Ms. Money Savvy

Almost There!

savvy — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 14:54:16 +0000

As of last night, we have maxed out Mr. Savvy’s IRA for 2009. Tomorrow is payday and we will send the final $850 to mine. So the first goal of the year will be completed ahead of schedule (last day is April 15th). Yay!

I haven’t been putting much extra to the car loan so that we could focus on the IRAs. However, now that’s out of the way, the car loan is in my sights. The goal is still have that paid off by June 30th. After that, I plan to bolster our ’slush’ savings then splurge on some home theatre seating for the basement (aka Man Cave). How are you faring with your goals?

You Get What You Pay For

savvy — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:55:57 +0000

Mr. Savvy and I are going on a couple of ski trips soon and I need some new thermals. However, being the cheapskate that I am, I didn’t want to shell out the big bucks for brands like UnderArmour. I searched a number of sites and found a set on clearance at Sierra Trading Post. A mere $23 including shipping. Fantastic, right? Wrong!

I opened the package this weekend and was SORELY disappointed. The fabric was cheap and had a chemical-y smell. The color of the top and the bottom weren’t even remotely close. Needless to say, that crap is now repackaged and on its way back to Sierra Trading Post. I guess I’ll have to bite the bullet and pay for the good stuff. Has being cheap ever backfired on you?

I Was Blind but Now I See

savvy — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 15:50:42 +0000

Every year, I set some money aside in our flexible spending account. I never put much since it’s use it or lose it. This year we allocated $300 because I knew I needed some new glasses. It’s been two years since my last pair of lenses and I knew my prescription had slightly changed since then.

So this Saturday, Mr. Savvy and I headed to LensCrafters. One hour later, we were $600 poorer. Ugh! A new pair of prescription glasses for me (for reading at work) plus ANOTHER pair of prescription glasses for me (for driving at night) and a pair of non-prescription sunglasses for hubby. I feel like an old lady with all these glasses and of course, insurance only covered the first pair. It was a semi-unplanned expense but as fortune would have it, I got an expected sum of money recently.

In other news, $1800 left to max out my 2009 IRA and ~$7000 left on the car loan. I should meet both of those goals but it will be down to the wire (April 15th and June 30th, respectively) for both. After that, I will boost my ’slush’ savings a bit. We have several weddings to attend this year (as well as wedding gifts to buy) and we want to get some new furniture for the basement. Up next, a few decisions we need to make soon.

Technical Difficulties

savvy — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:50:13 +0000

My apologies for the recent technical difficulties. I’m back up and running. That said, I spent Saturday doing our taxes. There are a few forms that we’re waiting on (I’m looking at you ShareBuilder) but other than that, we’re done. While we owe less than I thought we would, it’s still a bundle. Therefore, we either need to start making quarterly estimated payments or have extra withheld from our paychecks.

In other financial news, I’m still on track to have my car paid off by June but it’s debatable whether or not I’ll max out my IRA. I was a bad girl and dropped some loot to go on a ski trip in April. I also have spent entirely too much money at the hair salon but we won’t talk about that. There are a couple of other financial decisions in the works but I’ll discuss those later. We’re one month into the new year. How are YOU faring with your financial goals?

Two steps forward, two steps back

savvy — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:44:21 +0000

Well, I’ve been good about bringing my lunch to work 2-3 days per week. I’ve even gotten Mr. Savvy on board a little bit. However, whatever I saved has been spent.

I had to take my car to the dealer on Friday. Thankfully it was still under warranty but I still had to pay a $50 deductible. I also paid for an Eharmony subscription for my dad. He just doesn’t know it yet And last but not least, I decided to stop being a couch potato and to start working out again. So I bought a workout DVD ($14) and two sets of free weights ($24) over the weekend. I’m sore but the results will be worth it.

I DID send an extra $50 (I think) to my car loan so that was good. I need to update the sidebar. My target for having that paid off is June 30. Are you making progress on your 2010 goals?

Happy New Year

savvy — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 16:00:02 +0000

photo credit: jurvetson

Happy New Year to everyone! The partying is over and now it’s time to head back into reality. I start back at work and school on Monday. I didn’t make any resolutions but I do have a few financial goals for 2010. Unfortunately, I may be stymied by the fact that our bills are increasing. I got a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow payment is going up ~$110/month! This is because both our property tax and insurance have gone up. Bleh. Next, we got a notice from DirecTV that they’re raising their prices. I asked Mr. Savvy to call and cancel some of our services but I think he’s addicted.

