We are less than a week away from our big family vacation. Hooray! Most of our planning is done, although we still have a few items to take care of before we depart.
As we head towards our departure date, I need to do laundry and pack. I also have one more Amazon Prime order to execute on. But as for our travel plan, the airline tickets are paid for, the hotels are reserved and the rental car is booked.
We vacation on a budget, but we don't scrimp. What does that mean you ask? Well it means that we always have a short term savings account earmarked for travel/vacation. We also have an automatic deposit set up, so $200 per pay period goes into our vacation/travel fund. That normally means that we have more than enough in our travel/savings account to pay cash for airline tickets. After our airline tickets are booked and our vacation is planned I often up extra savings into our travel/vacation fund to make sure we have more than enough cash on hand for our hotel, rental car and spending. This time around we didn't need to since our savings account was well funded.
I don't scrimp when I go on vacation, so I normally budget at least $100 a day for food which seems like a lot, but if you are eating out or stopping at a local brewery for a couple of $10 beers it works out to the right amount for us. I also think about and plan for other spending, we'll be stopping at two national parks, so I'm accounting for entry fees, gas, and misc. spending on a t-shirt here or there or a special souvenir. Mr. Sam likes to pick up t-shirts on his travel and he wears them a lot. I like a more upscale souvenir, a piece of art from a local or maybe a handcrafted piece of jewelry. I am picky so that means I often come home with nothing and that is ok. Baby Sam gets to pick out something fun for herself that is inexpensive and I will likely pick out something for her along the way. I normally set aside another $100 in cash for misc. spending.
All of this preplanning means that when we get home from vacation we only bring memories, a rock or two for our collection and no debt.
Showing posts with label Holiday Cheer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holiday Cheer. Show all posts
Monday, July 4, 2016
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
New Years Resolutions
I am a big fan of new years resolutions, goal planning, goal tracking, etc. I've started to put together my list of resolutions for 2014 and I'm up to 12 so far and none of those resolutions relate to finances. Eight of my draft resolutions relate to health and fitness.
I learned back in psychology that it takes 4 weeks to develop a new habit. Indeed, one of the reasons rehab is 28 days is based on the 4 week new habit model. Today, I read an article over on today.com that it actually takes closer to 66 days to establish a new habit.
So, if today is day 1 of a new behavior, stick with it for a couple of months and it should become an actual habit.
Here is to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.
I learned back in psychology that it takes 4 weeks to develop a new habit. Indeed, one of the reasons rehab is 28 days is based on the 4 week new habit model. Today, I read an article over on today.com that it actually takes closer to 66 days to establish a new habit.
So, if today is day 1 of a new behavior, stick with it for a couple of months and it should become an actual habit.
Here is to a happy, healthy and prosperous 2014.
Monday, December 30, 2013
2014 Planning - Third Time is the Charm
So, for the third time we are going to plan/try to save $69,000, maybe 2014 will be the year we hit this number. Now that we have our 2014 total goal number, we have been working on planning.
Some goals are pretty easy to establish.
First, tax advantaged retirement savings. I will max out my 401k savings, $17,500, in 2014. We both will max our our non-deductible IRAs for 2014, so that is $5,500 each or $11,000. We will save $17,500 for Mr. Sam in 2014, that money will be after tax until he is eligible for his 401k in September. Then we will max out what he can contribute from 9/1/2014 until 12/31/2014 which Mr. Sam thinks will be about $12,000. So, the monthly savings we do for Mr. Sam's 401k between 1/1/2014 and 9/1/2014 will be used to supplement income for the last quarter when he is putting the bulk of his paycheck into his 401k. Then, the amount that is left over will be put into our trading account. While Mr. Sam will not be able to save as much in 401k savings, we will make sure to save at least the same amount in our non-tax advantaged trading account.
(1) Max out 401ks (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRAs (goal is $11,000)
As for our IRAs, we have already saved $1800 towards our 2014 goal.
Second, other savings goals. I probably will maintain the monthly savings already set up which means we would put another $10,000 into our emergency savings in 2014. I like having money go towards e/r savings. With our various real estate properties, a health emergency fund makes me happy. For similar reasons, I probably will keep the $200 a month that goes towards our house account. With an old house, there are always repairs or projects (last year I imagined plantation shutters, but that project got put off). This year, we are also likely looking at a roof repair or roof improvement on our carriage house. Accordingly, I am putting $5,000 into roof project savings. If the roof project costs less, then we will put that money towards mortgage principal prepayment.
(3) Emergency account (goal is $10,000)
(4) Roof fund (goal is $5,000)
(5) House fund (goal is $3,000)
Third, Mr. Sam is going to need a replacement vehicle within the next couple of years. So, the last goal for 2014 is car replacement fund (goal is $5,000)
(6) Car replacement fund (goal is $5,000).
How about you, what are your financial plans and goals for 2014?
Some goals are pretty easy to establish.
First, tax advantaged retirement savings. I will max out my 401k savings, $17,500, in 2014. We both will max our our non-deductible IRAs for 2014, so that is $5,500 each or $11,000. We will save $17,500 for Mr. Sam in 2014, that money will be after tax until he is eligible for his 401k in September. Then we will max out what he can contribute from 9/1/2014 until 12/31/2014 which Mr. Sam thinks will be about $12,000. So, the monthly savings we do for Mr. Sam's 401k between 1/1/2014 and 9/1/2014 will be used to supplement income for the last quarter when he is putting the bulk of his paycheck into his 401k. Then, the amount that is left over will be put into our trading account. While Mr. Sam will not be able to save as much in 401k savings, we will make sure to save at least the same amount in our non-tax advantaged trading account.
