Living Frugally in the City

Long live the 2.9%

2009-04-21T20:49:00.002-04:00

Very slow reimbursement from both my insurance company and my FSA (because that's dependent on the former) and I was panicky because I definitely don't have $3,800. Enter the 2.9% that US Bank is still offering. Whew. It's the same deal I got in August and didn't realise amid the credit crunch that it was still there. Saving my bacon. Yes there's the 3% fee, but that's better than the 14% I'd be paying in finance charges on AMEX so we're good.

Now back to paying down, but April is way lost.

Well April is a lost month

2009-04-13T21:47:00.003-04:00

I've given it up for dead already. Between the dental work, and some good value shopping this weekend, it's a dead month. All necessities and setbacks are normal, but oy.

$3800+ at the dentist

2009-04-07T22:09:00.003-04:00

While I hope to get a chunk of that reimbursed through my dental insurance and some of the rest of it covered via my FSA, that still hurts.

What I'm hoping for...

$1195 reimbursed from dental insurance

$1979.28 to drain my FSA (damn, should have contributed more.)

Leaves me to cover: $625.72

I hope, if it all works that well.

I'm so done with all major dental work this year.

1.34 %

2009-04-02T21:37:00.002-04:00

Amazing how such a simple net worth increase can make me happy

0.86% increase in assets. -0.87% decrease in debt. Don't think I could have made a better balance.

Could have been so much better had this not been such a bad spending month.

Groceries:Redux: Your Grocer

2009-03-24T21:18:00.004-04:00

As I said in the last post, the cost of groceries is a challenge. There's the temptation/draw of bulk purchases but the question of whether it truly is cheaper and then the efforts required to get the purchases home. I was looking through the Valpak coupons that we get periodically in the mail and I came across one for Your Grocer.

I was intrigued by the option of a no-cost warehouse and the fact that they deliver. However when I looked at a smattering of prices, they don't appear competitive despite the "savings" they claim. Just shows you really need to know prices, I suppose. Sure, it's cheaper than buying a 20oz every morning at the convenient store, but it's not as well priced as the grocery store and it doesn't appear possible to use coupons.

Suppose it's back to the drawing board.

what gets me is the cost of groceries

2009-03-15T15:02:00.002-04:00

or at least that's what's hitting me this week. I went into Key Foods, one of my local grocery stored and was very excited to see Nabisco 100 calorie packs on sale 2/$6 and I nearly bought them. I called mom from the store to see if she'd ever tried a certain one -- and she told me she'd just bought them at 2/$4! So I didn't buy them.

I'm a big coupon clipper -- and because enough people I know get the Sunday paper(s) and aren't coupon clippers - I don't have to buy them. I use them, but sometimes I think I'm blowing into a hurricane! It's like the breakfast bars I like -- usually $3.99 at Duane Reade but they're almost always 2.50 or less by Mom or at Wal-Mart so even when I have a $1 off, it's still not competitive. I need to get better about monthly or at least bi-monthly trips to Wal-Mart -- $$ goes further even when you factor in the $6RT bus fare to Secaucus.

I also need to look more closely at Drugstore.com for things that may be cheaper on there -- even when I can't use coupons. I think, however, it's a lot like Amazon in that it encourages overspending so we'll see.

I'm going to make progress -- but this month isn't it.

Quick Post: Cost of Living

2009-03-14T21:07:00.003-04:00

Found this very interesting cost of living calculator via Get Rich Slowly's recent post about Osage County, Kansas - which interesting made me think of a play that someone just mentioned.

I know New York is expensive, I know Manhattan is the worst, but I never realised how negatively it compared with other metro areas until a friend in Los Angeles was talking about buying a home and I realised what was available there.

I'd have a hard time leaving, but sometimes it's amazing to realise how much we over pay to live here.

Student Loan Payoff

2009-03-12T21:18:00.004-04:00

Specifically the savings and the new end date. I know the "real savings" is a crap shoot due to inflation but that's a sizable chunk of interest saved and a time cut off. It's not precise. My overpayment amount could change, but it's nice to know there's progress to be paid.

There's a light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train!
as a follow up to this post, I've been digging into how I can make that look less miserable. I found Karl's Mortgage Calculator, which was recommended somewhere. I put in the numbers I've been using and got the following:

Fiscal and Physical Diet Starting Now

2009-03-07T23:48:00.003-05:00

Both going well-ish. Been bringing lunch more often than not, although having a tooth removed also helped with that. Spring weather helps with the physical diet as I walk more, but then spring brings a more active social calendar, which, of late, have been somewhat pricey days. Am sure that will balance out in the end.

For now, all of my tax refund is in my savings account earning ~ 3% APY. Not perfect, but better than the market crap shoot while I decide what I want to do with it.

Made an odd cc payment today that should take me below the next 1K milestone. While I know it's all processed automagically and no one notices/cares what the amounts are, I find myself wondering if they think there's anything odd about amounts paid month to month.

Feb 2009 Spending

2009-03-02T20:51:00.004-05:00

A good and bad month...

Fast food is high because it's how I filed most Hawaii meals when I got sandwich, etc. to go. Student loan is truly $500, just last payment didn't hit yet. Restaurants higher than the were shaping to be -- a night out Saturday. Need to learn to account for credit card payments that aren't double -- i.e. accounts I'm paying down. Not sure how to do that, but I'll figure it out.

February Net Worth

2009-03-02T20:43:00.004-05:00

is posted here. Not great, but not as bad as it looks. The tax refund helps, but the pending reimbursement for my dental work means the dental work is showing on my credit card balance because the one check I've received has not posted and I'm expecting a mid-month direct deposit of the rest, which means the dental work will be paid off before the bill is due. But in the mean time, they show in my credit card balances. I suppose it will balance out because my dental work Wednesday will then be on the card until I get reimbursed. Insurance reasonably speedy so I can't complain, too much.

Now that my paycheck has been right I can see the difference in my FSA. Last year's election: 200, this year's, 3000. Total difference in 2x/month paycheck? $50 or $1200/year. I think that works out well in my favor. It also makes paying for the dental work far less painful. Further, the fact that I'll use the bulk of my FSA combined with my 2K dental insurance limit on dental work scares me.

A good coupon day...

2009-02-28T17:35:00.004-05:00

$6.75 saved at Rite-Aid - $3 on mouthwash, $.75 on toilet paper and $3 rebate

Total Spent: $12.72

$6.58 saved at Duane Reade - $4.58 on shampoo (Pantene on sale 2/$7 and coupon or $1 off 2 expiring today), $2 on razors. Plus 25 bonus points in addition to the 15 earned on purchases.

Total Spent: 13.22

All stuff I needed and on sale/with coupons. Of course I'm headed out to dinner so today won't be a total win financially, but better than nothing :)

That said, hate Rite Aid's rebates. I don't like the store and the rebate is such that it can only be used in store rather than Walgreens where you have the choice of cash or store credit, which comes with 10% bonus. My local Rite Aid is skeevy, skimpy stock and generally out of the way, but I had to go there to use the $3 rebate.

Good month cash wise, more to come on that in the next post once some pending transactions clear.

Atypical way of beginning fiscal diet...

2009-02-15T14:34:00.003-05:00

Leaving gym and stopped at Hallmark (half-price Valentine card) and when I went to pay (and debated putting $2.81 on credit for points or just paying cash) I realised I didn't have my wallet. After a momentary freak-out I realised it was probably in my coat from last night. I got home, and it was indeed, but now the "need" to stop at Subway is aside for the moment. We'll see how long it lasts.

Calories burned: 350 with 33 min on rower and 15 on Precor.

$ spent: 0

Fiscal and FInancial Diet Starting Now

2009-02-14T21:17:00.002-05:00

While I'm actually semi-OK with the state of the emergency fund, I want to get more aggressive with paying down debt. I'm not OK at all with the state of my waist and I'm vowing to do something about that. Starting now.

I won't post the amount of my waist goal, but I will do for the fiscal budget when I crunch some more numbers. I swear that's all I've been doing in the last month as I was calculating watching refunds owed by my FSA. Ick. I really want to boost the emergency fund. I'm not worried about my job per se, but with the state of the economy, I'd rather have a bigger emergency fund since my consumer debt is 2.9% and 3.9% for life. I'm making above-the-minimum there because I want to retire them, but I think I need to snowball if I want them gone.

Taxes are done and with my refund I'm going to replenish a recent loss on my emergency fund stemming from emergency car repairs, put a little more in savings, and then put the rest in my Roth IRA. Yes, refunds are bad, I get that, but I really am bad about calculating withholding especially as it relates to student loan interest, etc. That said, my refund isn't large enough to retire a significant enough portion of the above-mentioned consumer debt, and I don't want to pay it on student loans in the event that something happens and I need it.

