what I found:

MSN has a nice checklist that can work as a memory trigger. Of course this checklist is for 2005.

About.com has an article from June 2008 on what to bring to your accountant. 

Every year I vow to learn more about taxes and the tax code and every year I end up getting overwhelmed and give up. Maybe this year will be different?

More in my Paycheck

My flex spending hit my paycheck this month. I didn't put away that much this year just enough for contacts - a measly $300.  I also increased my 403b contribution, but that has not yet hit my paycheck.

So imagine my surprise when I opened my paycheck the other day and saw it was actually $5 higher. Ah the power of pre-tax. =) 

A Confession

After my post about staying healthy yesterday I skipped my run. I left work with every intention of running 3 miles, but when I got home I realized I had no clean running tights, or even sweatpants. 

Being that it is freezing outside running in shorts was not an option. Going to the gym wasn't much of an option either since my gym is at my place of work which is 45 minutes from home. So I decided not to run and did laundry instead.

This was poor planning on my part. So to actually plan successfully last night I packed clothes for the gym in case the snow means I can't run outside. 

It is time for me to take my own advice! 

Staying Healthy

A big part of personal finance is long-term planning. We plan for our retirement, for college expenses and for upcoming vacations.

One area of planning that we often neglect is our health. It is easy to look at the numbers and see how compounding interest is in our favor and so we dedicate ourselves to funding our 401k's and 403b's. It is not so easy to see how exercising and eating right now can save us money in the future.

I also think we often focus on dieting and exercising to lose weight and forget the bigger picture. Yes it is important that we maintain a healthy weight, and looking great in those jeans is an added perk, but most importantly we should focus on being healthy to prevent diseases in our future. Though of course you never know what life will throw at you. Lance Armstrong who was in great shape got testicular cancer. Yet I don't think we should let that stop us from taking care of ourselves now.

The question then becomes what works for you? I know that when I sign up for something I am very dedicated. I've swam on a team in middle school, high school and college and rarely missed a practice. I also know that I'm incredibly lazy. I easily fall prey to the tv and dinner. I also love food that is bad for you. Bring on the burgers and the pizza!

So it can be a challenge for me to stay healthy. Last winter after being sick for so long I also realized that exercise makes me feel better. I sleep better and I feel better. I also eat better when I exercise (though I'm not sure why - perhaps I crave better foods). When I ran the marathon I was in the best shape of my life. However I didn't even put my sneakers on for the following two months. My solution for staying healthy involves goals. I need to be training for something, whether a swim meet or a race. This leaves me with two choices, joining a masters swim team or sign up for another race. Going with the less expensive option I signed up for another race (a much shorter one this time) and started training last week.

What motivates you to stay healthy?

Housing Woes Gone

As many of you may know I own my apartment with my parents. I live in a studio I love in an area of the city that I enjoy. 

Many of you also know my boyfriend lives in another state. Well I have good news! He is moving to New York City and we'll be looking for a one bedroom to share since unfortunately my studio is just too small for two people. 

So I've been putting as much money away as possible for the possibility of paying both my mortgage and rent for a couple months and a broker to rent out my apartment. I've also been bummed that turning my apartment into a rental will mean it is now an investment and I'll have to pay capital gains tax when I sell. 

Enter my sister. Currently she is living with 3 other women within walking distance from where she works. I was hoping that she would agree to live here, but not counting on it. A little negotiation with my parents and my sister and she's moving in! My parents are going to take over the maintenance and I'm going to pay $130 so she can have a deal on rent. (Btw, none of this is happening until the summer). 

Why is this better for me financially then finding a stranger to rent? A few reasons. I won't need to worry about months of having to pay both a mortgage and rent. I won't have to pay a broker to rent out my apartment. I don't have to change my address so I can keep it as my primary address (no capital gains taxes!) And most importantly I won't have to worry about someone damaging my place. 

And best of all, I can stop stressing about it and just be excited to live with my bf. Life is good. 

One Bad Experience

As I've posted about before I've been selling some old books through amazon.com. Well I've had my first bad experience. I mailed out a book after I received notice of payment and then emailed the buyer to let her know it had shipped. All seemed fine.

A few days ago I came home to find the package returned. So once again I emailed the buyer to let her know it was returned and asked her to confirm her address. Well the address was correct but part of the zip had been torn off. As it was the fault of the post office I sent it out again and paid for it out of my pocket.

I emailed the buyer the tracking number and figured that was that.

Today I received the following email:
"This is not a tracking number for my item. It is for an item received in New York City. I don't know what kind of scam you are trying to pull, but my patience is quickly running out."

Idiot. I sent it from New York City. I emailed her back explaining this and told her she probably just checked before it was shipped.