(1) Max out 401ks (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRAs (goal is $11,000)
As for our IRAs, we have already saved $1800 towards our 2014 goal.
Second, other savings goals. I probably will maintain the monthly savings already set up which means we would put another $10,000 into our emergency savings in 2014. I like having money go towards e/r savings. With our various real estate properties, a health emergency fund makes me happy. For similar reasons, I probably will keep the $200 a month that goes towards our house account. With an old house, there are always repairs or projects (last year I imagined plantation shutters, but that project got put off). This year, we are also likely looking at a roof repair or roof improvement on our carriage house. Accordingly, I am putting $5,000 into roof project savings. If the roof project costs less, then we will put that money towards mortgage principal prepayment.
(3) Emergency account (goal is $10,000)
(4) Roof fund (goal is $5,000)
(5) House fund (goal is $3,000)
Third, Mr. Sam is going to need a replacement vehicle within the next couple of years. So, the last goal for 2014 is car replacement fund (goal is $5,000)
(6) Car replacement fund (goal is $5,000).
How about you, what are your financial plans and goals for 2014?
Friday, December 20, 2013
Holiday Cheer - 401K Match
For the first time in my corporate career, this year I received a 401K match. My employer contributed "profit sharing" in the amount of $5,500.
That was a surprise and certainly welcome holiday cheer at the end of somewhat tough financial year for us (with Mr. Sam's layoff).
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
2013 Goals - Progress Has Exceeded 2012
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $28,327 (80%) (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $11,000 (100%) (goal is $11,000) completed
(3) Add to e/r fund - $10,400 (104%) (goal is $10,000) completed
(4) Pay down mortgage - $5,000 (100%) (goal is $5,000) completed
(5) Trading account fund - $5,000 (100%) (goal is $5,000) completed
(6) House projects - $3,100 (103%) (goal is $3,000) completed
Total: $62,827 (91%)
Because I have contributions to our emergency and house fund on automatic transfer, those contributions continued even though we completed those goals. As a result, our total has nudged past our 2012 total of $62,446. Of course, we are going to fall short on our 2013 goals due, in large part, to Mr. Sam's layoff. But, I am happy that we have at least completed 5 out of 6 goals and that we have saved more this year than last year.
Hopefully in 2014, we will save more than in 2013. And sticking with that theme, I've already put away $800 into our 2014 IRA savings account.
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $11,000 (100%) (goal is $11,000) completed
(3) Add to e/r fund - $10,400 (104%) (goal is $10,000) completed
(4) Pay down mortgage - $5,000 (100%) (goal is $5,000) completed
(5) Trading account fund - $5,000 (100%) (goal is $5,000) completed
(6) House projects - $3,100 (103%) (goal is $3,000) completed
Total: $62,827 (91%)
Because I have contributions to our emergency and house fund on automatic transfer, those contributions continued even though we completed those goals. As a result, our total has nudged past our 2012 total of $62,446. Of course, we are going to fall short on our 2013 goals due, in large part, to Mr. Sam's layoff. But, I am happy that we have at least completed 5 out of 6 goals and that we have saved more this year than last year.
Hopefully in 2014, we will save more than in 2013. And sticking with that theme, I've already put away $800 into our 2014 IRA savings account.
Monday, November 4, 2013
2013 Savings Goals - November Update
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $26,231 (75%) (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $11,000 (100%) (goal is $11,000) completed
(3) Add to e/r fund - $8,000 (80%) (goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $4,150 (83%) (goal is $5,000)
(5) Trading account fund - $3,900 (78%) (goal is $5,000)
(6) House projects - $2,000 (67%) (goal is $3,000)
Total: $55,281 (80%)
At present we are about $3100 behind on our goals.
We have just under two (2) months to go to complete our goals. And, like most years, it will be a challenge to come close to hitting our goal numbers. For at least one category it will be impossible to meet our goals since Mr. Sam was unable to continue contributing to his 401k post layoff. While we continue to stretch towards our original goals as we close the year out, I remind myself that I will be content if we exceed our savings goals from last year (meaning our re-calibrated 2013 savings goal is really $63,000). That would mean that we need to save at least another $7,750 which will be a challenge. I will max out my 401k which is about another $3000, we will meet our emergency account savings goal, another $2000, and we will meet our mortgage principal prepayment efforts, another $850. And, that leaves another $2000 we need to scrape together to exceed our 2012 savings numbers which I really would like to do even with Mr. Sam's layoff and his subsequent salary reduction at the new job.
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $11,000 (100%) (goal is $11,000) completed
(3) Add to e/r fund - $8,000 (80%) (goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $4,150 (83%) (goal is $5,000)
(5) Trading account fund - $3,900 (78%) (goal is $5,000)
(6) House projects - $2,000 (67%) (goal is $3,000)
Total: $55,281 (80%)
At present we are about $3100 behind on our goals.