So stay tuned... Hopefully.

Death by interest

2009-01-29T21:23:00.004-05:00

No doubt an awful title due to some people's financial situation causing them to think death is preferable but seeing how much of my payment goes right to interest hurts. I'd never be making any headway if I was only making the minimum, and I don't feel like I'm making much headway now!

The 11/20, 12/16 and 1/27 payments are all extra payments. I'm still trying to figure out whether immediately after or immediately before the full payment posts is the best timing of an extra payment to have it hit principal the most (I don't have the option to apply it right to principal).

Total due: $60,149.28 as a pay-off amount. It's better than the 60,351 that was my pay-off amount at the end of December, but still. And no, I don't think I'm actually going to pay it off, but I use that in tracking Net Worth.

And yet I'm considering going back to school in 2010!

83 cents!

2009-01-10T17:10:00.002-05:00

Got a letter today from Direct Loans and I was surprised, wasn't expecting any notification re: my consolidated loan. It was notifying me of a change in my payment amount. Previous payment was $382.84 and now it's $382.01 Whee, 83 cents.

It's fairly irrelevant for me, I always pay at least $450 and try to pay closer to $500 but it's good to know what "catch-up" I have to make in order to make it add to that amount. I honestly wish they'd take the postage, printing and labor costs that it takes to send all these notifications and just subtract them from the cost of my loan. It's NUTS that they don't allow you to receive e-notifications if you're enrolled in automatic debit.

On another note, sold back some books at Strand today and made $35. W00t!

Fiscal and Physical Diets

2009-01-06T23:13:00.003-05:00

Well to be honest, neither is going that well.

Had to buy lunch and dinner both days and went to a store because of an evil coupon *cough*Borders*cough* to buy things I didn't need but really really wanted. Books will always be my downfall. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Emergency Fund

2009-01-04T15:19:00.002-05:00

At the time of writing, my emergency fund (in a Citibank Ultimate Savings Account, so fully liquid and accessible) is just north of $7k at $7,013. That's approximately an $1K increase in six weeks. While I think that's a good amount, it's well less than the recommended, which is keeping me from using that to pay down debt. On many levels, it doesn't make sense to do so -- credit cards are 2.9% and 3.9% respectively for life. Student loan is higher but it doesn't make sense to pay that down more than the ~$100 over the set payment I'm making already I don't think.

That said, I couldn't pay myself first out of the last paycheck (expected due to holiday spending) and I'm not sure what the 1/15 check will look like with the change in FSA contributions. We'll see. We'll see.

December 2008 Net Worth

2009-01-04T15:04:00.004-05:00

My figures are posted.

Not great, but about what I expected. Fiscal and physical diet have started and I'm trying my best to make a list of payoffs to make and prioritize. Tax refund will make a dent, but not sure yet a) the amount b) how I'll apply it.

Here's to 2009 more in the black!

Dental Max

2008-12-28T23:40:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I found some unspent dental monies and since I wasn't eligible for the rollover (have to have $799 or less in claims) I decided to spend it poste-haste. Or rather put in a claim since it had already been "spent" and paid on my AMEX in August. Very happy to log in and see that a check has been cut for $673, the remainder of my eligibility.

Debating where to put that since the root canal itself is on a 2.9% for life, which I've been paying down. I guess per the snowball I should put it at the 3.9% one, but I don't religiously snowball, instead pay over the mininum on both. Thinking about being better at SNOWBALL for 2009, or better yet throwing this as an extra principle paydown on my student loan. Decisions, decisions...

Christmas on Credit...

2008-12-28T15:41:00.002-05:00

Yes, I used credit cards to pay for Christmas gifts this season. However, as soon as a payment scheduled for 1/08 posts to my Amazon Visa, Christmas will be paid off!

I won't use cash -- I like the benefits of rewards and purchase protection, plus I don't like carrying a lot of cash. But I also will not have paid a cent of interest on Christmas. On the plus side, I also pre-emptively paid for Feb's flight to Oahu out of my Cancun funds, which I used less than one third.

I think this is closing out 2008 on a good note. Happy Holidays!

Back on track...

2008-12-18T20:41:00.003-05:00

I think... Or at least back to actual time to read and post. I checked the balance of my dental claims and realized I had ~$600 unused that I can't roll over. Without any trouble, I was able to get the paperwork for an August root canal that I hadn't submitted because I was "saving" the insurance reimbursement for the planned crown. Since all will happen after January 1, this wasn't an issue. So this should be good.

I have to turn in my FSA form tomorrow and I think I've decided the contribution amount. Or I thought I had until I started re-obsessing over it today. I have an idea that I should put in $3300 and somehow split the crown payments between the card connected with my FSA and my credit card. Therefore I can be reimbursed by insurance for some without fully burning through my FSA funds. I'm afraid to fund the FSA with the full estimated cost of three crowns in the event that it doesn't end up that hight -- but then on the other hand I know the odds of my escaping a year without some other dental treatment is slim to none.

Decisions, Decisions....

I yucking ate my yeef...

2008-12-12T23:58:00.002-05:00

Which was essentially what I said a few years ago while undergoing root canal on a bottom molar. I have AWFUL teeth. Case in point, that root canal is currently being retreated along with one on an adjacent tooth. Not to be left out, the tooth on the other side also decided it needed a root canal. Needless to say I am far above the $800 max in claims to be eligible for the dental rollover. I thought I'd get one of the crowns started this year so had been saving the $850 I had left of the $2000 eligibility for that. That isn't going to happen so instead I'm getting statements of services rendered that I hadn't submitted to use up the difference.

This was also exacerbated last week when the crown on the second molar from the right on the bottom broke while eating... an M&M. Perhaps that was my diet's way of telling me I shouldn't eat that. I got an emergency appointment earlier this week and a dentist reattached it. It lasted all of two days when, I think, the clamp from the root canal the specialist was finishing, knocked the crown off. Oops. So another appointment Tuesday. Because this crown broke as well as the one on the adjacent tooth (which had already broken twice before), I now know I need to get three crowns. Enter my excitement at learning how I can use my FSA. I'm going to use it to pay for the dental work that's over and above plan limits.

Yes, I have $2k available in 2009 however crowns are covered at 50% out of network. I know the 30% "discount" in-network (although I looked at prices and it's not 30% because the out of network dentist is cheaper) and that it would then be covered at 60%, but I'm not changing dentists for the three teeth they're already working on. Maybe after the fact but I'm not changing mid procedure.

You know, it's not NYC rent that's killing me so much as my teeth!

FSA Open Enrollment

2008-12-12T23:51:00.003-05:00

Yeah I've been bad, both posting and spending. Or bad about not spending.

Cancun was fabulous and I actually came in way under budget there, which was good. Yay. Christmas shopping is over budget and I'm not done. Since I have extra in the "Cancun fund", I may put that money towards it since it's not earmarked for anything else. I also payed an extra $110+ toward the principle for my student loan, woohoo. Baby steps.

We had a presentation this morning from our benefits reps and I found it to be worthwile. The main reason I haven't used up my FSA contributions is apparently that I didn't realise how it could be used i.e. co-pays and uncovered medical/dental expenses. So now that I know that, and I know what the dental bills I'm facing are (more on that in the next post), I think I've worked out how much I'm going to contribute. I found this calculator to be great for breakdown of what the tax savings, etc. will be.

Plus they announced today the grace period until March 2009 to use 2008 monies, which makes me happy. I was not looking forward to stock piling OTC meds to use up the monies.

Behaving on Amazon.com

2008-11-29T23:42:00.003-05:00

One of Amazon's downsides is its "related items" function which encourages the shopper to spend more than s/he wanted to on stuff s/he didn't need. I'm proud to say I declined all the related items and checked out with only the thing I intended to buy. Said item was $10 cheaper than it had been on Amazon earlier this week and cheaper than at any reputable online dealer, including B&N with my member discount there.

Sweet small victories.

Remaining to purchase:

Mom

Friend

Grandma

Brother's Girlfriend

Taken care of:

2 friends

Brother

Total: $90

I'm here....

2008-11-29T22:15:00.003-05:00

Life's just seriously gotten in the way of late. On the plus side, it means I've been too busy to spend money. On the minus side, I can't remember the last time I made it to the grocery store and have been buying lunch and eating out way too often. Eek. I'd like to say December will be better. The trip is pre-paid and I have a special fund set aside (included in the Networth) for the expenses i.e. food, so there is going to be a dip, along with that which will come with Christmas spending, so we'll see.

I admit, as bad as it is, I can't wait for my tax refund to clean up some. In the mean time, the above could have been worse. Far far worse. That said, making a $450 (includes extra to pay down principle) student loan payment hurt but it felt so good.

