Just a smattering of my thoughts during my holiday hiatus!
Wed, Nov 14 – It’s been a pretty low key week. Work is still busy, but manageable. Calls are steady but I’m not as affected, I suppose. Got so excited with only 1.5 months left in the year (50-ish days or so), I started plotting next year’s budget for target expenses and target savings. I think I might be able to eek out 45k in savings. I used the generic salary estimator.
I wanted to wait until the end of 2019 to see my true expenses in this my first year tracking, but I got too excited! Currently, I am allegedly trying to spend 30k in expenses, but with 2019, I am shooting for 26k. If it starts to feel too tight, I can always adjust, but it will be cool to save 45k. I did some quick math a couple weekends ago, and I think I hit 50% savings rate in 2016 before I even knew about FIRE. So even if I don’t get to 45k (i.e. if it’s too much pressure), 50% savings (about $34k) is still pretty amazing!
Wed, Nov 21-Had an I-love-my-life moment last night! I am happiest with sunny weather and a cool breeze, juicy take-out and a TV marathon waiting. I can’t believe tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I’ve had a few nice friends-givings in the past. Do I miss my friends? I can’t decide. Tested the waters a few times this year and the jury’s still out. Desire to share my blog from people from my past has lessened.
Speaking of the blog, even though I’m supposed to be on hiatus I have still been checking the email and stats. I know, ugh. Oh well. I keep trying to set milestones and goals to hit.
I’ll be turning 35 in March and it seems like a good inflection point. I want to have all these things to show for it, and I do... but it’s not the normal things: marriage, baby, house. So then it makes me think I have nothing to show for it. Sometimes I wish I wanted those things just to make the passage of time more memorable and “normal.” Otherwise I feel sort of aimless. But I know it’s because I have different aims, namely not those things. I just don’t know what I’m moving towards, but when I look around no one is moving toward anything. Yet they seem so satisfied with that.
Put wings in the Crockpot before work. I hope they are delicious. So much for meat-free Wednesdays. Sorry, God. Sometimes I think life would make more sense if I didn’t believe in God. I don’t think I would be as disappointed.
My latest life plan outside of joining the circus is to apply for a language learning fellowship. I think I would enjoy that. Quick search showed you sort of still need to be in college. Womp, womp. I think what I am realizing after three years of searching is that when I’m compelled enough, I’ll make the next step. The searching is just causing for-nothing anxiety. It’s like forcing myself to floss nightly or clean once a week. Good in theory, but I’m at the point in my life where I’m more motivated by necessity. And then someone at work mentioned they were laid off from their last job and jobs in our field are hard to come by. I don’t 100% believe that, but it’s not unreasonable to think that.
Fri, Nov 23 -I remember a time when we used to get up early to go Black Friday shopping. Those were fun days. I don’t do it now because I have nothing to shop for. It was fun though. I try to muster something I might want when I start seeing the commercials, but so far have come up with nothing. Have been thinking about a new countertop oven but really don’t want to have to read anymore reviews or spend any time looking for “the best one.”
Work today. Came up with yet another new life plan. This time, I work for two more years. Then relax for 10 years. That was 9a. By 11a it was back to work until Jan or March then relax for 1 year. Oy ve!
Tues, Nov 27- All the things! Read 50 Shades of Grey. Wow! No words, but so many thoughts! Got some new pants. I couldn’t fit into any of my old ones and there is a bit of a chill in the air. At least yesterday. Today is quite nice. They’re comfy pants, borderline loungewear. Kept the tags on in case I get disapproving looks at work. Less than $20 from Walmart. Oh finally made it to Walmart. Been so long. Got some new sauces to try in Crockpot.
Other news. Grr… thinking more about leaving work in March. Couple different ideas swirling of what to do. Lounge around or do some volunteer work. Ugh, kind of don’t want to move. But kind of do.
Wed, Dec 5-Been feeling really settled the last couple days maybe even the last week. I might even round settled up to happy. I think because it’s the end of the year and there aren't really any big decisions to make. All I really have to do is...well nothing. All my angst for trying to do something big, or meaningful, or worthwhile in 2019 has unexpectedly been pushed to the side.