We have just under two (2) months to go to complete our goals. And, like most years, it will be a challenge to come close to hitting our goal numbers. For at least one category it will be impossible to meet our goals since Mr. Sam was unable to continue contributing to his 401k post layoff. While we continue to stretch towards our original goals as we close the year out, I remind myself that I will be content if we exceed our savings goals from last year (meaning our re-calibrated 2013 savings goal is really $63,000). That would mean that we need to save at least another $7,750 which will be a challenge. I will max out my 401k which is about another $3000, we will meet our emergency account savings goal, another $2000, and we will meet our mortgage principal prepayment efforts, another $850. And, that leaves another $2000 we need to scrape together to exceed our 2012 savings numbers which I really would like to do even with Mr. Sam's layoff and his subsequent salary reduction at the new job.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Working Vacations
Even with Mr. Sam's work issues, we just returned from a long weekend. While, we could have cancelled the trip, this preplanned long weekend will probably be our only vacation together this summer so I voted to move forward with our trip. I do have an upcoming family trip which is not really a vacation and Mr. Sam will not attend.
And, even though Mr. Sam was not really excited about this trip, mostly because he is worried about finding a new job, we had a great time. We spent time together, we relaxed, we spent time with friends, we had fun, etc.
But, like most professional Americans, I never really disconnected from my office. My normal vacation/work protocol is to work, in a focused manner, during travel time. I specifically bring work that is easier to tote or that is in .pdf form on my iPad so I can read or review materials while flying or driving (assuming that Mr. Sam does the driving). Then when I arrive at our vacation destination, I generally stop working but I continue to attend to emails/deadlines and issues that may arise. I try to limit how often I check emails to early morning, lunch and then mid-afternoon (before my assistant leaves for the day).
I would like to disconnect when I'm on vacation, but coming back to several days of unread emails almost ruins the point of vacation. Today is my first day back in the office and I've spent nearly half the day reading all my emails even though I was keeping an eye on them and responding to important ones. If I had disconnected altogether I'd lose even more time.
What do you do? If your stay connected to the office during your vacations, how does that impact your ability to relax and recharge? How does your spouse feel if you work during a family vacation?
And, even though Mr. Sam was not really excited about this trip, mostly because he is worried about finding a new job, we had a great time. We spent time together, we relaxed, we spent time with friends, we had fun, etc.
But, like most professional Americans, I never really disconnected from my office. My normal vacation/work protocol is to work, in a focused manner, during travel time. I specifically bring work that is easier to tote or that is in .pdf form on my iPad so I can read or review materials while flying or driving (assuming that Mr. Sam does the driving). Then when I arrive at our vacation destination, I generally stop working but I continue to attend to emails/deadlines and issues that may arise. I try to limit how often I check emails to early morning, lunch and then mid-afternoon (before my assistant leaves for the day).
I would like to disconnect when I'm on vacation, but coming back to several days of unread emails almost ruins the point of vacation. Today is my first day back in the office and I've spent nearly half the day reading all my emails even though I was keeping an eye on them and responding to important ones. If I had disconnected altogether I'd lose even more time.
What do you do? If your stay connected to the office during your vacations, how does that impact your ability to relax and recharge? How does your spouse feel if you work during a family vacation?
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Drinking and Shopping Don't Mix
I enjoyed this fun Atlantic Wire post on shopping under the influence.
I have been to enough Palm Beach charity events over the years to understand the silent auction (and live auction) bidding dollars go way up the more people drink.
As such, I would add a section to the article that one should generally get a pass for shopping/bidding at charity auctions, since its for charity.
Otherwise, I thought the suggestions in this guide were great. Definitely leave the credit cards at home if you are shopping after drinking and have a friend there to talk you out of bad ideas.
I often find myself in trouble when it comes to art, because (1) I love original art, (2) I'll spend good money for art, and (3) I'm often admiring art while holding a glass of wine. So I stick to my rules and anything over a $100 requires a cooling off period. I'll take a photo of the art with my iPhone, I'll take a business card, but I generally don't buy art on a first viewing.
I have been to enough Palm Beach charity events over the years to understand the silent auction (and live auction) bidding dollars go way up the more people drink.
As such, I would add a section to the article that one should generally get a pass for shopping/bidding at charity auctions, since its for charity.
Otherwise, I thought the suggestions in this guide were great. Definitely leave the credit cards at home if you are shopping after drinking and have a friend there to talk you out of bad ideas.
I often find myself in trouble when it comes to art, because (1) I love original art, (2) I'll spend good money for art, and (3) I'm often admiring art while holding a glass of wine. So I stick to my rules and anything over a $100 requires a cooling off period. I'll take a photo of the art with my iPhone, I'll take a business card, but I generally don't buy art on a first viewing.
Friday, May 3, 2013
ProFlower's Scummy Scam
At one point I used to regularly use ProFlowers as my go to company to send flowers across the miles. It was so easy as I had all my information and my recipients' information stored. I could just log in, click, click and click and flowers would arrive for birthdays, Mother's Day and other occasions. But there was a reason I stopped using them and that reason reared its ugly head this past week.
I had a coupon code for ProFlowers and since Mother's Day and a birthday is coming up I figured sending flowers would be easy for both. I logged in, picked my flowers, one arrangement was $25 and the other was $29 with my coupon code. And then onto easy step two, picked my delivery day, clicked on my recipients (data already saved) and then went to check out.
Ugh!! Now I remember why I stopped using ProFlowers, when I went to check out, up popped charge after charge. Delivery charge, delivery day up charge, care and handling charge. That discount coupon doesn't end up being much of a discount with all the charges at the end. The total for the two arrangements was more than $120. In the end I cancelled the order, just can't give my business to this company even if its super easy.
For one of the recipients, I have a local florist that I will order from (have used them before and they do a great job). I'll figure out something for the other recipient.
