y’all just don’t know
I’m doing better than I was. I should finally be out of credit card debt, AGAIN, by the end of this month. I’ve done the math. It was hard – there’s my account, there’s the Anthill account, there’s the W4 filing, saving for the wedding – all of that has to be coordinated. It took a long time just to figure February out. I’m trying to automate as much as possible. Easier said than done. Since there’s a first time for everything and you can only pay bills based on what’s in your account at particular times, there was a lot of “calendaring” the money coming in and the money that needed to come out. February is pretty much good to go. I’m hoping that, between Mister Ant and I, we’ll be able to put this thing on autopilot by the time the snow finally melts…
That should give me some time.
management
So… I haven’t done anything but spend money since my last few posts. No budget, no checkbook balancing, nothing. I’ve been so busy! This is going to be harder than I thought…
Apparently time management is as important to money management as money management.
I have to make the time to manage the money, or it’s just like letting a lawn go crazy without ever trimming it. I’m feeling like my “money lawn” is looking really chaotic right now. It’s a new year, and I have new priorities that need to be taken care of. I can’t just let things go wild around here. I am the CFO of the household. If I don’t pay attention, and Mister Ant is trusting me to keep up with our business, then things can go bad. Really bad.
I got a call from my aunt today about refinancing her mortgage – she had a question about how it might work. I could tell from our conversation that she is the CFO of her household, too. She asked a really good question about the bank’s motivation for offering the refinance: “What’s in it for them?” I was inspired by the thought and care that she is putting into finding out whether the refinance makes sense for her family.
I’m going to get to work. I’ll do a little bit right now, and the full monty over the weekend.
algebra?
Mister Ant and I are putting our finances together. For us, that means checking our credit reports, figuring out how a joint account could benefit us, and working together on debt reduction (mostly student loans and the mortgage) and savings for long-term goals. I actually had to do some algebra! We now know what percentage from our respective checks is enough to take care of household expenses. It’s a different dollar amount for each of us, because we have different salaries, but it’s the same percentage, so neither of us gets burdened more than the other – or in other words, a fifth is a fifth, a quarter is a quarter, or a third is a third for either of us. Our percentage is 32%. This means that 1/3 of our collective net monthly income pays all the household bills, so if each of us put 32% of our income in a joint account, it would cover things like the mortgage, household incidentals, utilities, entertainment, etc. This would leave us with 2/3 of our net monthly income to divvy up for savings, debt reduction, and a spending allowance.
That’s just the beginning, though. We should also have to figure out a percentage for joint savings goals, once we nail down a joint debt reduction plan. The days of splitting bills like roommates are over. Soon, our joint checking account will be paying our bills, instead of one of us reimbursing the other for their share of paid bills. But this takes a while, with all the other things we’re busy with to distract us. There’s lots of scribbling, and lots of communicating. But it will all be worth it. Our opinion is that money should be the last thing we have to worry or argue about as a married couple if we’re proactive and smart about our money management.
Mister Ant is happy I’m blogging again. He wanted me to tell you guys Hi!
*sigh* happy new year
Oh the horror!
The triumphant spirit I had this time last year has given way to contrition this year. If I don’t want to feel like this in 2011, some things are going to have to change.
I made a deal with myself that I could keep my head in the sand until the end of December. I allowed myself to turn a blind eye to the hard numbers, buy whatever Christmas presents I wanted, eat lunch out if I felt like it, ignore contributing to my retirement account or my stock purchases, ignore my debt reduction goals… I did all of that. I am done with that. This has been such a mediocre year! I feel like I haven’t moved forward and like I’ve abandoned my goals.
I’ve been so busy with my new work hours and other activities, and I used that as an excuse to slack off on my diligence with checking the numbers and blogging about my progress or the lack thereof. I even finished 2009 with credit card debt because of a house improvement and a very expensive engagement gift I wanted to buy.