Yesterday I stopped at the Asian market and bought Japanese potatoes, cassava, and mango. Mangoes were out of season but I bought them anyway. So what. I don’t know what I feel, it’s been awhile since I’ve felt such little angst. Just yesterday I had a few hours of not-this-again with Aunty MERJ’s finance. New bills popped up from over a year ago and she’s still withdrawing cash to “buy her things.” Whatever.
For awhile I was trying to figure out what great thing I can do by my 35th birthday in 3 months. I don't know what that great thing is, but it certainly is NOT: buying a new house; FIRE; moving; getting a new job; waking up with a life-purpose. Whatever.
Right now I just feel acceptance. I got through 2018 hemming and hawing all the way. I have a preliminary budget for 2019. Finances were sort of the least of my worries, so I’m grateful for that. If something expensive popped up that I could convince myself I wanted, I would buy it.
While I have no grand plans, I am comforted by the fact that I have enough. I’ve given myself permission to take off time from work, and up to 1 year can be funded without much planning. That is comforting. I keep getting stuck in the plans and trying to make that time off useful, but a quiet voice in my mind is telling me just to do it anyway, who cares? So what, it whispers. I can recover from a year… I think. But don’t think on it too long, the voice says, or you’ll never do it.
I guess this is my reckless/luxury purchase. One year of freedom from responsibility and structure. Yet I know it will surely add time to my ever changing FIRE date, but I’m so blinded by the instant pleasure I foresee, I can’t think straight.
Thu, Dec 6- I was happy just yesterday. Spent at least an hour making scratch notes of an escape. Made a 3 column chart comparing the English teaching programs in Spain, Japan, and Korea. Unfortunately none are leaving in March.
I know I’m a whole lot more convinced about leaving work sooner rather than later. One milestone I might hit is getting to 100k in investment, which if all goes well, I should hit by end of March 2019. That’s my birthday month. I’m turning 35. Perfect time to make a big move. Only thing is I hate spring and summer in NC. It’s hot and miserable and polleny. I can’t go out doors. I end up just being sick for 3 months. If I’m going to be under the weather, might as well get paid.
Ideally, I would want to start my break in October if I’m going to be in NC. Then I think, why waste my free time staying in a place I don’t particularly care for. The answer is: because I’m here right now.
And so I’m back in the loop of trying to plot the ideal getaway. To escape the loop, my brain just tells me to cut it out and do something already! So there you have it. Another mental unending loop in the life of a single girl.
Fri, Dec 7 - Oh Glorious Friday! It’s 2p right now and it’s been a pretty great day so far. All is good again. Did not enjoy waking up earlier to go to dentist appointment, but took a nice warm shower and washed my hair. So fresh and so clean! No cavities and hygienist didn’t even have to do much scraping. They must’ve had a bad week at the dental practice because they kept praising me on my dental hygiene which in my opinion is pretty haphazard at best (I only brush on the weekdays…shhhhh).
Read some blog posts last night on the Spanish government English teaching program. So far it’s a front runner for what I am looking for, namely a small workload.
My new life plan:
Work till Sept 30, 2019.
Break from Oct 1, 2019 to March 31, 2020.
Work from April 1, 2020 until Aug 31, 2020 (tentative because not sure how to swing that).
Sept 1, 2020 Leave for Spanish English teaching job.
The applications for teaching in Spain in 2019 haven’t closed yet, but I do want to have my time off in the fall. Just a nice cozy fall before a big adventure is what I’m picturing. I don’t particularly enjoy spring/summer in NC so I’d rather just work and have them pay for air conditioning all day. Plus, Brain is telling me to save just a bit more money. For now that seems to make sense.
Had an interviewee sit with me at work today. Made me remember that my job is a pretty sweet gig. I don’t know why I give such a fuss about coming here everyday.
Also a quick chat with my dental hygienist, who incidentally is also from California, got me thinking that maybe my time in California is really done (for now). It really would be expensive to live on my own. And it really would be me starting all over again. Did I love California that much to do that? In this moment, no. I still have Missoula, MT in the back of my mind though.
11 Months of Income and Expenses in 2018
Well, if you knew me in real life, you would know sometimes I get really excited and can't contain it. Some might call this anxiousness. Potato, potahto. Anyway, I've been perusing my income and expenses and I just can't wait the two weeks for December to end to have a more complete picture of my income and expenses for the year.