I'm annoyed she would think I was pulling a scam, especially when I didn't ask for more money for shipping. After I told her it had been returned she told me she needed the book asap, however she didn't offer to pay more in shipping so I sent it again regular mail.

So it isn't a horrible experience, but let's see if she leaves something nasty on my review page. Since I wrote a whole post on how easy selling on amazon.com is, I wanted to follow-up to remind everyone that things can go wrong and in fact buyers can be the problem.

Keeping Cash Around

Do you keep some cash at home?

I was working in new york city during the Northeast blackout of 2003. I was also living outside the city so not only was there no power but I couldn't get out. It just happened that my dad was in the city that day so I managed to talk to him using a land line (my cell wasn't working) and we found each other.

I have to say for being stuck in the city with no place to go it was actually a lot of fun. We went to this Indian restaurant where they dug up some food for us and brought out some beers. However, neither one of us had cash. The owners were amazing and let us leave our credit card. I went back the next day I was in the city and signed it out and gave them a HUGE tip for not only taking care of us but letting us sleep there.

After the blackout I realized how important it is to have cash at home. Emergency money in case something happens and my credit and debit cards aren't working. So how much cash do I have in my apartment right now? $30. It is so sad. I'm not sure what I would be comfortable with, $100? $200? $500? I just know I'm not comfortable with $30.

My parents have ingrained in me the importance of having emergency cash in your wallet. It's key to keep this cash someplace separate from the rest of your cash. Your goal is to forget about it until you are in a real emergency and need it. I used to keep $50 in the form of a $50 bill (because I hate breaking large bills), but right now I just have a $20.

Obviously I need a little motivation so my actions actually meet my thoughts. So my goal for the semester (since working at a college I think still in semesters) is to have $200 in emergency cash hidden in my apartment and a $50 bill in my wallet.

So now I just have to figure out where this money is going to come from.

A Long Weekend

I'm looking forward to the long weekend. I know I just had two weeks off, but since this will be my last long weekend for a while and I'm excited.

It should be a fun weekend but I also hope a productive one. For fun tonight I'm going to dinner and a play with a friend and tomorrow another friend is having a housewarming party.

The sad thing about this weekend is that I won't get to see my bf all that much. Due to prior obligations he can't come into the city until Saturday evening and has to leave Monday morning. =(

I've decided to use this as a motivation to work on my application. I need to update and shrink my resume to one page and then start my personal essay. I also need to ask for recommendations but I'm going to wait on that one. The program I'm applying to lets people in on a rolling basis, so I hope to have my app in by the end of February to early March. I think this is more than a feasible goals, especially if I hunker down this weekend and get stuff done.

On a completely different note I figured out how to use my adapter to connect my computer and my tv. I watched the first episode of Damages online, but on my tv. Awesome! The only sucky part is that my computer speakers are nothing compared to my tv. Still though, another reason not to get cable, instead just watch free tv online and connect your computer to your tv so you can see it on a bigger screen.

Take That Match!

We've all been told that the worst thing you can do is not full participate your employer's 401k or 403b match. It is one of the first things personal finance gurus tell us. If you don't take the match then you are losing free money! And come on, who wants to lose free money.

Still it can be hard to follow this advice. Sometimes money is so tight that putting even the slightest bit away can be overwhelming. How can I put another 2% away when I have so much credit card debt? Or, how can I manage on less money when every penny is budgeted for something.

The other day I read an article or column (I can't remember where or what) about just this. This time the author made a brilliant point. Taking your match is the same thing as having a bump in your salary. It was like a light bulb went off in my head. Of course! This is why company retirement matches are so amazing. Because of this free money I'm actually doing better then I thought.

I'm very lucky I have what I think is called a defined contribution pension. Basically my employer will contribute 10% of my salary to my retirement plan every year and the best part is that I don't have to contribute a dime to get this 10% (those above a certain grade receive 15%). Of course I'm working my way up to contributing 10% myself, but I'm not quite there yet. I always knew this is an amazing benefit but I never thought about it as increasing my salary.

All of a sudden I realized I had a 10% raise! What makes this even better? It's before taxes.

If my 10% was a match and not a defined contribution but rather a match, I think I would try and find another place to cut back so I could up my 7% contribution to 10% faster then planned.

It's Like I'm Bleeding Money

Seriously. I've spent a ton of money this month and it is only the 12th! Granted I've had a lot of fun, but this has to stop.

First there was New Years Eve - $100
Then two friends visited - $75 treating them to dinner and drinks (bf paid the other $75)
Finally a cousin turned 21 - over $100 on dinner a drinks.
Ouch.

The worst part is that I still have lots of fun plans coming up. If I get away with only spending $100 this weekend I'll be lucky.