Emergency Fund

2008-11-15T21:21:00.003-05:00

Seems to be one of those topics frequently discussed. Through college, I was luckier than some. I had an emergency fund, even though I didn't know that's what it was called, because my parents helped me and I used my work earnings to pay for what I needed. The first time I ever saw a real dip was senior year because I'd worked primarily unpaid during the summer and then traveled to London over Christmas. Still, I managed to get it back up.

My first year overseas (working) I got my emergency fund back up. I also had my first moment of having to call my parents to help because my credit card had expired and I didn't have money in my bank account to afford train fare home. When I made the call for a "payday loan", my mom asked if my card was maxed. I was horrified. I had an ~10K limit, I couldn't fathom being maxed out. Not having access to credit hurt because I've always used it as my back up without it hurting me.

A 2004-2005 trip that culminated in a six-month contract more or less wiped out my emergency fund. Turned out to be a good thing when completing my FAFSA for grad school. Through school I managed to get my emergenct fund back up to a decent amount in preparation for my move this summer. I was happy.

Today, I'm even happier. Post pay-day and paying rent, utilities, and accounting for some upcoming payments: credit cards and overpaying student loan I made a transfer to my Ultimate Savings account that put me above $6K. Woohoo. That's not the that's recommended but it's almost six months of rent which ensures I won't be homeless while job searching should it ever come to that.

I'm watching the Suze Orman show and a caller has a $1,200 payment for her car. That's more than my rent.

FSA: Open Enrollment

2008-11-15T16:15:00.002-05:00

This post over at fivecentnickel got me thinking...

This year I deliberately under-funded my FSA, or so I thought, because I was only eligible from June 1 and didn't want to leave money on the table. However it's November 15th and I've only used $70.45 and that's with recent over the counter cold-medicine purchases. I suspect I'll have to go on an OTC spree at the end of December to use this money up because even the two remianing co-pays on prescription aren't going to use it up.

That gives me no idea whatsoever on how to fund it for next year. I've found that I can't use it for dental treatment because there's never enough in the account to pay it via the Mastercard that's connected to the account and I'm uncomfortable with paying the pill and then hoping to submit it to the FSA when there is enough in the account.

I've spent $4,310 on dental care since June, and there was more earlier in the ear pre-Mint. There's also more to come via Crowns. $1120 of that was later re-imbursed via insurance but that's not a good measure as I hope not to need three root canals and two crowns next year either.

So In short, I have no idea what to do but I need to figure it out. Oy.

Christmas Shopping: The Start

2008-11-15T14:53:00.003-05:00

I'm in awe of those who are done, I just started today and that was by accident. I'm going to follow my model of how I shopped last year as I kept it reasonable and was happy with the results. My guidelines:

Nothing wrong with window shopping. There are some things you don't know exist to look up on line and others that you need to see/touch/feel in order to get a good idea of before purchasing.
I jot notes while shopping so I remember the title of to look it up online to see if there is a better price to be found. I also use it to jot down where I found the item in the first place in case the local price was better.
My favorite price comparison tool: Google Shopping, which I just searched for a DVD I'd found in a local shop today. I knew the price in the store wasn't competitive, but I wasn't sure that Amazon's was the best either. Turns out it wasn't, by far.
Also need to keep in mind Rewards. I have an Amazon Visa that gets me 3 Amazon Rewards points per $1 spent at Amazon. I got the card for the original $30 cash back and I don't shop Amazon enough. In two+ years of having the card, I still haven't gotten enough points for the $25 Amazon gift certificate so this card doesn't really pay off for me. Related issues for me: my American Airlines Visa gives me miles and I find those more valuable, however that card's annual fee is soon to hit, so I won't renew it. I may begin to use the Amazon card more often if I don't replace the AA Visa with something else, however I don't see this card ever getting much use as compared with my primary card, the SPG Amex, which wins hands down.
Don't over spend. Yeah, this one is going to be the challenge because I haven't set a budget. That said, I don't have too many people I buy for. Mom, brohter, grandma, three friends and a couple miscellaneous i.e. work and an as-yet undetermined white elephant exchange. We'll see.

Frequent Flyer Redemption, Etc

2008-11-13T19:52:00.002-05:00

Whee, yet another very nearly free magazine subscription. I was debating whether to ask "Santa" to renew my subscription to the Economist. It *is* pricy but I read it each week and it's so expensive on the newsstand that the subscription, even if I were paying for it, would pay off quickly.

THen I get a letter from Delta. Apparently my miles were expiring. Now I know these are of mixed value but I look at it as follows:

it's magazines I already read
I didn't know I still had these miles since I don't fly Delta much and hadn't gotten a statement in eons. They expire in December and I was advised by Customer Service that whatever happens with the merger and our miles, it won't be resolved by then.
These weren't enough miles to do anything.
No cash cost whatsoever

So decision made, I went "shopping". Results of my purchases:

Renewed subscription to the economist, 51 issues
New subscription to Sports Illustrated rather than buying at the news stand or waiting for friends to finish. I let this subscription go ages ago and missed it. 56 issues
Money, which I'd passed over in favour of Kiplinger's. 12 issues
Forbes, which everyone in the office fights over when it comes in, 26 issues

I think that was "money" well spent, will keep me well read for a while. I'm waiting on PC World to expire before I swap it for Mac World.

Toilet paper and FSAs...

2008-11-09T20:14:00.004-05:00

As soon as I paid full price because I needed it and none were on sale, Walgreens has Charmin 6 double rolls 2/$7.

Murphy's Law...

Luckily, they were out of stock so I got a rain check. Will get to use it before 30 days are up because I only bought a 4-pack

Also on a non-coupon note, why are cold meds never on sale when you're sick?!?

*Cough*Sniffle*Sneeze*

Coupon feast or famine

2008-11-02T15:49:00.002-05:00

I just purged my coupon file for all those expired at the end of October. We also happen to need toilet paper. I have one coupon -- a ridiculous Cotonelle one that is really only useful if you're buying enough tp for a college dorm. I've been to: KMart, Walgreens, CVS and Duane Reade--no one has any name-brand toilet paper on sale and it's one thing I refuse to buy generic.

I hate paying full price!

Citibank Ultimate Savings Account

2008-11-01T22:13:00.003-04:00

Meant to mention this in the last post. I know the Ultimate Savings Account is old news, but I was behind in my reading and didn't know about it until I got the invite from Citibank last week. Most of my emergency fund is in my Citibank E-Savings account, which I opened in late 2005/early 2006 when the rate was about 5%. Of course it had fallen but I hadn't had the time or energy to bank shop and deal with moving it. I like the convenience of everything in one place. I kept the old money market account, linked to my checking, open with $1 in it per their policy. Now the same thing is about to be with the e-savings. I moved the vast majority to the Ultimate Savings Account and in the four days before the month closed, I earned $3 in interest. I like free money.

I'm also doing my end of the year chasing. Time to close my Citi AA Visa as the annual fee is due and it's not worth $85 to me to keep it open. I don't use it enough. I have the Chase Amazon Visa to use as a backup for places that don't take Amazon... and it's free.

A good month (+3,065)

2008-11-01T20:13:00.003-04:00

Well I actually did my Networth IQ on time and I'm pretty pleased with the results: September vs. October. Better actually than I expected to come out. Was helped in part to the re-calculation of my consolidated student loan but I also put a good chunk in the credit cards, which made be happy, and was partially reimbursed for a dental claim. But still, it's progress.

Generally been a good shopping week. I went to KMart for toilet paper and came home with an alarm clock, but that's another story. Been a crazy work week, which is why I haven't been posting, but hey that keeps me from spending! :)

Non-progress

2008-10-22T22:36:00.004-04:00

aka $30.20 in almost six years.

I just had a look at that in my student loan documentation. While I don't think it's that bad, I think there was another loan consolidated in with "B" to make the starting point for "C", it looks as if I really didn't make much progress in almost six years. I did defer student loan payments while in grad school (the above is my undergrad consolidation) and did not pay the interest accruing at the time (hindsight: I know) but I didn't realise the non-progress it would result in. Oy.

At least that one still lets me log in, my log-in for Citi student loans no longer works post consolidation. Weird.

25 Frugal Things?

2008-10-22T21:13:00.002-04:00

I was reading this post at almost Frugal and it really made me think. I don't have 25 things because I know I have a long way to grow. Some comments on her less-obvious things:

I pay cash for big purchases like my new laptop. At least I’m trying to.

Well sort of. Apart from my emergency fund, I'm saving for Cancun in a separate account. While I'm not sure I'll be able to access the account due to Visa Debit but I know that if I do charge them, I'll be able to pay it off as soon as I return.

I use MyPoints.