I've also been sick for a week with little else to do other than blink and breathe, and I want to knock out some of these updates before my scheduled vacation days next week. So I'm cheating a little bit.
Thus, I bring you a sneak peek at my income and expenses for 2018! Check out how the single girl did, and tell me your thoughts. Remember this is only eleven months of expenses and income (Jan to Nov), but with only two weeks of the year left, I don't expect much to change unless my body or my car dies. God forbid.
Income
Here's a screenshot from Google Sheets of my income for 11.5 months. My first of two December paychecks is included just to keep it confusing.
My Paycheck is from my full-time call center job. Paycheck is sans 401k contributions and after tax. As you can see it varies because we get paid from the 1st to the 15th and then the 16th to the 31st. So sometimes, that's a lot of hours, sometimes it's just 80 hours. Bonus is annually based on secret metrics. Refunds are for things I return to the store after I buy them and realize I didn't actually need to buy that. Thank you generous return policies. Side hustle is my foray into the side hustling so common in the personal finance (PF) blogosphere. Let me tell you, I didn't love it.
As you can see, I started out doing Roth 401k contributions, then after immersing myself in the PF blogosphere I went with traditional 401k contributions. The conventional wisdom is to go with traditional if you think your tax rate will be lower in retirement anyway.
YTD Total Income (incl 401k contributions): $72,848
Expenses
Here's a screenshot from my spreadsheet. As I got through the narrative, I realized a couple expenses were left off and were subsequently updated. So some totals may differ from the screenshot. That's what happens when you have a human doing a robot's job.
A close-up of totals, YTD, Jan to Nov 2018.
| Total | |
| Aunty MERJ | $5,251 |
| Debt | $6,835 |
| Education | $0 |
| Entertainment | $320 |
| Everyday | $2,795 |
| Gifts/Tithe | $106 |
| Health/medical | $2,037 |
| Home | $11,175 |
| Insurance | $0 |
| Savings/Investing | $39,287 |
| Technology | $280 |
| Transportation | $1,308 |
| Travel | $520 |
| Utilities | $424 |
| Other | $148 |
YTD Total Expenses = $70, 485
YTD Total Expenses - Savings = $31,198
The Breakdown
Aunty MERJ: $5,251
Expenses for Aunty MERJ I count toward my tithe. I don't belong to a particular church, but I still tithe in terms of trying to give away 10% of my spending budget. For 2018, my spending budget was estimated to be $30,000, so 10% of that would be $3,000. I went a bit over with Aunty MERJ as her health rapidly declined and took her mood with it.
These expenses included visits to Florida and paying Aunty MERJ's rent while I got a handle on her finances.
Debt: $6,835
My whopping $300,000 student loan debt. I sacrilegiously have chosen not to pay off this debt. I know, I know. I am on income-based repayment for the next 25 years.
Entertainment: $320
This was one fitness class ($88), tickets to the state fair ($14), and three months of cable ($43/mon). Yes, I know. I still have cable. Last year I was spending $90/mon on cable though, so this is an improvement. My hack was using the DirecTV Now app vs regular Time Warner cable through a cord. DirecTV Now app is loaded on the Roku stick so you can still watch TV on the big screen vs a laptop. And I still get the same channels. A good binge watch + yummy snacks = favorite single girl pastime.
Everyday: $2,795
These expenses include Groceries, Restaurants, and Personal Supplies. On average, I seem to spend about $250/mon in this category as a whole. That's pretty good considering I budgeted $200/mon just on Groceries alone. For an itemized breakdown, in the last 11 months, I spent $1,281 on Groceries for one single girl, and $868 on Restaurants. Monthly, that's an average of about $117/mon on Groceries and about $79/mon on Restaurants. Not bad!
Gifts/Tithe: $106
I gave some money to my other aunt who helped me out during my surgery. My little cousins were going to prom and wanted to buy prom tickets.