I had a coupon code for ProFlowers and since Mother's Day and a birthday is coming up I figured sending flowers would be easy for both. I logged in, picked my flowers, one arrangement was $25 and the other was $29 with my coupon code. And then onto easy step two, picked my delivery day, clicked on my recipients (data already saved) and then went to check out.
Ugh!! Now I remember why I stopped using ProFlowers, when I went to check out, up popped charge after charge. Delivery charge, delivery day up charge, care and handling charge. That discount coupon doesn't end up being much of a discount with all the charges at the end. The total for the two arrangements was more than $120. In the end I cancelled the order, just can't give my business to this company even if its super easy.
For one of the recipients, I have a local florist that I will order from (have used them before and they do a great job). I'll figure out something for the other recipient.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Happy St. Valentine's Day - Part III
Last week, in honor of St. Valentine's Day, I posted about the marriage tax penalty.
So if you were feeling blue about having to pay more in taxes as a married couple I'm here to let you know that you probably are wealthier if you are married.
Sure when two people combine household there is a certain level of savings by combining forces. But, that doesn't appear to be the only reason. Most interesting to me is that the education and capability for wealth may be coming before marriage since college educated folks are more likely to marry.
But, stay married as those who divorce are financially worse off, on average, than those who never married.
Speaking from my own experience, even though Mr. Sam brought a fair amount of debt into our marriage, getting married has dramatically increased our combined net worth. As of January 2013 our combined net worth is $1,143,223. In December 2006 my "individual" net worth was $582,800 (this number included the primary home that we bought together and also an investment property that we bought together). In 2007 our combined net worth was $807,539, which means that in six years of marriage we jointly increased our combined net worth by $335,694 (or about $56,000 a year).
So if you were feeling blue about having to pay more in taxes as a married couple I'm here to let you know that you probably are wealthier if you are married.
Sure when two people combine household there is a certain level of savings by combining forces. But, that doesn't appear to be the only reason. Most interesting to me is that the education and capability for wealth may be coming before marriage since college educated folks are more likely to marry.
But, stay married as those who divorce are financially worse off, on average, than those who never married.
Speaking from my own experience, even though Mr. Sam brought a fair amount of debt into our marriage, getting married has dramatically increased our combined net worth. As of January 2013 our combined net worth is $1,143,223. In December 2006 my "individual" net worth was $582,800 (this number included the primary home that we bought together and also an investment property that we bought together). In 2007 our combined net worth was $807,539, which means that in six years of marriage we jointly increased our combined net worth by $335,694 (or about $56,000 a year).
Thursday, February 21, 2013
2013 Goals - Update
I'm not sure why it takes us so long each year to shake of the holidays and get going with our New Year's financial (and other) goals. But here we are, its after Valentine's Day and Mr. Sam just got our Excel chart put together for our 2013 savings goals. I have not updated our spending plan for 2013, but hope to do that this Saturday.
So, with out further ado, here is our first 2013 savings goals update.
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $6160 (18%) (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $1008 (9%) (goal is $11,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund - $1600 (16%) (goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $830 (17%) (goal is $5,000)
(5) Trading account fund - $50 (62%) (goal is $5,000)
(6) House projects - $40 (13%) (goal is $3,000)
Total to date is $10,048 and we are about $500 short of where we should be.
So, with out further ado, here is our first 2013 savings goals update.
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $6160 (18%) (goal is $35,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $1008 (9%) (goal is $11,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund - $1600 (16%) (goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $830 (17%) (goal is $5,000)
(5) Trading account fund - $50 (62%) (goal is $5,000)
(6) House projects - $40 (13%) (goal is $3,000)
Total to date is $10,048 and we are about $500 short of where we should be.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Happy St. Valentine's Day - Part II
Are you planning to get engaged or married over St. Valentine's Day?
If so, there is a tool that let's you know whether you'll end up with a marriage tax bonus or a marriage tax penalty. But, first you'll need to get your hands on your intended's tax return as the tool needs some serious data to give you an accurate result.
A marriage tax penalty is when:
A marriage bonus occurs when:
Marriage penalties only hit couples where both spouses work. And, under the 2013 Fiscal Cliff work compromise, it appears that the marriage tax penalty has gotten worse for those at the upper end of the income range. I'm still trying to sort out all the tax changes from the Fiscal Cliff compromise, but this article from Bloomberg provides some guidance on the various thresholds for when higher taxes and higher tax rates kick in.
I try not to get into politics here at Adventures of Sam, so I don't want to get into a Republican/Democratic Party debate on taxes. But I'll state for the record that I'm actually in favor of higher taxes and I'm in favor of a progressive tax system.
But, I'm not in favor of a system that provides for a marriage tax penalty on $150,000 in income. Higher tax rates kick in at $400,000 for an individual and $450,000 for a married couple. Sure, if a couple is making more than $450,000 a year its hard to have any sympathy for them. But, think about a hard working professional couple in which both spouses are putting in 12+ hour days, they may have significant student loans that paid for those professional degrees, a mortgage, expenses related to kids and our government is penalizing (with higher taxes) either the wife (more often its the wife) or the husband for having a professional career. I'd like to see the marriage penalty reduced even at the higher income levels, if higher tax rates kick in at $400,000 for an individual than maybe the higher tax rates for couples should kick in at $600,000 or something like that.
If so, there is a tool that let's you know whether you'll end up with a marriage tax bonus or a marriage tax penalty. But, first you'll need to get your hands on your intended's tax return as the tool needs some serious data to give you an accurate result.