Which brings me to my newest motivation – marriage and babies are only as imminent as my (our) ability to handle our money correctly and progressively. I have a renewed commitment to debt reduction. The credit card debt will be gone by the end of the month. The medical bills will be gone by June. The car note will be gone by June 2011, and only because we have to save for our ceremony, since we will not incur debt for it. by June 2011 – mark my words – my only debt will be the mortgage and the student loans, provided the Lord helps us to avoid emergencies.
Regarding savings, I have found that it’s harder to keep the money I save. This year, I wound up spending what I saved so that I can avoid using credit cards and avoid raiding the savings I had already. I’m not completely uncomfortable with this, but I would like to increase my savings. So, I’m counting on the 7.6% raise I got at the end of the year and the 401K program at work, which kicks in for me in a few months, to help me feel like I’m making saving progress.
My challenges to debt reduction and savings will be home decorations (we’ve made improvements/repairs but hardly any decorations) and the wedding ceremony. I hope to do everything for the cheapest prices we can get, and I’m willing to compromise on those things in order to achieve the goals I want. I have to use better time management and abandon my excuses if I want to do that! So here goes…
Oh and one more thing, I told myself that I would only update the value of my home once a year, so there it is. My actual net worth progress has been kind of stagnant, and the bump seen this month is due primarily to the increase in the market value of the house (which I listed conservatively last year).
communicate with your mate about money
Presented without comment (but one disclaimer – that ain’t me) for your viewing pleasure:
The Ant and the Co-worker
Once upon a time, an Ant started a job. She had been working at the job for maybe three months, and then one of her co-workers invited her out to lunch. The Ant and the Coworker chowed down over salads, chatting in a friendly way, and then the tone of the conversation changed when the Coworker got to her real motive for asking the Ant out to lunch.
“You’re getting screwed over,” the Coworker told her younger companion. “I’ve been working here for years, and I know how these guys operate. I handled the paperwork for the applicants for your job. I’ve seen your qualifications. They are not paying you enough.”
This took the Ant by surprise. When she interviewed for the job and accepted it, the compensation was more than her last job, and that’s all she really cared about. She figured that she’d made a good career move simply by ceasing to be unemployed and making more money. But she hadn’t done any research about how much money she should have been paid. She didn’t try to negotiate for a higher salary. In fact, the Ant didn’t really know anyone who worked in positions where the pay rate was negotiated. Coming from a working-class background, every one she knew was simply glad to get whatever was offered. She lamented not having done salary research and negotiation after her lunch with Coworker. After working at the company for a while, the Ant discovered what some of her other co-workers were making. Whaddaya know? The Coworker was right! You know, the Ant worked for this company just long enough to get laid off in time for the annual raises, and was laid off just after becoming eligible to invest in the company’s retirement plan. You know, “last hired, first fired” when the times in the industry got tough.
There’s one other thing about this story… the Ant and the Coworker were both black women. Coincidentally or not, the management and other co-workers were white males.
I thought of this story when I read this article about how minorities with degrees are still getting paid less than their white counterparts with similar credentials in the workplace. I think that in this story, the societal stratification by race that persists among races over generations may have had a part to play. I’m supposing that a larger percentage of minorities with degrees are first-time college graduates. I’m also supposing that many lower-income and/or working class people simply do not negotiate salary. They can’t teach their children about negotiating salaries from a position of experience. Their children may even seek and obtain higher education – bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and yet, certain professional necessities are not a part of their experience, like networking and negotiation. These factors can help to make all the difference in a young worker’s upward mobility, snowballing in their compensation rates over time. These effect of these disadvantages may or may not be amplified by racism, depending on the situation.
My advice to any workers of any race or gender is that it is important to learn and understand your worth, increase your bargaining power in the labor marketplace by strengthening what you have to offer, and learn how to use your contacts to your advantage, be it through mentorship relationships or getting inside information on how your industry works. As the Coworker did with the Ant, each one, teach one. It can’t be said enough.
homeowner adjustments
It cost Mister Ant and I $300 more to live in this house during April ‘09 than it cost us to live in our old apartment during April ‘08. As adjustments go, that’s not bad at all. But we’ve only been living in the house for three months now. I imagine there is still a lot to learn about what it really costs to live here, since we haven’t gone through all four seasons, and we haven’t finished making changes and weatherizing and stuff like that. I know about the $300 difference because every month, I (since I’m the designated family bookkeeper and money geek) tally up receipts for the money we spent to maintain our household. It’s part of our system for splitting expenses fairly each month. We save the tally in a spreadsheet, which is great for looking at expenses and figuring out if there are changes we can make, or seeing how lifestyle changes affect our finances.