At least no one can say I haven't been doing my part for the economy. However, February will definitely have to be a quiet month to make up for the extra spending that will inevitably happen this month. The only good thing is that I've barely spent money during the week, and I've actually made money by selling some old books.

I Love Free

I was excited to find out from my fellow pfbloggers that Suze Orman's new book is free on Oprah's website. I have a love/hate relationship with Suze. Her young, broke and fabulous book was the first personal financial book I've ever read and I loved it. However I did not like her book about women and money, I felt as if I were being talked down to. So I'm very excited to read her new book for free! I'm hope I come out learning something.

Selling Your Stuff on Amazon.com

I was asked if it was easy to sell your old books on amazon.com. The answer is yes it is easy, especially if you already have an account with amazon. 

If you already have an account just log-on, go to my account (in the upper right corner) and click on seller account (on the right side). This is where you can go to actually list the items you want to sell. 

If you don't have an account all you have to do is make one and go from there.

It is always easier for me to explain with an example, so if I wanted to sell one of my Harry Potter books (yah right!) I would first click on "list single items", then I can search by either the title or the ISBN number.  Once you find the right book, just click "sell yours here". First you have to select the condition and then it takes you to a screen which shows you how much people are trying to sell it for and you can set your own price. If I just want to get rid of a book I go with the lowest price, however I'm not above trying to sell it for more if the book is in great condition.

Before you decide to do this be warned that amazon takes a commission. It is not huge, but if you are selling a book for $5 after amazon's commission and shipping you may not make very much. Also another tip, you can ship books and dvds using what is called media shipping, it takes a little bit longer but it is very cheap! I just shipped a 3-4 pound book for $3.50. 

Once you have sold something amazon will send you detailed directions on where to go to set up your bank account so you can be paid and how to find the packing slip. Amazon also pays out every 14 days. 

I've never sold anything on ebay or half.com so I can't compare them with amazon, but I can say I like using amazon. I decided to go with amazon because when I want to buy a book, used or new, it is the first place I go. I figured there had to be other people like me, right?

Making that $100

Finally a personal finance post!

One of my new goals this year is to make $100 in extra income each month. Going in I knew this was going to be a challenge for me. I normally make $5 if that and I'm not willing to get a part time job. 

The reason I made this goal is that I knew I wouldn't be able to save very much from my paycheck. I just have more expenses this year and with the way the economy is going I'm now doubtful I'll get much of a raise. 

So how have I gone about it this month? As I've mentioned I have decided to go back to school for another and different type of masters. I've been hanging on to a lot of books from graduate school in preparation of using them again when I pursue my doctorate. Well, no more doctorate for me (thank god!).  So why am I still hanging on to the books? Well no more! 

I'm keeping three that I do think I'll use again but the rest have gone up on amazon.com. And how much have I made? Subtracting what I have spent on shipping and shipping supplies I've already made $120.60! As an added bonus I now have room on my bookshelf for new school books (if I get in).

As a side note I'm so happy scrubs is back on tv!

Pigeons

I dislike pigeons. They are dirty and they are everywhere. I once had one poop on my shoulder. I was going to lunch in very busy midtown and somehow this pigeon missed everyone around me and hit me directly. Luckily it missed my hair, but I still had to go and buy a shirt to wear for the rest of the day.

Before the holidays I was running an errand and lunch and saw a young women with a pigeon in her hand. So disgusting. Those things have to have tons of germs, right?

I was running another errand today and ahead of me on an almost empty part of the street there are tons and tons of pigeons flying from the ground to a building, back and forth. What was I do to, crossing the street didn't make sense so I picked up the pace and did my best to avoid them. As I got closer I realized that it was the same women feeding them!

Really now, must we feed the pigeons? Are they struggling for food because of the recession? I doubt it. Luckily I made it past them with no incidents.

Back to Work

Honestly, I'm happy to be back at work. While I loved sleeping in, eating well and relaxing over the break I was ready to come back to my real life. I find that I'm the type of person who thrives when I'm busy and so I tend to be extremely lazy when I'm not.

So now that I'm back to my real life I'm sure I will be posting regularly again.

As a teaser here a few things I plan to post about in the near future:

• 2008 a look back
• new years resolutions
• how i'm going to make $100 in extra income this month
• staying healthy

2009 Goals

Goal #1: Retirement: Between my company's contribution and my SRA contribute $10,000 to my 403b

Goal #2: Emergency Savings: $10,000 by January 2010.

Goal #3: Return to school for another Masters degree.

Goal #4: Make $100 in supplemental income a month to boost my savings.

Goal #5: Contribute at least $25 a month to charity.

Goal #6: Continue to contribute $20 a month to my boston terrier fund and at least $50 a month to my travel fund. 

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!