I don't. I used to. I don't like the spam. I do use e-Rewards and have joined Focus Forward after doing one survey for them and being paid $75.

I canceled my last outstanding membership… to the gym.

This I won't do, especially with it getting cold and darker earlier here. Exercise is my sanity and healthy. I don't think it's that dire of an expense. I also think it would cost me more to get out of it. I think I'd find other things to cut first if it came to that point.

I network. Not only have I met a lot of great people, I have made invaluable contacts which gives me access to good deals and opportunities.

Absolutely, and you never realise when those contacts will come in handy.

My own things:

The once-a-month/six weeks trip to Wal-Mart has cut way down on grocery trips, a big money sink. I stock up on perishables when needed to supplement what I have.
I'm not a fashionista. I'll wear clothes until they no longer fit and/or are totally worn out. Even on graduation I didn't blow a lot on new clothes, I did spent some of my tax stimulus on some needed new items but really, I'm not as bad as a lot of people I know.
Self-pampering is in check. I dye my own hair at home-pedicures are a summer-only occasional treat.
I clip coupons and am aware of online specials, i.e. Metro North's Web Ticket for multi-ride trips.
I participate in rewards programs that reward me for purchases I already make.
I consolidate credit-card debt to the lowest possible APR to reduce interest paid on existing debt.
I participate in BookMooch and BookCrossing and the spending on postage is far less than new books. The urge to buy them is mostly under control.

Where I know I need to improve:

"Fastfood" non-food. I.e. the soda on the way into the office (I don't drink coffee). PepsiPoints has made me realise just how much I drink.
Impulse shopping.
Bring/cook my own meals more often.

Starbucks Gold

2008-10-22T20:56:00.002-04:00

the e-mail announcement of this new program isn't going to do much to help me kick the Starbucks habit especially since it's just started to get cold enough to really crave their hot chocolate. That said, I'm pretty good, or I try. I refill my Starbucks card (registered so I can get rewards) when I have the extra funds and try not to buy when I don't have that.

That said, in a sign of the economic times, the Starbucks behind my office closed seemingly overnight. It was there on Friday, I think, or at least Thursday and gone yesterday. I have to walk "all the way" to 51st and Broadway now. I'm actually surprised that one didn't close. Their service is shocking. Both are next to theaters. I need to try some of the others, apparently 54th & BRoadway, 55th & 7th (though I don't like this one).

Officially consolidated

2008-10-21T22:04:00.001-04:00

Welcome, xxx. As of today, October 21, 2008, your application has booked. Your loans were paid on October 16, 2008. The Direct Loan Servicing Center will mail notification about your new loan repayment. Contact Direct Loan Servicing for more information about your application.

2 months and 11 days but it is done. I haven't yet received my coupon book, but I'm looking forward to it.

Belated September Net Worth

2008-10-14T23:37:00.003-04:00

Debts $ Diff% DiffHome Mortgage(s)$0$0-Other Mortgage(s)$0$0-Student Loans$61,171($829)-1.34 %Credit Card$16,928$4,02731.21 %Car Loans$0$0-Other$0$0-Total Debts$78,099$3,1984.27 % Net Worth
($63,817)($2,543)-4.15 %

Nothing there that really surprises me. I knew September was a bad month. I've actually put a good dent in that and am now on the pay-it-down stretch. The dental reimbursement helped and it's good to know I have ~$800 left to play with that will go toward reimbursement of the crown when that's done.

I'm glad to have a set starting point, I really am. Glad to have a final number for the student loans instead of guestimating and now I'm able to figure out what I have to pay there and how I can split the rest of my pay to pay down the two credit cards. $16,000 is a scary number there but not an unexpected one. Given that it wasn't much less than that before grad school and I did have to lean on the cards a bit, I'd have expected worse if you asked me this before I started school.

I don't show the assets side of this because it's not accurate. I don't have my 401k or Roth IRA in there. I need to sit and be better with Networth IQ on a monthly basis, not two weeks into the next month.

A good money day...

2008-10-14T23:22:00.002-04:00

Money-wise, today was a good mail day...

For all the bad things you hear about rebates, whether they're legit, whether you'll get what's promised, I got my monthly Walgreen's rebate pretty quickly. Mom actually told me she got hers a few days ago and I was bummed and wondering where mine was. And it arrived today $16.50 on the Walgreen's gift card (including the bonus of $1.50 for having it on the gift card as opposed to cash). Still a good deal in that I regularly shop at Walgreen's.

and for a few more dollars, I was reimbursed for the recent root canal. Better yet, it took only one phone call to my insurance and it was for exactly what I expected it to be - down to the penny. Sweet. Only question is whether I'm using it to pay off the bill on my credit card (now transferred to 2.9 for life), use it on the higher 4.9 for life as a part of my overall snowball or use it for the next two months student loan payments. I'm thinking the 4.9 since it fits with the overall strategy and lets me re-allocate tomorrow's paycheck to student loan and the payment due on the 2.9.

61,171.51

2008-10-10T22:39:00.003-04:00

I finally got the summary sheet for my student loan consolidation today. I'd applied for consolidation on August 5th, and I'd really begin to wonder with the recent melt down whether or not Direct Loans would remain in the consolidation business when most of the big banks and even Sallie Mae have pulled out.

I'm glad to know that in the two months and five days since I applied, my summary wasn't far off from my estimation. I knew I was around 60K, so 61, 171.51 isn't far off. I know there are rules of thumb for the amount of student loan debt you acquire vs. starting salaries and while I don't remember what they are exactly, I'm comfortable with where I am now - noting this approximately 25% undergrad remains and 75% grad school. Given the annual cost of NYU, I'm happy with how I came out. I worked through both years of school and had ~10K in scholarships, all of which helped.

I love the repayment options they give, hope the formatting remains here. I've left off interest rate since that remains the same for all: 6.5% as well as initial loan amount because that is also a constant. I'm not sure whether there are any on-time, auto-pay incentives available through Direct Loans. There is also the income contingent plan, which they did not detail for me since I didn't select it.

Plan # Payments Initial Payment Max Pay Interest Total

Standard 360 $386.64 $386.64 $78,019.39 $139,190.90

Graduated 360 $331.34 $579.96 $79,767.04 $140,938.55

Ext. Fixed 300 $413.03 $413.03 $62,736.99 $123,908.50

Ext. Grad 300 $331.34 $619.55 $64,805.85 $125,977.36

There's something a little cockeyed there since extended should be longer term, but it's not. That said, I can see the benefit in just an extra $26.39 per month in terms of interest paid in the long term. There's a new car in the difference there! While I'm lucky (?) enough to live in a market where $140K is going to buy me nothing, I can see how people would see this as a mortgage.

There's no pre-pay penalty and my plan was always to pay more than the minimum and have the extra applied to principle. Now that my 2.9% is sorted, this is my highest interest. That said, I think I know how much I need to apply to loan/debt-repayment each month. I don't have a pay off date, but I like having a plan.

Off for the weekend -- not driving and spending gas and wear and tear... I'm taking Peter Pan to Boston and then the T/bus.

Inflation and Pricing: NYC

2008-10-08T19:59:00.003-04:00

Interesting post over at My Open Wallet on price increases vs. inflation in the last forty years here in the city. I'm somewhat surprised that some things have gone up less than the cost of inflation, while at the same time surprised at those that did: i.e. smoked salmon and luxury tickets. Admittedly I'm drawing on my own thoughts rather than my econ background but I would think that given the relative elasticity of luxury goods, they'd go up more than inelastic necessities.

Seeing the increase factor puts in perspective more than the dollar amount, but on the top of the list of things that don't surprise me: NYU tuition

Suze Orman: Young, Fabulous and Broke

2008-10-07T23:10:00.003-04:00

So I just finished Suze Orman's Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke (non-affil). Took me a while to read it, not because I didn't enjoy it but because the edition I had was too large to fit in my handbag so it was a home-only book. I liked the style because you could read it cover to cover (which I did) or dip into it a section at a time. Some sections were far more relevant to me, and others go out of date too soon to be useful in a book format (any investment advise, especially in light of recent events) but overall I found it to be a good grounding for young people. I also don't think you have to be broke -- the tips work well for any to save money -- but it's nice that it's a reasonable book that doesn't expect you to have $10K in savings.

I haven't read any of her others, though they're on my wishlist. Now time for some less cerebral reading in the form of Air Babylon, which I got off BookMooch a year ago I think. If I do take the bus to Boston this weekend I should have a lot of reading time.

That and I got my first issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance, which I picked up for $2 for a full-year subscription. I had a choice on that and Money, and popular consensus favored Kiplinger's With the amount of Money content that's on CNN Money.com I think it's a good choice. Now I just need to find the time to read it. That's the downside of magazines -- though I do plan to list it on BookMooch when done.