A marriage tax penalty is when:
- a wife and husband pay more income tax filing jointly as a couple than they would if they had remained single and filed as individuals.
A marriage bonus occurs when:
- a couple pays less tax filing jointly than they would if they were not married and filed singly.
Marriage penalties only hit couples where both spouses work. And, under the 2013 Fiscal Cliff work compromise, it appears that the marriage tax penalty has gotten worse for those at the upper end of the income range. I'm still trying to sort out all the tax changes from the Fiscal Cliff compromise, but this article from Bloomberg provides some guidance on the various thresholds for when higher taxes and higher tax rates kick in.
I try not to get into politics here at Adventures of Sam, so I don't want to get into a Republican/Democratic Party debate on taxes. But I'll state for the record that I'm actually in favor of higher taxes and I'm in favor of a progressive tax system.
But, I'm not in favor of a system that provides for a marriage tax penalty on $150,000 in income. Higher tax rates kick in at $400,000 for an individual and $450,000 for a married couple. Sure, if a couple is making more than $450,000 a year its hard to have any sympathy for them. But, think about a hard working professional couple in which both spouses are putting in 12+ hour days, they may have significant student loans that paid for those professional degrees, a mortgage, expenses related to kids and our government is penalizing (with higher taxes) either the wife (more often its the wife) or the husband for having a professional career. I'd like to see the marriage penalty reduced even at the higher income levels, if higher tax rates kick in at $400,000 for an individual than maybe the higher tax rates for couples should kick in at $600,000 or something like that.
Happy St. Valentine's Day - Part I
Happy St. Valentine's Day to you!
What are you doing to celebrate heart day? Are you sending flowers, going out to dinner, buying gifts for your spouse, your children or your dog? Do you boycott Valentine's Day as nothing more than a Hallmark holiday?
The Atlantic has a great series of charts showing how much is being spent for today and on who. Not surprising to this dog owner, a lot of people buy gifts for their pooches.
Besides a few heart shaped dog treats for Snarfle I "spent" the following for Valentine's Day. First, one of the organizations that I support has run a Valentine's Day fundraising event for the last few years. Donate $20 and they'll send a Valentine's Day card to someone in your honor. I did three of those cards, so that was a total of $60.
Then I sent my nephew, niece, god-daughter and her sister Valentine's Day cards which enclosed checks. $50 each for my nephew and niece, and $30 each for my god-daughter and her sister, so that is a total of $160. Then I send a few regular cards out to a few folks, so I'll say $5 in additional cards and postage. That gives me a grand total of $225.
You'll probably notice that Mr. Sam is not on this list . . . Like Christmas, we don't gift to each other on Valentine's Day either.
How about you, how much did you spend on St. Valentine's Day?
What are you doing to celebrate heart day? Are you sending flowers, going out to dinner, buying gifts for your spouse, your children or your dog? Do you boycott Valentine's Day as nothing more than a Hallmark holiday?
The Atlantic has a great series of charts showing how much is being spent for today and on who. Not surprising to this dog owner, a lot of people buy gifts for their pooches.
Besides a few heart shaped dog treats for Snarfle I "spent" the following for Valentine's Day. First, one of the organizations that I support has run a Valentine's Day fundraising event for the last few years. Donate $20 and they'll send a Valentine's Day card to someone in your honor. I did three of those cards, so that was a total of $60.
Then I sent my nephew, niece, god-daughter and her sister Valentine's Day cards which enclosed checks. $50 each for my nephew and niece, and $30 each for my god-daughter and her sister, so that is a total of $160. Then I send a few regular cards out to a few folks, so I'll say $5 in additional cards and postage. That gives me a grand total of $225.
You'll probably notice that Mr. Sam is not on this list . . . Like Christmas, we don't gift to each other on Valentine's Day either.
How about you, how much did you spend on St. Valentine's Day?
Monday, January 7, 2013
January 2013 Spending Fast
We spent a ton of money in December and we also saved a ton of money in December in order to stretch to try and meet some of our 2012 savings goals.
December included two trips for me, one was solo and less expensive, but the other was with my husband and another couple and was pricey. The solo trip was unplanned so that means unaccounted travel expenses in December.
And of course, the holidays always fall in December. Despite the fact that we save and plan ahead for the holidays there are still always extra costs that pop up. A new outfit here, an extra dinner out, drinks with friends, etc.
Finally, we do much of our charitable giving at the end of the year. This year, we stretched and gave more than we normally do. I also paid off a charitable pledge to my university two years early, so that was an extra $420 in charitable giving dollars.
Put that all together and I feel like we've been keeping the economy going just with our family's spending. Add in the fact that we doubled down on our December savings to try and meet our 2012 goals and I feel like we have no money because we either saved it or spent it. So, it is time for another January spending fast.
If you've never heard of a spending fast, pick a time period (if 30 days is too long, do a 7 day, a 5 day [work week fast] or a weekend fast) and then simply don't spend money on anything unnecessary. So that means for January, you have got to avoid all the after holiday sales. No eating out, no ordering in, but of course you can still hit the grocery store.
What is your financial plan for January?
December included two trips for me, one was solo and less expensive, but the other was with my husband and another couple and was pricey. The solo trip was unplanned so that means unaccounted travel expenses in December.
And of course, the holidays always fall in December. Despite the fact that we save and plan ahead for the holidays there are still always extra costs that pop up. A new outfit here, an extra dinner out, drinks with friends, etc.