Health/ Medical: $2,037
This category was a stunner this year. I had leftover dental work from 2017 that needed to be completed. I also had surgery. This is with health insurance. But, I thank God anyway. This year was a year of ailments from the root canal, to the surgery, to back and tailbone pain to recurring respiratory distress. As I type this I am hacking my life away with acute bronchitis - a single girl first. I don't know what's going on. Is this what 35 has in store for me?
Home: $11,175
No real surprises here. My rent went up but overall with utilities I stay around $1,000/mon to house myself. As an aside, there is a new mattress ($708) factored into this total as well. Continuing, I have considered home ownership but I can't afford anything where I currently live and I'm not ready to give up my pretty easy commute. I know- another blasphemous proposition for the single girl. Plus, if I'm honest, the numbers didn't work for me without a long term plan to stay in the area. It would take five to seven years to break even and that's with moving 1 hour away.
Savings/Investing: $39,287 (really about $36,287)
This is my first year actively investing, and by actively I mean fully contributing to my employer's 401k plan and opening my first brokerage account. After much deliberation, I decided to go traditional on the 401k. No real rhyme or reason in the end. The first blogger I read did it, so I did it too. Plus it keeps my adjusted gross income down for my income based student loan repayment. My savings goal for the year was $37,000 and I'm just about there. Thank the Lord! The $3,000 difference is because some of that was money I earned in 2017 that was hanging out in my checking and savings while I got comfortable with this whole financial independence thing. So far, so meh. More on that later...
Technology: $280
This is a few false starts with the blog mainly. Most of this was refunded just not captured in the way I charted my expenses for this category.
Transportation: $1,308
This was the category I was most looking forward to. I didn't have a clear picture of what it costs to own a car each year after monthly payments are done. Now I have some idea. I drive a 2007 Honda that I bought new, and I'm curious to see how long I will be able to drive it. It has close to 150,000 miles and still runs fine. When it's time for my next car, it will be nice to have some accounting of the true cost of owning a car.
This category captured: fuel, insurance, license/registration, and maintenance. On average, this year I spent about $42/mon in gas or $459 over the last eleven months. That's a little high attributable to more fill-ups the four months I was side-hustling. In fact during four non-hustling months, I spent less than $25/mon on gas! I spent $708 on car insurance this year, and a whopping $142 for registration and inspection. I still have some outstanding maintenance, but only time will tell if I get to it in the next two weeks.
Travel: $520
Ahoy! Single girl, you didn't go anywhere?! Yes, that's right. This is the cost of my staycations for the year. Wait, what? Yes, well in May I spent $50 in gas to go to Maryland to see my cousins graduate. In August, I had some serious back pain and spent a weekend in a hotel and called it a writer's retreat. And in September, I bought some delicious food and holed up in my apartment for the week. It was berry niiiice.
Utilities: $424
This is my eleven month total for power. Water and internet is paid to my apartment complex with my rent check. Which averages about $38/mon but I carry a credit on that account because I prepay.
Other: $148
This is mostly the cost to renew my professional license. Work pays for continuing education courses, of which we have to have 15 hours or so. Then at the end of the year we certify we took those courses and didn't do anything bad, then we get a new license and carry on with our lives. It's a nice life.
That's pretty much it. I enjoyed this conversation a lot more than my updates with graphs. They're pretty, but boring. Stay tuned for the Q4 financial update with pictures and the remainder of December 2018 expenses and income.
Announcing My Guilt-Free 2019 Budget Projections
Today is Dec 15, 2018 and it's ten days till Christmas. Yippee. With season's greetings come feelings of reflections of the year. I tend to live in the future (not the moment). I've already taken a sneak peek at this year's income and expenses, and I have so many thoughts. I have so many thoughts on how the year has gone, and I am having trouble containing them or even confining them to one space. That's how I know it's time to write a post.
Based on what my income and expenses have shown thus far, here's what I propose for 2019 (God-willing).
For previous versions, see Budget Struggles.
Notes on my guilt-free budget projections. I generally get a couple hours of overtime each month, that will go toward any extra expenses guilt-free. My spending budget is pretty basic on purpose. I plan to have $400/mon from my paycheck direct deposited onto a prepaid debit card for Everyday Expenses. I use the Amex BlueBird card (no affiliate) because it has no fees. Extra expenses might include an extra doctor's visit; maybe I'll finally go on a trip; or my family might need help with a purchase. For any larger expenses that might arise, as they often do, I have a built in cushion in my savings budget. Guilt-free again.