Deal at CVS!

2008-10-05T15:54:00.002-04:00

Not quite as good as profit-making rebates, although I do need to take a rebate check to the ATM later, I got a good deal at CVS today. On their weekly circular, Colgate MaxFresh with mouthwash beads was on sale for 2.99 and then you received two Extrabucks. Well I had two Extrabucks from a previous deal so I got the tube for .99 plus tax, or $1.07 and then when I printed off my receipt I got $2 more in extrabucks and then a further $3 off $15. Sweet. Came out ahead in this one.

Got the Scrubbing Bubbles rebate back. That was pretty quick given the antiquated process. I think I'm going to put the rebate into my Cancun fund since I've already paid off the credit card that I charged it to. That and my recent lottery scratch-off winnings although I'm hesitant about depositing cash in an ATM.

A good week

2008-10-04T20:18:00.002-04:00

apart from the stock market but we're not going there because everyone else already has.

I managed to bring my lunch three days this week and the evenings out were kept relatively cost-efficient. I did do some clothes shopping but those were pieces I planned out and will go with anything. They can also be dressed up or down so work and weekend. Oh, and they were all on sale with the exception of the ones at Wal-Mart and those were just cheap.

My bulk shopping last week also kept me out of the grocery store, which is always a spending downfall. I'm happy. I have some bits I need to get at the drug store this week but a) I have coupons b) I have some rewards certificates which cover $5-7 (depending on the store, I have both Duane Reade Dollar Rewards and CVS Extrabucks) and c) they should all be FSA purchases so "free" in that I never saw the money in the first place. I also need to make sure I use it all by year's end.

I need to make a run to the thrift shop. Get rid of a few pieces of summer clothes that I didn't wear this year and am not attached to. I think for the first time I might actually itemize on my taxes this year. There should be enough with the uncovered dental treatment, move and other donations to make it worth it. We'll see.

Oh and the 2.9% BT is done and I plan to pay off the transfer fee immediately so that the rest is pure balance and comparing apples to apples in terms of speed of payoff and interest paid on same.

Investing

2008-09-29T22:28:00.003-04:00

I have my salary set up so that 6%/paycheck gets diverted to my 401(k). I never see it, don't know it's gone mentality. However the roller-coaster that the market has been on for the last month makes me hesitate to physically make the decision/click to transfer funds to my Roth IRA.

While I know losses will be recouped and I have time for my retirement, I still feel I'm better off paying off/down debt and making visible progress rather than having that investment wiped out when the stock market blinks. That said, I need to better research the funds that my Roth IRA are in. They've done essentially nothing since April 2007 when I bought in an uneducated manner -- i.e. broker told me to. Eek.

Also, will be two months Sunday and my student loan consolidation is still in the cert phase. What.A.Mess!

Adventures in Wal-Mart

2008-09-27T20:56:00.002-04:00

Yes, Walmart is evil. Moving on, it's also relatively cheap and good value, especially for the mall's proximity to Manhattan (12 min from Port Authority via the Lincoln Tunnel). I try to get there every four - six weeks to stock up on necessities and get more value for my coupons because the prices are far cheaper than other options.

I saved $27.09 on coupons alone!

Last night, I sat down with my coupon holder and pulled out those that expired 9/30 or 10/15. It also allowed me to purge all of those that expired 9/15. As I made my shopping list based on my tacked up "finished and need to buy" list as well as my coupons, I put them all in an envelope. I really need a second coupon holder because having them unsorted in the envelope was a little annoying.

As I walked through the aisles I came across some things I didn't need/were too big to buy/wouldn't keep on the trip back/etc. and had fun paying those coupons forward. In some cases I simply left them on the shelf near the product. In others I handed them to shoppers who were looking at those items. Karma up significantly.

I'm also very proud of myself. I didn't reach into my other coupon holder for impulse buys that "I think I have a coupon for." If I didn't need it and/or the coupon is good for another month, it can wait.

Biggest expenditures:

14.94 (2) - two tops, and I did have these on my shopping list, my fall wardrobe is a bit lacking.

11.97 - Lactaid, it's one of those things where I just can't buy generic. The generic don't work as well and don't take care of the problem

7.94 (2) - hair dye, but then I had a $5 off 2 coupon so really it was $5.54 apiece and that's a good price for L'Oreal Feria and much cheaper than having my hair done

5.52 (2) - bodywash. Like my usual bodywash, it's not cheap but I love how it makes my skin look and feel. I wish the days I wasn't a soap snob.

Most of what I bought was grocery stuff - I have lots now so that I can avoid the expensive stores here except for perishables, and I think I can cook around a lot of that. I'm happy with my total. I'm also happy with some non-expenditures, namely shoes that I found out were $29. Nope, I don't pay $29 for shoes at Wal-mart. If I want cheap shoes, it's $15 at Payless or for better ones, $40 at DSW.

Also raincheck for Act for $2.99 since it's usually almost double and Walgreens was out. Need to submit the $15 in rebates from last month. Overall, been a good month.

Selling old dental crowns?

2008-09-25T14:10:00.002-04:00

When my dentist gave me the crown that went kerfluey (highly technical, I know) last time, she suggested I explore selling it. I had no idea people bought old growns for the gold in them. A Google search gave me some interesting information, I'm going to have to look further. I know it's not much money, but I'll take pennies over a broken crown. Subsidize the new one :)

Rebates

2008-09-23T22:39:00.003-04:00

Sad to see that Hooray for Freebates will be slowing up, I liked that blog for tips and things I didn't realize you could do -- like a profit when you use a coupon with a rebate form. I'm still learning how to use rebates but at times I think they take more work than you get in return.

That said, my fiscal and physical diet start back up this week. Been good on the former, made lunch 2/3 days and didn't pay for dinner last night or tonight. Schedule has been a bit zooey tough so I haven't made it to the gym.

Walgreen's ad had such promise this week but neither the local one nor the big one at Astor Place had half of the best deals (i.e. PB and jelly 3/$5, Rice Krispies 20 oz 3/$7) so I'm not coming out ahead. There's a third one I could try but bus travel north of the frozen zone has been a royal PITA. So we'll see.

That said, I think I'm going to Wal-Mart this weekend. Got some things I need to buy -- and some coupons that expire 9/30 for some items on my shopping list. Let's just hope I can avoid the challenge of buying more than I intend.

Also as I touched on here, I found a 2.9% for the life of the BT option. I think I'm going to pursue it for what's on the SPG AMEX.

Current economy

2008-09-17T22:35:00.004-04:00

Discussion with some friends about Friday plans and one said she was just having "Drinks in, gotta deal with the economy." A good thought. While this week's mess hasn't hit my industry directly, all of us in the city are starting to get hit indirectly.

What should be done?

I can see the argument that buying lunch (and or buying groceries) are helping the local shops, especially those in my office building half covered by scaffolding. I swear, you can't see the construction-slowdown here. Everything is under scaffolding.

I was good and bad in May when I got the stimulus check. It came right before graduation and I spent half on clothes for work and half went toward paying down debt. That said, I need to buckle down. I spent a lot on something I probably shouldn't have but won't regret. So starting next week is the physical and fiscal diet.

I just got the statement for my last root canal. $1440. On the plus side, I read up on my insurance coverage and I should get reimbursed. I need to submit the claim tomorrow and hope for the best.

Grocery savings

2008-09-15T20:43:00.001-04:00

Some good tips on this MeFi post. Some are said frequently, i.e. meal-based planning; no packaged foods, but others are less obvious i.e. spices. Me? I need to learn to cook. That and cash shopping.

I <3 Chase

2008-09-15T20:00:00.002-04:00

While I'm not happy with the reason I'm calling them, an unexpected and undisclosed service fee, I love this chart that tells you exactly what to press. I also love the apology for a "higher than normal wait time", which is greater than three minutes.

Low-cost weekend

2008-09-14T22:40:00.002-04:00

woohoo! Minimal expenditures due to free food at a block party, leftovers that will provide lunch for the week (have events Tues, Weds and drinks with friends on Thurs) and lots of coupons. I need to go through my folder and find out which expire on the 30th so I can plan a Wal-mart run, if needed. Even with the $6 bus fare (RT to Secaucus) the prices there are so much better that it doesn't make sense not to go. It's similar to Gimme Five Bucks Costco trips. I'm somewhat glad that my shopping is limited by cloth carry bags -- schlepping bags back from Port Authority (or the budget busting cab) is not my ideal form of weight training, and I don't have room for a ton of stuff.

I got some wonderful coupons though. Also found a new-to-me rebate blog that I hope to put to good use because as I mentioned, I find rebates to be a pain.