Finally, we do much of our charitable giving at the end of the year. This year, we stretched and gave more than we normally do. I also paid off a charitable pledge to my university two years early, so that was an extra $420 in charitable giving dollars.
Put that all together and I feel like we've been keeping the economy going just with our family's spending. Add in the fact that we doubled down on our December savings to try and meet our 2012 goals and I feel like we have no money because we either saved it or spent it. So, it is time for another January spending fast.
If you've never heard of a spending fast, pick a time period (if 30 days is too long, do a 7 day, a 5 day [work week fast] or a weekend fast) and then simply don't spend money on anything unnecessary. So that means for January, you have got to avoid all the after holiday sales. No eating out, no ordering in, but of course you can still hit the grocery store.
What is your financial plan for January?
Friday, January 4, 2013
Happy New Year!
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $34,000 (100%)(goal is $34,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $10,000 (100%)(goal is $10,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund - $10,000 (96%)(goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $3,741 (75%)(goal is $5,000)
(5) House projects - $1,600 (32%)(goal is $5,000)
(6) Trading account fund - $3,105 (62%)(goal is $5,000)
Total - $62,446 (91%)
Happy new year to you and yours.
I've tallied our final numbers and I'm happy to report that we completed several of our 2012 savings goals. First, we maxed out our tax advantaged savings opportunities by (1) maxing out our respective 401k plans and (2) maxing out our 2012 non-deductible IRAs. Additionally, we added $3691 to Mr. Sam's work retirement account via his spillover election.* And, as a result, Mr. Sam collected $4,823 in company match (the match monies are not captured in our savings calculation).
Additionally, we completed our goal to add another $10,000 to our emergency fund savings. We also put money towards paying down our mortgage and towards our house project fund.
While, we fell about $6500 short on our 2012 goals I am pleased with our overall progress. In addition to saving almost $62,500, we also refinanced our mortgage on our primary home (which will save us $180,000) and we spent about $15,000 on Mr. Sam's certification classes.
How did you do on your 2012 personal finance goals?
*More on this spillover option here.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
2012 Savings Goal - Update
(1) Max out 401k(s) - $33,293 (98%)(goal is $34,000)
(2) Max out IRA(s) - $10,000 (100%)(goal is $10,000)
(3) Add to e/r fund - $9,600 (96%)(goal is $10,000)
(4) Pay down mortgage - $2,490 (50%)(goal is $5,000)
(4)(a) Savings for goal (4) - $1,250
(5) House projects - $1,500 (30%)(goal is $5,000)
(6) Trading account fund - $50 (1%)(goal is $5,000)
Total - $58,183 (84%)
Well, the good news is we have finished maxing our our non-deductible IRAs for 2012. The other good news is that we are on track to max out our 401ks and to complete our emergency fund goal.
As, I posted previously, our revised* goal is to complete goals 1-4 which means that as of today, we have to save another $2,357 before the end of the year. I am confident that we can do it. We have, generally, completed our holiday spending (which is funded by our ING holiday savings account). I have a trip this weekend, that is paid for already. We, also, have a New Year's trip planned, we've paid for the condo for the trip, but we will have gas, grocery and misc. expenses associated with that trip. My hope and plan is to have our 2012 savings completed before we head off on our New Year's trip.
* We are $8,163 behind on our original 2012 goals.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Executing on the Holiday Plan
Earlier, I posted about our holiday plan and budget and since its Cyber Monday it is time for me to start executing on our plan.
As I previously posted, for the past few years we've been sending out holiday wreathes to our adult family members (we don't exchange holiday gifts with the adults in our family). The past few years the holiday wreath giving has also supported one of my favorite charities, but they have opted not to participate this year. So, I was thinking of sending wine from a winery we visited this year. But, that option ended up being too expensive and too complicated although I am going to order a 6 pack of wine to give as gifts locally (work and hostess gifts).
For the wreathes, I decided to go with L.L. Bean. First, L.L. Bean makes the wreathes right in Maine, so the company supports American workers. Second, the wreathes ended up costing about the same amount, with free shipping today and 10% off today, as the charity wreathes. Also, I will receive $40 in gift cards, $10 per $50 spent, which I can use for other holiday shopping.
As I previously posted, for the past few years we've been sending out holiday wreathes to our adult family members (we don't exchange holiday gifts with the adults in our family). The past few years the holiday wreath giving has also supported one of my favorite charities, but they have opted not to participate this year. So, I was thinking of sending wine from a winery we visited this year. But, that option ended up being too expensive and too complicated although I am going to order a 6 pack of wine to give as gifts locally (work and hostess gifts).
For the wreathes, I decided to go with L.L. Bean. First, L.L. Bean makes the wreathes right in Maine, so the company supports American workers. Second, the wreathes ended up costing about the same amount, with free shipping today and 10% off today, as the charity wreathes. Also, I will receive $40 in gift cards, $10 per $50 spent, which I can use for other holiday shopping.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Cooking Baby Steps - Part IV
Tuesday night, before Thanksgiving, is NOT the time for grocery shopping especially for someone, like me, who hates grocery shopping.
Yesterday, I left work early to do some pre-Thanksgiving charitable work. Nothing helps one be thankful for one's financial stability like helping to hand out groceries to working families in need. Then, even though I didn't want to go, I made myself go to the grocery store.
Rather than head to my local Publix, which is smallish, I went to the extra big Publix one town over. Even though I do my best to avoid grocery shopping I'm familiar enough with the big Publix to know my way around.