More on the taxable account. Yes, my 401k contributions are automatic payroll deductions. Yes, my Roth IRA contributions are automated twice a month to a brokerage account. The remaining savings (20k) are funneled to a broker but those are semi-automated. This worked in 2018, so I'm going to try it again in 2019. I automated 75% of the amount allocated for the taxable account. So each pay period only 75% of the $834 gets routed to the broker. (I use a robo-advisor for now.) The remaining 25% sits in a savings account and is routed throughout the year when the balance gets uncomfortably high. I do this so that if a big expense does arise, this money is easily accessible. Yes, I do keep a safety net in my checking and savings, but I really do see that as a safety net for job loss. So the taxable account cushion that lingers in my savings account is in addition to an established safety net. I don't want to ever feel strapped for cash.
Overall, while I have a spending target and savings target in mind, my budget is not immutable. I aim to keep financial independence guilt-free. The savings target and spending target are just tools to give my money some discipline and structure; it can't just be hanging out all willy nilly. If I need to spend more, it's enough knowing that I can. If I end up saving less than my target, it really is okay. Keep in mind a reasonable savings rate to a traditional and comfortable retirement is 20%, so anything above that is just gravy. I want to be mindful not to get to a place where I start feeling bad for spending money that I earn. Financial independence goals are a choice and really not even the end goal, just an avenue to options.
I know this 2019 budget update is a little premature since I haven't done my full Q4 update yet, but with only one paycheck left and two weeks left of the year, I have a pretty good idea of what I've spent and what I've earned in 2018. The only lingering thing is whether I take my car in to get serviced before the year ends. The maintenance work has been pending since at least October. Then the weather just got colder and the days got shorter, and I really don't like running errands that require a huge time commitment. But I'm just so excited to have gotten through this year and actually stuck with tracking my spending, I just had to offer this sneak peek! Let me know what you think...
Stay tuned for the upcoming Q4 update and reflections to see exactly what I did manage to spend and save in 2018!
Based on what my income and expenses have shown thus far, here's what I propose for 2019 (God-willing).
My Working Budget for 2019
GROSS SALARY: | $91,000 | ($44/HR) |
NET SALARY: | $71,000 | (INCL 401K CONTRIBUTIONS) |
SPENDING BUDGET: | $26,000/ yr | ($2,167/MON) |
TOTAL SAVINGS GOAL: | $45K/YR | TOTAL = POST-TAX SAVINGS + 401K (45K = 26K + 19K) |
2019 PROJECTIONS
MONTHLY SPENDING | $2167/MON | 26K/YR | SAVINGS | $45K/YR | ||||
Student Loans | $570 | Per Pay Period | Notes | Annually | ||||
Housing/ Utilities | $1,000 | (46%) | 401K | $731/pp | Payroll deduction | $19,000 | ||
[REMAINDER ≈ $600] | [REMAINDER = 26K] | |||||||
Tithe | $200 | |||||||
Everyday Expenses -Groceries (~$200/mon) -Dining Out -Gas Other (cable, personal supplies, wellness visit, family, other) | $400 | Roth IRA | $231/pp | $6,000 | ||||
Taxable account | $834/pp | $20,000 | ||||||
For previous versions, see Budget Struggles.
Notes on my guilt-free budget projections. I generally get a couple hours of overtime each month, that will go toward any extra expenses guilt-free. My spending budget is pretty basic on purpose. I plan to have $400/mon from my paycheck direct deposited onto a prepaid debit card for Everyday Expenses. I use the Amex BlueBird card (no affiliate) because it has no fees. Extra expenses might include an extra doctor's visit; maybe I'll finally go on a trip; or my family might need help with a purchase. For any larger expenses that might arise, as they often do, I have a built in cushion in my savings budget. Guilt-free again.