Rebates

2008-09-10T13:55:00.003-04:00

Walgreens tally sheet (PDF) is out for the September rebates. Doesn't actually look like much I need although the $5 on 2 bottles of Pantene isn't bad. The Energizer rechargeable Double As isn't a bad deal, but I don't need two packs. Just need one set to replace the ones that lost their get up and go.

I love that Walgreens allows you to do it all online. So much simpler. I like the bonus on the gift card but I understand why that's not always a good deal. To me though, it's the same as Duane Reade Dollar Rewards or CVS Extracare--if you're going to be shopping there anyway, might as well take the bonus. On the note of drugstore shopping, the one generic I haven't been able to find-an equivalent of Act Restoring. I used to use knock-off Listerine without any problems, but my dentist recommended I switch to Act and they seem to have fewer knock-offs.

I just did the Scrubbing Bubbles Action Scrubber rebate, makes me love Walgreens on-line one even more as this one was the mother of old fashioned rebates. Send the completed coupon (no copies accepted), original store receipt and UPC code. Eek.

But I guess if they were easy, they wouldn't be profitable for the companies

Oh the things to do with $12.24

2008-09-10T13:44:00.003-04:00

aka petty cash reimbursement from cab fare home when I worked until 9pm last Friday. The logical thing? Deposit it and pay my AMEX since that's where I charged the cab fare. But even with the new "Deposit-Friendly ATMs" (which I did use, without issue, last week to desposit a check) there is no easy way to deposit 24 cents in cash and the time and effort of then writing a check from my Chase account to my Citi account is a pain in the ass. So that's not happening.

I would like to put it in my Cancun fund and this is feasible as there is currently a non-banked portion (in the form of scratch card winnings) in cash. I'm just not sure what I'm going to do with this cash. It's too much to be tips at the resort. I suppose I may find someone who actually goes to a teller and then have them write me a check but that seems so boring. Last year's Vegas fund was easier.

Of course I could just consider it a slightly net positive on the breakfast I bought this morning. I was starving and knew I couldn't make it to lunch so I went downstairs and got a wrap with lox. Not 30 min after, I went into a meeting where there was food. *Gah!* Not cool.

Student Loans, Balance Transfers

2008-09-09T10:03:00.003-04:00

No, not really connected...

I'm glad I started my loan consolidation application back in August because per the website, it's still in the certification phase. I'm paying on the two that are out of deferment and lacking a grace period (graduate PLUS loan, consolidated undergrad loan) but still have time before the grad staffords kick in, I'm glad for that. Keeping track of three payments a month would be too much.

I was curious as to whether delays were common with a lot of the commercial lenders dropping out/being forced out of issuing consolidation loans, but most of what I find is from two years ago and connected with the July 1, 2006 rate increase.

Keeping track of multiple payments a month is annoying, therefore I'm not sure what I'm going to do about the following. I currently have:

~8K at 3.9% for life on an AMEX blue. I've paid it down from ~12K in the last year and I'm happy with that progress especially since it was while I was in school. I don't add to this card, it's purely for the BT offer.
~4K at 14% on my Starwood AMEX. This is my everyday card and its balooned since July. I'm annoyed but it's not frivolous stuff, it's the move and dentist. Still, 14% isn't trivial and I can do better especially given my excellent credit. I'd also like to return my SPG Amex to daily use for its good rewards.
~Miscellaneous immediate payoffs on an AA Visa and Chase Amazon Visa that I have on hand for places that don't take AMEX. I pay this off immediately.

Prior to consolidating to AMEX last August, I had ~12K split on a Discover and Citi card that were 0% for one year. I hated having to pay on both so when the 0% expired I happily consolidated to one. While the 0%s still exist, they're harder to find and I'm not sure I want one. If they were more than a year, sure, but I'm tired of teasers - especially those with annual fees that kick in later so I cancel the card and lose the history. I'd rather find a comparable offer like my AMEX above.

Before I was even thinking about this seriously, I got a 3.9% for life from one of my current, unused cards. I like this idea because it doesn't require an inquiry on my credit report and I know what the limit is without worrying "well I might only be approved for $3K or so." I also regularly get one from my Chase Amazon but I don't want to tie that one up with a BT because I like using it for the occasional Amazon purchas for the rewards. I think I'm going with the 3.9% (even with the transfer fee, it saves $ over two months and I know I can't pay it off that quickly) and just pay it down as fast as I can via snowball.

Approval amounts bug me. I've never ever been late and am never anyqhere near my limits. My SPG Amex is a 25K limit and Blue is 12K. Citi irritates me with its trivial limits.

A good spending day

2008-09-07T23:43:00.002-04:00

Sunday always ends up as one of my main spending/shopping days whether it be grocery shopping for the week, or other items. I didn't get the grocery shopping done but I did need to get some items from the drug store. On the way home from the gym I decided to duck into CVS to check their circular. Herbal Essence and Aussie products were $2.49 with the Extracare card and then a $1 Extrabucks on top for each. Sweet. I needed shampoo (well actually, conditioner) anyway so this wasn't a "buy what you don't need". I was happy and then I finished off the other things I needed from Duane Reade (where I had a $5 reward certificate) and it was a total of under $12. Not bad at all. Now I just need to try not to lose the Extrabucks certificate.

Going to be a not-great week though because I have nothing for lunch tomorrow so I'll have to buy and I'm going to be out a few evenings. Will do the best I can.

Buying generic

2008-09-07T00:16:00.003-04:00

Since college, at least, I've been a huge fan of buying generic. To that end, I was thrilled with an e-mail I received from Walgreens announcing the launch of wbrand.com. Although Walgreens lacks a loyalty program along the lines of Duane Reade, I am still subscribed to their weekly circulars as I'm not in there as often as I am Duane Reade and might miss a sale on something I need.

While there are some things I won't buy generically, I'm generally brand agnostic. Even for things that others don't like, I'm fine with buying generic ibuprofen (I currently have one from Wal-Mart where I bought bottles of 200 tablets 2:1, for a total of $3 vs. Advil's ~$8/100 ct). They work fine. Oddly enough the only thing I don't like off-brand is zip-lock bags especially the freezer ones. They just don't cut it.

Interesting article, Top Five Items to Always Buy Generic. Among other things, it backs up my experience with Advil, which I've also had with other similar products:

The Food and Drug Administration requires that any products with the same active ingredient must meet the same efficacy standards. In consumer-speak, that means your drugstore ibuprofen must be just as effective as its brand-name counterparts, which includes Advil, Motrin and Pediacare Fever, among others

I really wish a blog search about buying generic didn't return such crap. Link/adsense spammers are so un-original. Even filtering doesn't help much.

Anything you will or won't buy generic?

$7.00 at the grocery store

2008-09-04T22:53:00.002-04:00

I was good!

Key Food, one of the three supermarkets within spitting distance of my apartment, circulars run through Thursday. Somehow I neglected to look at it until yesterday when I realised there were some good deals, especially on things I needed. I was good and made a list of what I needed from the sale circular. It included some need nows: cheerios, weight watcher dinners, chop meat and some maybes: 2:1 on Tribe hummus, Welch's grape jelly, Arnold's bread.

I realised they were sold out of a lot of normal flavors and was about to get the rain check for the - 3/$7, regular price $4.49 when the manager had a stockperson find it. I realised w cheerios hile waiting that I didn't *need* any of the other stuff and walked out with only the cheerios. And that was with shopping while hungry!

Went home and made udon from the freezer with soy sauce. Soft on the teeth and "free" since I bought both some months ago.

$1440 gone

2008-09-04T22:51:00.002-04:00

and not even to something fun but dental work. I'm going to see what might get covered, but right now that's on AMEX and I'm facing the prospect of not one but two more crowns. One new and one to replace the one that self-destructed in the chair this morning. Not fun. Not at all.

On the plus side, the Giants won, good start to the season!

Net Worth + 1,001

2008-09-02T22:33:00.002-04:00

Wow, didn't expect that much of an increase. I think the numbers almost work now although neither my 401k nor my Roth IRA are factored in. It would have been better had I not had some rather large but necessary expenditures (more dental work) but I'm still happy with that.

Expected issues this month:

more dental work (1 crown, 1 root canal re-treatment) whose coverage is uncertain. This is the first time I'll be filing with my new insurance.
Although I just charged the December trip, that will be paid off with the account set aside for that purpose so that will be a decrease but a planned for one.
Hopefully student loan consolidation will be complete to enable one payment that includes principal payment.

I don't expect to incur any further debt and really want to begin paying this all down.

Travel Bug, Bitten

2008-08-31T23:59:00.002-04:00

That travel bug I mentioned as being a monetary suck? It struck. Not un-planned, a trip for my birthday has been in the works but I just booked it. 5 days, 4 nights in Cancun at the beginning of December.