I arrived about 6:30 p.m. and went directly to the bakery section because I had a birthday cake to buy. But, since I'm a novice grocery shopper I didn't realize I could put in an icing order. So I snooped around the bakery for 5 minutes before deciding to come back at the end of my shopping.
I utilized my Publix shopping list which I created on the Publix web site. I found the list helpful but, as I mentioned before, I'd like it better if I could designate brands. I did
Overall I spent $189 so the list didn't help me save money. The spendy items on my list were: (1) 12 pack Corona Light at $12.99; (2) the birthday cake at $16.99; (3) Gruyere cheese at $12.50; (4) salmon at $15.96; (5) white wine at $9.59. So, $68.03 in extra spendy items. Corona light is actually a staple for us, we buy it regularly. The other items were triggered by guests coming into town, the birthday cake, wine and the salmon (to be used on Friday for a birthday dinner). The pricey cheese is for the Thanksgiving casserole I'm making for our group dinner.
But, I also recognize that I did save money by purchasing the birthday dinner supplies at the grocery store rather than footing the bill for dining out which would have reached at least $100. The salmon was actually on special and I "saved" $8.
I'm thinking of noting the prices in my saved Publix shopping list so I can get better at figuring out what is or is not a good price.
Yesterday, I left work early to do some pre-Thanksgiving charitable work. Nothing helps one be thankful for one's financial stability like helping to hand out groceries to working families in need. Then, even though I didn't want to go, I made myself go to the grocery store.
Rather than head to my local Publix, which is smallish, I went to the extra big Publix one town over. Even though I do my best to avoid grocery shopping I'm familiar enough with the big Publix to know my way around.
I arrived about 6:30 p.m. and went directly to the bakery section because I had a birthday cake to buy. But, since I'm a novice grocery shopper I didn't realize I could put in an icing order. So I snooped around the bakery for 5 minutes before deciding to come back at the end of my shopping.
I utilized my Publix shopping list which I created on the Publix web site. I found the list helpful but, as I mentioned before, I'd like it better if I could designate brands. I did
Overall I spent $189 so the list didn't help me save money. The spendy items on my list were: (1) 12 pack Corona Light at $12.99; (2) the birthday cake at $16.99; (3) Gruyere cheese at $12.50; (4) salmon at $15.96; (5) white wine at $9.59. So, $68.03 in extra spendy items. Corona light is actually a staple for us, we buy it regularly. The other items were triggered by guests coming into town, the birthday cake, wine and the salmon (to be used on Friday for a birthday dinner). The pricey cheese is for the Thanksgiving casserole I'm making for our group dinner.
But, I also recognize that I did save money by purchasing the birthday dinner supplies at the grocery store rather than footing the bill for dining out which would have reached at least $100. The salmon was actually on special and I "saved" $8.
I'm thinking of noting the prices in my saved Publix shopping list so I can get better at figuring out what is or is not a good price.
Monday, November 19, 2012
Cooking Baby Steps - Part III
Since its Thanksgiving week and since I will be doing some cooking for Thanksgiving dinner I was checking out the Publix web site to figure out their hours this week.
In looking at the Publix web site, I discovered that they have some helpful recipe tools and, more importantly, a grocery list tool. The grocery list tool can be personalized to your specific store and as you add items to the list it populates the location within the store so you don't have to wander around aimlessly. And, you can also add items from the weekly sale list and/or populate your grocery list from their recipe tools. You can also set up a standard grocery list of items that you buy regularly.
Since I am trying to do better on my cooking at home goal, I decided to sign up for a Publix profile. I am not a fan of having corporations track me and mine my data, but in order to save my grocery list I needed a profile. So I used my junk e-mail address (the one I use for shopping on-line) and when it asked for all my data I used my standard fake information which only includes my real zip code.
Once I had my Publix profile set up, I started adding items from my Thanksgiving recipe (I'm making one casserole dish for our group dinner) as well as regular items that I'll need to pick up since I'll have guests in town. The grocery list doesn't have each and every brand which is a bummer as it would be great if I could specify in my list the particular brands that I use (it does have a notes section where you can add that information).
Since we will have guests to cook for on Friday, I also tried out Publix's Simple Meals Recipe tool which is divided among different categories like "main dish" and "celebrations", etc. I clicked on main dish which has different categories like "beef", "vegetarian", "seafood (salmon)" and "seafood (shellfish)". I was already planning on salmon, so I clicked on a recipe that sounded easy and good and then it is one easy step to populate your grocery list with all the necessary items (you can delete those items that are already in your pantry). You can also save the recipes to your profile as well.
I plan to go shopping Tuesday evening, so I'll continue to work on my list between now and then and I'll report back on whether this tool is helpful or not. What do you do to make grocery shopping less painful?
In looking at the Publix web site, I discovered that they have some helpful recipe tools and, more importantly, a grocery list tool. The grocery list tool can be personalized to your specific store and as you add items to the list it populates the location within the store so you don't have to wander around aimlessly. And, you can also add items from the weekly sale list and/or populate your grocery list from their recipe tools. You can also set up a standard grocery list of items that you buy regularly.
Since I am trying to do better on my cooking at home goal, I decided to sign up for a Publix profile. I am not a fan of having corporations track me and mine my data, but in order to save my grocery list I needed a profile. So I used my junk e-mail address (the one I use for shopping on-line) and when it asked for all my data I used my standard fake information which only includes my real zip code.