From my spreadsheet, I know that on average, utilities cost about $90 more each month than they did before we moved, because we’re heating more space, using appliances we didn’t have before, and paying a water and sewer bill, which we didn’t have to do when we were renters. The other additional bill is the security alarm, which is a must in our neighborhood, or so all the neighbors’ security system signs indicate. We’re also spending more on food. We’re buying things that are on sale in higher quantities now, since we have room to store the surplus. We are also eating out less, because cooking in the kitchen – a real kitchen with nice appliances and real counter space – is enjoyable now, and we’re trying to be healthier, so that’s the other reason we’re buying more groceries. I wasn’t tracking our individual spending on eating out, but I know I have personally spent much less on eating out since we’ve been in the house. Our “miscellaneous” category is bigger sometimes too, since that’s where we include stuff like the mattress and linens we bought last month, or the bedroom decorations and gardening things I’ll be picking up in the future. As the house starts to look more like what we want it to look, expenses like these won’t pop up as often. The miscellaneous expenses could be bigger now, but I’m taking my time on decorating until my income picks back up.
We knew when we made the transition from a small one bedroom flat to a three bedroom house that household expenses would pick up. I actually expected the adjustment to be worse, and I’m glad to see that we are handling the expenses so well. Now that a few months have passed, I am actually able to afford to save money, and so is Mister Ant. It’s going to be even better when I start working again!
less than
I estimated $50 for expenses on the trip. It came out to $44. And that’s all I spent, all weekend.
That makes me smile. I also lucked out and got some chair pads for my dining room chairs from the folks. Unfortunately, I also came home with a bunch of stuff I’m going to have to throw out or give away that was in their attic. LOL!
Anyway, it was time and money well spent, and I’m really glad for that weekend road trip. You know what, I wound up talking about money more than I thought. My aunt had some questions about a retirement fund that I was able to answer. My cousin had some tax issues that I was able to advise on. I suspect that one of these days, all this knowledge I’m picking up is going to make me some money.
each one teach one
Mister Ant is filing his tax returns this week. He used to send his papers with his family’s accountant. But really, his taxes are so simple, that he shouldn’t pay any one else to do them. So this year, I persuaded him to do them himself. I referred him to the IRS’ Free File program to H&R Block’s Tax Cut online, which I have been using for years. Then we hopped over to our state’s free electronic filing website. Now Mister Ant is expecting refunds, and he didn’t have to pay any fees to get it done! I’m so proud.
If you haven’t taken care of your taxes yet, please do so. You don’t want to wait until the last minute and chance finding out that you’re missing a document or that you have a question that you need answered.
now it feels like spring
Can you believe I had to blink, twice, to confirm that my unemployment benefits were actually sitting in my bank account yesterday? Whew. I paid all my remaining bills for the month and the beginning of April, except the mortgage, which I’ll take care of when I get my next check.
And I’m not sure what it was that happened, the recent bit of warm weather, or maybe the realization that I really haven’t had company yet, but I finally got my second whirlwind when it comes to the house. I still have about five or six unpacked boxes (I’ve been saving pictures and knick knacks for last) and quite a few more other things to get to. I’ve changed my mind on my bedroom color so many times I’ve lost count, so I still haven’t painted it. I’ve got some sorting to do in my office. And without even getting to my furniture wish list, there are some inexpensive finishing touches I want to pick up – a couple kitchen mats, small lamps, throw pillows, a table runner, some candles… Mister Ant and I have discussed going forward and we will do what’s within our financial reach. Now I have something to distract me when each day’s job hunting is done.