More on the taxable account. Yes, my 401k contributions are automatic payroll deductions. Yes, my Roth IRA contributions are automated twice a month to a brokerage account. The remaining savings (20k) are funneled to a broker but those are semi-automated. This worked in 2018, so I'm going to try it again in 2019. I automated 75% of the amount allocated for the taxable account. So each pay period only 75% of the $834 gets routed to the broker. (I use a robo-advisor for now.) The remaining 25% sits in a savings account and is routed throughout the year when the balance gets uncomfortably high. I do this so that if a big expense does arise, this money is easily accessible. Yes, I do keep a safety net in my checking and savings, but I really do see that as a safety net for job loss. So the taxable account cushion that lingers in my savings account is in addition to an established safety net. I don't want to ever feel strapped for cash.
Overall, while I have a spending target and savings target in mind, my budget is not immutable. I aim to keep financial independence guilt-free. The savings target and spending target are just tools to give my money some discipline and structure; it can't just be hanging out all willy nilly. If I need to spend more, it's enough knowing that I can. If I end up saving less than my target, it really is okay. Keep in mind a reasonable savings rate to a traditional and comfortable retirement is 20%, so anything above that is just gravy. I want to be mindful not to get to a place where I start feeling bad for spending money that I earn. Financial independence goals are a choice and really not even the end goal, just an avenue to options.
Comparing 2018 vs 2019 Budget Projections
| 2018 | 2019 | Notes | |
| Hourly Rate | 43/hr | 44/hr | Hourly rate based on hourly rate at the start of each year; historically incremental raises go into effect around April each year. |
| Estimated Gross Salary | 89,440 | 91,000 | The estimate for 2018 was calculated using hourly rate x 40 hrs/ wk x 52 weeks. The estimate for 2019 was calculated using a payment model at work. |
| Estimated Net Salary | 67,080 | 71,000 | The estimate for 2018 was calculated on a simple 25% tax rate. The estimate for 2019 was calculated using a payment modeling application at work that accounts for payroll deductions. |
| Savings Target | $37,000/yr | $45,000/ yr | For 2018, I hypothesized I could save half my salary and spend half based on the observation that I was already meeting most of my expenses from one of my two monthly paychecks. For 2019, after my first year of tracking expenses, I hypothesized I could keep recurring expenses to under 26k/yr and decided to shoot for a target savings of 45k/yr by funneling most of it away from my checking account. No pressure. |
| Spending Budget | $30,000/yr | $26,000/ yr |
Final Thoughts.
I know this 2019 budget update is a little premature since I haven't done my full Q4 update yet, but with only one paycheck left and two weeks left of the year, I have a pretty good idea of what I've spent and what I've earned in 2018. The only lingering thing is whether I take my car in to get serviced before the year ends. The maintenance work has been pending since at least October. Then the weather just got colder and the days got shorter, and I really don't like running errands that require a huge time commitment. But I'm just so excited to have gotten through this year and actually stuck with tracking my spending, I just had to offer this sneak peek! Let me know what you think...
Stay tuned for the upcoming Q4 update and reflections to see exactly what I did manage to spend and save in 2018!
My Early Retirement Journey on Think Save Retire
Check out my Blogger Confessions on Think Save Retire.
In case you didn't know enough about me or the madness behind it all, check out my answers to some interesting questions about life as a personal finance blogger!
About Think Save Retire
Steve is an enviable early retiree who said goodbye to the workforce at the ripe old age of 35. As he shares on his site, his retired lifestyle no longer depends on any source of income. Earned income doing fun stuff is icing on the cake! Check out my post and his site for more....
In case you didn't know enough about me or the madness behind it all, check out my answers to some interesting questions about life as a personal finance blogger!
About Think Save Retire
Steve is an enviable early retiree who said goodbye to the workforce at the ripe old age of 35. As he shares on his site, his retired lifestyle no longer depends on any source of income. Earned income doing fun stuff is icing on the cake! Check out my post and his site for more....
My Early Retirement Journey on MikedUp Blog
My Early Retirement Journey interviewed on MikedUp Blog
Single Girl shares her wins and losses on MikedUp Blog.
Head on over to check it out. You don't want to miss this!
About MikedUp Blog's Wins and Losses Series:
MikedUp Blog’s Wins and Losses Series features interviews of generous participants about four of the best and worst moments of their life. The point? To learn from the past so that we can improve in the future!
Head on over to check out My Early Retirement Journey's feature.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)