That said, my first goal for this year is to finish maxing out my IRA for 2009. I’ve contributed $2000 thus far so I need to contribute another $3000 prior to April 15th. I could have accomplished this already if we hadn’t gone on so many trips this year but such is life. Next up is to have my car paid off by June 30th. When I bought the car, my goal was to pay off the loan as aggressively as possible but I was a bad girl and life/fun got in the way. We’ve taken numerous trips, built a patio in the backyard, bought dining room furniture, etc. Those are the only two goals I’m going to set for now because those are most important to me. Once I get the car paid off, I’ll set some new goals. I’ll also be adding some graphs to the sidebar to get up with my progress. What are your financial goals for this year?

Year-End Money Moves

savvy — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:19:14 +0000

The end of the year is fast-approaching. That means I spent a few hours yesterday looking at our finances. Due to an extra paycheck that I wasn’t expecting (it was scheduled for Friday 1/1 but that’s a holiday so it was moved to Thursday 12/31), I was able to max out my 401k. I originally expected to be a few hundred dollars short so that was a pleasant surprise. However, Mr. Savvy is on the same pay schedule as me. That meant he exceeded the max by several hundred dollars. That money went into after-tax contributions. I guess it’s done now but I would have much rather that money go into his SEP-IRA instead.

Next, I tallied up my total income for the year, including the extra paycheck. I sent an extra payment to our church online to ‘true up’ my tithe for the year. I also need to remember to take the bag of stuff in my closet to Goodwill before the year is over.

Next, I sent another $200 to my IRA. I’m nowhere near maxing that out but will before the April 15 deadline. Once I’m done contributing, I will do a Roth conversion. I also took a look at our asset allocation. There are a few tweaks to be made but there’s no rush for that. What year-end money moves are you making?

Stupid Money Tricks

savvy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 21:47:15 +0000

photo credit: goto10

In my zeal to get rid of all my ‘excess’ bank accounts, I forgot one small detail…the mortgage comes out of the ING checking account. I had already transferred all the money out when the December payment posted, or at least tried to post. Of course, ING rejected the payment and sent me an e-mail. When I get home tonight, I’ll log on to the mortgage site and see what the damage is. I’m pretty sure it will be at least $25 for a returned payment. Doh!

Have you made any stupid money mistakes lately?

K.I.S.S.

savvy — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:00:28 +0000

photo credit: jannemei

K.I.S.S. Keep it simple, silly. I decided that our finances have gotten much too complicated as of late. Three checking accounts and five savings accounts are just too much. As as of December 1, it will be bye-bye ING. Though I love them and have been happy with them, there’s no longer the need for them. The joint checking account will be closed and those bills will be paid from one of our credit union accounts. The two savings accounts have already been closed and the money put into the credit union account. So we’ll be down to two checking accounts and three savings accounts – maybe still a bit much, but better.

Next up on the chopping block will be ShareBuilder. As of today, I’ve sold the stock from my brokerage account and the proceeds will be put into my traditional IRA. So that account should be closed by December 1 as well. I’m also strongly considering moving my ShareBuilder Roth IRA to the brokerage where I have my traditional IRA. That will mean one less account to track and easier asset allocation.

How many accounts do you have? Do you think it’s too many? What are you doing to simplify your finances this year?

So You Want a House – Part 4

savvy — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:03:15 +0000

I may come back to saving on discretionary spending but a convo had with a friend makes me think this aspect is much more important. JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN AFFORD A MORTGAGE DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN AFFORD A HOUSE! The fact you that you pay $900/month for rent doesn’t mean you can afford a $900/month mortgage. Why not, you ask. Because there’s a lot more to it than just paying the mortgage.

When you use those nifty online calculators that tell you how much house you can afford, it only gives you principal and interest (P&I) which may well be $900/month…BUT wonderful homeowner you are, you have to pay property tax and homeowner’s insurance now. Generally speaking, neither one of those is cheap. Unless you have a downpayment of 20% or more, you will usually have to pay into an escrow account. This means you pay property tax and insurance along with your mortgage every month and the mortgage company pays those two bills for you. So you thought you’d be paying $900/month but you’re really paying $1050/month (for example).

Also, if you live in a townhouse or condo (and sometimes for single family homes too), you will be paying HOA fees. For a nice complex, you can expect $100+/month. Depending on where you live, this might cover garbage and/or water and it generally covers basic outdoor maintenance. So now your $900/month mortgage has turned into $1150/month and you haven’t paid any other bills or bought any groceries.

Your utilities will probably go up, especially if you have natural gas heat (vs electricity). And guess what else? Houses need stuff. No, you won’t buy all that stuff at once but for the first year, expect to drain your wallet on “house stuff”. From lawnmowers to towel racks to blinds, there will ALWAYS be something you need to buy and I’m not even talking about decorating. So you should budget an extra $250/month for increased utilities and “stuff”. Now a $900/month mortgage has turned into $1400/month of expenses. Still think you can afford it?