The plus side? I'd set aside a growing fund for just that use so while it went on my credit card to pay for it, it will be paid off as soon as it hits while funds for spending grow via a "payroll deduction" (really a bi-weekly direct deposit to an alternate account). I think that was a good way of doing it, and I'm looking forward to the vacation.

A reasonable Saturday...

2008-08-30T21:08:00.002-04:00

especially given that I spent the afternoon at a Yankees game. Face value of tickets, $55. Cost to me, $0. And I invited three friends to use the tickets (at the same cost) and in return, my soda, hot dog and frozen lemonade were covered. Transportation was included in my (work funded) monthly metro card so that was free too.

That said: pre and post game Diet Pepsis, $1.77 apiece at Duane Reade and a post-game sandwich from Subway with drink ($7.72). I need not to do that, but it's not the end of the world either. Cashier at Walgreen's chuckled at me yesterday because I was a coupon fiend, "Oh wait, I have a coupon for that. According to my receipt, I saved $35.72 between their advertised savings and coupons. And yes, I know that in the grand scheme of things these items were marked up by that same amount. Oh well. I bought only one thing more than I had on my list and that ( a bottle of oregano) was on my grocery list and was cheaper at Walgreen's.

Didn't make it to the aquarium yesterday because of getting ot of the office late and having to go up to the Bronx to get the tickets from my mom, so I may go tomorrow. No free admission, but I may go to Coney anyway. We'll see.

An overview of spending...

2008-08-28T21:34:00.005-04:00

So I found out that I could look at my trends going back to May 2008 in Mint and decided to play around a bit. I ended up pulling out May and only looking at the past three months because May was ridiculously out of sync with reality due to Beth's shower, graduation, etc. So I stuck with starting my post-grad life, aka June 2007.

June, rent and part of the security deposit paid in advance. $1,631 on healthcare was yet more dental work. That's with a discount with my student insurance. The work needed to be done, end of story. The $425 auto isn't truly auto, it's partially train passes which Mint doesn't appear to have a way to classify. By far, the bulk of my expenses. Not a terrible month but not great.
Balance of the security deposit plus some purchases for the new place, more train travel (last before having it completely covered by work. "Kids and Education" is my student loan payment and "Pets" is because Mint has pet grooming but not laundry. Odd odd. Too much money on eating out, no excuse. Also in there is the cost of moving into the city.

August: couple student loans came out of in-school deferment, waiting on consolidation. Rent and utilities, a payment on my mattress, more dental work. Really, I can't complain about the bulk of my expenditures. It's life.

So there's the big picture for three months. Not wonderful, but not terrible. I know I need to get the food costs down, figure out where the "No Category" is going. But overall, no surprises, which is a good thing.

Shell Turkey Arrabiata?

2008-08-27T22:42:00.002-04:00

aka an attempt to save some money on food this week. On Monday I bought a tub of arrabiata sauce and ground turkey (on sale and healthier than ground chicken). I got home late last night and decided not to make it. Oddly enough, I got fed up tonight with the Yankee game and ended up cooking tonight at 10pm, so go figure that one.

After browning the turkey I decided I wanted something to go with it so I made 1/4 bag of pasta having learnt last time that a bag once cooked is a LOT of pasta. Somehow all of our disposable containers have been disposed of and/or lost, so I enlisted the help of old soup take-out containers. Should be three meals, maybe four. Now let's see if I remember it tomorrow morning on the way to work.

Total cost of the meal? < $9 3.99 for the turkey, $3.50 or so for the sauce and .59 for the bag of pasta. Less actually since half of that is remaining. I just really wish I knew how to cook more/better since I get bored of this concoction quite quickly. Any suggestions?

Staycation/GoLocal

2008-08-27T11:15:00.003-04:00

The city has been promoting the idea of staycations and exploring what's here via the GoLocal program. To be completely honest, I've taken advantage of precisely none of it. I've had great plans to do so, but haven't. In looking at the weather for a couple of places I considered for this weekend, I think I've decided I'm finally going to take full advantage of my unlimited ride Metrocard and go the farthest I can, for FREE.

I'm combining that with one place I've talked about going, but haven't yet. Coney Island. I always knew it was summer when the commercials for Astroland Park would air. Remember Coney Island, the way it used to be. It's everything it ever was, and MORE! Coney Island's Astroland Park. Oddly, I've never been. At least not that I remember, my parents claim otherwise. I have an extra incentive, 2008 is Astroland's last season. I also saw a friend's photos and realised it's a lot prettier than I imagined. I can go Saturday (1 hr 12 min from my apartment) or Friday after work on our last Summer Friday (54-56 min) and take advantage of a coupon. Not sure I'm going to want to go on the rides or just walk the boardwalk, but it's a good option to have. Sunset looks pretty and to be honest, I don't know that I'd want to stay all day just to see it.

There's also the aquarium (pay what you wish after 3p Friday) with this cutie so I'm thinking that's a good Friday option. May go home for part of the rest of the weekend, not sure. Only guarantee is sleep, which has been in limited supply of late.

It's the travel bug

2008-08-27T09:48:00.003-04:00

People have their addictions: smoking, gambling or what have you. Mine is travel. I've been thinking for some time that it's been a year since I've been overseas, which was also my last proper vacation. Last two three-day weekends have been taking up with wedding stuff (shower and actual wedding) and I haven't been out of town for the weekend since March which was the end of an almost monthly series of long weekends: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Los Angeles/Bakersfield, Los Angeles. Between school, work and a general lack of time I haven't traveled recently and I'm getting itchy feet.

I know all the practical reasons I shouldn't go away this weekend: traffic, money I don't need to spend, higher rates due to the holiday weekend, etc. And yet, I'm still messing around on lastminute.com and MegaBus. At least I'm genetically opposed to spending a lot and am a budget traveler at heart.

I need to learn how to invest

2008-08-26T21:09:00.002-04:00

I was an economics major as an undergrad, but you'd never know it now :-/ I mean, I know and understand the basics and I know why saving for retirement is crucial, but I have _no idea_ what to do with my Roth IRA, which I just moved to Fidelity to have it in the same place as my 401k and so I wouldn't get hammered on fees. Story of my Roth IRA. I had some found money in 2006 that I needed to do _something_ with by December 31. It was found money because we thought it had been spent on college but it turned out it hadn't been. I put it with Merrill Lynch because my family had some accounts there and it was a temporary solution. Eventually, I got nickled and dimed there and found that they made i too hard to contribute, so I didn't. In April 2007 I moved it to Citibank, holder of most of my other financial accounts. That was a decent solution, it was easy enough to contribute (although I was a brooke student so I didn't often) but then when they spun it back off to SmithBarney, the fees were ridiculous so I decided it was time to move it. Enter Fidelity.

I couldn't liquidate it and then move so I'm still holding the same two funds that I have forever and which have done nothing. Now that's not surprising, a lot of funds are doing nothing right now but I don't even understand what I'm holding because they were chosen for me. I admire a coworker who is basically a day trader, but I'm more of a hands off investor. I'm using Fidelity Freedom Funds for my 401 k because it seemed to be a very good idea and I understand what my fund holds. I'm worried about doing the same with my Roth because I don't want to put all my eggs in one basket.

Here are my current Roth IRA holdings:

AGRBX AMERICAN GROWTH FUND OF AMERICA CLASS B
CWGBX AMERICAN CAPITAL WORLD GROWTH & INC B

I've been doing some reading because I want to be more knowledgeable and I want to make a smart decision about what fund(s) to buy and hold. Some reading:

The Only 7 Investments You Need, a CNN Money article. I liked that it not only made some recommendations, explained them and gave some examples that met those recommendations. I also like their Mutual Funds overview page, which speaks English.
Index fund advice, please, an AskMeFi thread about mutual funds v. index funds
How do you choose between the various mutual funds?, another MeFi thread

I'm aware of sites like Motley Fool, of course, but I don't know where to start. I just mooched a copy of Suze Orman's The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke (non-affil) and am hoping that will be a good starting point.

Any other suggestions?

Libraries and Book Expenses

2008-08-26T20:33:00.002-04:00

I've discovered that my local library is crap. Sure, it's pretty. It's in a very nice building but I don't like libraries for their architecture, I like them for saving money on my main fix, books.

I rarely pay full price for books, my most recent book purchases have been the following:

$53.51 for 12 books at BookCloseOuts in July
$83.87 for 21 books at The Strand's Fulton Street annex on July 24th and $27.85 for 7 more at the same location on August 17th. It's a shame the store is closing, but at least I'm going to make the best of their clearance sales.
$18.60 for two new hardcovers at Amazon
15.47 for three books from Half.com
$6 for 5 books at the library book sale.