Once I had my Publix profile set up, I started adding items from my Thanksgiving recipe (I'm making one casserole dish for our group dinner) as well as regular items that I'll need to pick up since I'll have guests in town. The grocery list doesn't have each and every brand which is a bummer as it would be great if I could specify in my list the particular brands that I use (it does have a notes section where you can add that information).
Since we will have guests to cook for on Friday, I also tried out Publix's Simple Meals Recipe tool which is divided among different categories like "main dish" and "celebrations", etc. I clicked on main dish which has different categories like "beef", "vegetarian", "seafood (salmon)" and "seafood (shellfish)". I was already planning on salmon, so I clicked on a recipe that sounded easy and good and then it is one easy step to populate your grocery list with all the necessary items (you can delete those items that are already in your pantry). You can also save the recipes to your profile as well.
I plan to go shopping Tuesday evening, so I'll continue to work on my list between now and then and I'll report back on whether this tool is helpful or not. What do you do to make grocery shopping less painful?
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Holiday Budget Planning
Since Thanksgiving is early this year (next week!), the time to get your holiday plan in order is quickly running out.
For us, our holiday plan will generally be the same as last year.
We have our holiday savings account, which we fund each pay period and keep at ING so we earn a little interest. The great part of setting up a holiday budget and plan, each year it is quick and easy work to adjust and replicate. For a lot of people, the word budget has a negative connotation, for us budget really means plan.
First, I have already ordered our holiday cards, this is an expensive part of our holiday plan since we send out about 80 cards. All together, with the printing of the cards and the postage this is going to run about $200. Another trick for holiday cards is to get your holiday addresses into an Excel spreadsheet so its easy to adjust the list from year to year.
Second, while we have a general agreement not to exchange gifts with the adults in our family (except for one or two holdouts) the past few years I have sent holiday wreathes which also supports a charity. Sending the wreathes runs about $200. I'm thinking of mixing this up this year as we visited a winery on our travels this past year and I was thinking of sending wine. This is something I need to investigate and figure out my plan.
Third, the kiddos in the family. I'm upping the budget for the kids this year. My nephew is in college now I'm increasing his holiday gift from $50 to $100 in cash. Of course, I need to do the same for his sister who is in high school (total $200). $50 in cash to the little ones and a little something gift (total $150). $50 each to college fund (total $200). So, this category is going from $250 last year to $550. That is a big increase in our holiday budget so we'll need to make an adjustment to our automatic savings plan for the holiday account for next year.
Fourth, I am budgeting $100 for work related gifts. This is an increase from last year,but I also missed my assistant's birthday so need to make that up.
Fifth, $100 for misc. expenses, baking supplies, hostess gifts, etc.
Sixth, $50 for stocking stuffers for my husband and dog.
This year we are again taking a trip over the New Year's weekend (this is budgeted in our travel fund) as such we won't be doing gifts to each other. We haven't done holiday gifts for each other in years.
Finally, $100 to sponsor a need child's Christmas.
Overall, our holiday budget will increase this year by @ $300. Since we already have saved $1000 (plus we have a bit of interest) the increase in our budget is manageable. I was surprised to hear that the amount we are planning to spend greatly exceeds the norm.
How about you, do you have a spending plan for the holidays, how much are you spending, is it going up or down or staying the same?
For us, our holiday plan will generally be the same as last year.
We have our holiday savings account, which we fund each pay period and keep at ING so we earn a little interest. The great part of setting up a holiday budget and plan, each year it is quick and easy work to adjust and replicate. For a lot of people, the word budget has a negative connotation, for us budget really means plan.
First, I have already ordered our holiday cards, this is an expensive part of our holiday plan since we send out about 80 cards. All together, with the printing of the cards and the postage this is going to run about $200. Another trick for holiday cards is to get your holiday addresses into an Excel spreadsheet so its easy to adjust the list from year to year.
Second, while we have a general agreement not to exchange gifts with the adults in our family (except for one or two holdouts) the past few years I have sent holiday wreathes which also supports a charity. Sending the wreathes runs about $200. I'm thinking of mixing this up this year as we visited a winery on our travels this past year and I was thinking of sending wine. This is something I need to investigate and figure out my plan.
Third, the kiddos in the family. I'm upping the budget for the kids this year. My nephew is in college now I'm increasing his holiday gift from $50 to $100 in cash. Of course, I need to do the same for his sister who is in high school (total $200). $50 in cash to the little ones and a little something gift (total $150). $50 each to college fund (total $200). So, this category is going from $250 last year to $550. That is a big increase in our holiday budget so we'll need to make an adjustment to our automatic savings plan for the holiday account for next year.
Fourth, I am budgeting $100 for work related gifts. This is an increase from last year,but I also missed my assistant's birthday so need to make that up.
Fifth, $100 for misc. expenses, baking supplies, hostess gifts, etc.
Sixth, $50 for stocking stuffers for my husband and dog.
This year we are again taking a trip over the New Year's weekend (this is budgeted in our travel fund) as such we won't be doing gifts to each other. We haven't done holiday gifts for each other in years.
Finally, $100 to sponsor a need child's Christmas.
Overall, our holiday budget will increase this year by @ $300. Since we already have saved $1000 (plus we have a bit of interest) the increase in our budget is manageable. I was surprised to hear that the amount we are planning to spend greatly exceeds the norm.
How about you, do you have a spending plan for the holidays, how much are you spending, is it going up or down or staying the same?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)