I'm also a huge fan of BookMooch, which enables me to share books with other readers at a cost of only shipping. My payment is in points, which enable me to Mooch books from others. Earlier this year I had worked out how much my books had cost and while I no longer have that at hand, it was somewhere between $2 and 3 per book, in line with my deals above with the exception of Amazon. If I shop new it's with a coupon and/or gift certificate (see Amazon) and or a book I need at a particular time for a given purpose. I'm an incurable bookworm, but still that's $205.30 that I could have spent elsewhere.

While that's not a monthly expense, it's twice a year or at most three times, but it's still an area to cut back, which brings me to my original post. My branch is awful. AW-FUL. I went the other day and did better at the book sale than I did in the borrowing section. It's so small and such a limited collection in my favorite section. I need to check out the branches closer to work and hope for better news.

Monthly Expenses: Overview

2008-08-26T12:45:00.002-04:00

I'm waiting until the end of the month to post August's expenditure overview because I don't see the point in posting it on the 26th. I was going to post July, but that was exceptionally abnormal due to moving costs. August isn't normal because of dental, but I'm convinced I'm never going to have a standard month so might as well start somewhere. Future months can only look up from there.

This isn't a budget, but rather an overview of some monthly regular expenses. I'm still trying to get the big picture.

Absolutes:

Rent: $1100, goes up to $1175 in October. My share of a flex 2BR. Includes heat and hot water.
Electricity: was $84.44 for July; don't really know what average is. Know it will go down in winter
Cable: was $59.25 in July- I think that's pretty well fixed. Again, don't know as I've only been in the apartment for six weeks.
Gym: $74.99- locked in through next June. It's key for my sanity and I make good use of it. There's also some reimbursement from my health insurance, but I don't know the exact amounts.

Fluctuate:

Geico - ~ $110 eight months of every twelve. I don't have my car here in the city but I do own one. I need to find out come January if this can get lowered at all. I wasn't able to when I went overseas.
E-Z Pass -like I said, I don't have my car but the trade off is I pay E-Z Pass in exchange for being on the Verizon family plan.

Where is it? It's Missing: or at least I don't account for it because I don't pay and/or see it

Transportation - my company pays for our monthly unlimited ride Metro Cards. It gets direct deposited into a Flex Account which is connected to a debit card that I use to purchase the card each month
Health/Vision/Dental - the latter two are free, I pay $25 for my health insurance each pay cycle so $50/month. It's pre-tax so I never see it.
FSA - $20/pay cycle or $40 a month - as above - pre-tax so I never see it.
401K - think it's $150/cycle and therefore $300 a month but I'm not sure since there's some hiccup between our HR department and Fidelity that they're working on. I also don't have a current pay stub handy.

I'm missing stuff and I haven't even begun to touch on discretionary and superfluous purchases. This is a start and better than nothing.

Key Issue: Student Loans

2008-08-26T00:18:00.002-04:00

In addition to the other expenses associated with city living, I, like many, deal with student loans. I'm in the process of consolidating my loans which consist of:

undergraduate consolidated loan. Approximately 13K
graduate Stafford loans (unsubsidized and subsidized): 39K
Graduate PLUS loans: Approximately 8K

Not too bad given that I went to two private schools. I'm happy with that total especially since I landed a job in my field prior to graduation with my MSc. I think I made the right choices with respect to working while in school, living at home to save money on rent and food and other items.

I was tossing up whether or not to consolidate and finally decided the convenience of one payment a month where I could pay over the minimum far outweighed making over the minimum on three separate loan accounts just to pay down principle. While there is the risk of paying more over time in a consolidation loan, I think I will be able to pay it off in far less time, mitigating some of that extra interest. I want to pay it off sooner rather than later because when I eventually move from Manhattan, I want to buy a house. I don't want to have these loans hanging over my head for the next 30 years and I'm willing to make sacrifices to make that happen.

I need to find out what my student loan payments are going to be (consolidated) so I can make a more accurate budget with respect to loan repayments, credit card payments, etc.

Gristedes v. D'Ag v. Key Foods

2008-08-25T21:12:00.003-04:00

As I alluded to in my first post, grocery shopping has become a high work endeavor with questionable ROI once time is factored in. I did my weekly shop at D'Agostinos yesterday but had to stop at Key Foods today to drop off my Savings Club form and I somehow landed at Gristedes. Trust me, it makes no sense to me either. On a rewards club note, I now have one for Key Foods and one for D'Agostinos.

While in Key Foods I went to pick up a tub of their pasta sauces only to realise I didn't have any large pasta or meat at home since I had some leftover lox, a package of turkey and no intentions of making a meat-based dinner this week. Whoops. I looked at their prices for meat and said no thanks. I won't pay north of $5 for meat, I just won't. As I walked west to my apartment, I contemplated walking to the local Associated, but I wasn't sure whether or not it would be open. I knew Gristedes would be on my way, but as I learnt my first weekend, it isn't cheap. Still, I figured I'd go in there just to price the meat.

Surprisingly Shady Brooks Farms ground turkey was on sale, only slightly more expensive than the Purdue ground chicken and healthier, to boot! Happy me.

In some senses, the incessant shopping around is driving me a little crazy. I don't want to pay to do the Grocery Game, but I really do wish there was a way to get a list of what is cheaper where. I look at prices for my staples, but I don't always remember them. I am good about carrying my coupon envelope in my purse so it's with me if I spot something. It really does pay to shop around because the $3.99 NutriGrain bars that I mentioned earlier? 4.99 at Gristedes.

I just really wish most of the coupon sites on the web weren't spammers. Is it that much to ask?

Drug Stores: Prices Vary

2008-08-25T14:36:00.000-04:00

Not speaking here for pharmaceutical purchases, but rather other things purchased OTC and personal care/cosmetics. What I've noticed of late

Duane Reade is clearly the most convenient, with their being as many if not more per street corner than Starbucks, but their prices vary wildly. Sale prices are good, list aren't always competitive. That said, they do have the Dollar Rewards Club, and $5 coupons accumulate with ridiculous speedy due to bonuses and other incentives. They've certainly won my loyalty with that because I'll weigh the rewards factor when I'm considering the DR price v. purchasing elsewhere.
CVS - less ubiquitous than Duane Reade but still plenty throughout. I don't find their ExtraCare program to be as rewarding as Duane Reade but that may just be because I don't shop their as frequently. With DR across the street from both my office and my apartment, I don't find the need to go further for CVS. Because I'm not in there frequently I don't see their circulars so it's possible I'm missing out on good deals.
King's Pharmacy - at least I think that's its name. I go in on occasion to pick up water because it's next to the gym and have made the occasional photocopy there, but haven't shopped there extensively.
Walgreen's - no loyalty program and their prices are higher than Duane Reade but their circular is in the Sunday Daily News and I tend to clip their coupons. They had some great back to school specials. There's one about 10 blocks away, or across the street from K-Mart.
K-Mart - never been to the one on 34th Street but discovered the Astor Place store when I had classes down there. Good prices, generally better than Duane Reade but no rewards program and not particularly convenient. I wouldn't go down there for day to day things (i.e. shampoo) but do pick them up if I'm down there for other reasons. Also has a large selection.
Bed Bath & Beyond - the store on E. 60th has a cosmetics/personal care items section and their prices are generally competitive. The 20% off and $5 coupons are good too, though I prefer to save them for larger purchases. There's also the issue that it's hard to get out of there without buying something else, therefore eliminating said savings.
Wal-Mart - the one in Secaucus is easy to get to and a $6 RT from Port Authority. The $6 bus fare is more than recouped by their prices, which are definitely the lowest I've found. I've planned to try and do a once a month or once/six week trip to pick up basics. The $1 off coupon on NutriGrain bars is even nicer when you're starting at $2.14 instead of $3.99. There is the factor of carrying the stuff back, but I found that manageable.

I really haven't looked into online purchases such as drugstore.com, Amazon or other sites for these. I need to do that and see what the shipping costs are. (In)ability to use coupons is another factor. Any other experiences?

Six weeks in...

2008-08-25T12:00:00.000-04:00

While I had been commuting from the northern suburbs for some time, I officially moved in on July 12th. The biggest realizations so far:

grocery prices really do vary from store to store. It's worth it on the weekends to walk/bus to the different stores to get the better price. I get all circulars by e-mail but it's going to take some more time to learn the regular prices of things to know where to go for a given item. There's also the law of "just how far will I carry that" for things like a case of water.
I still spend far too much on eating out, whether that's lunch at work when I didn't bring lunch, dinner because I don't feel like cooking, Subway because of the Scrabble promotion, Tasti D-Lite for dessert, or what not, it's too much. This is likely to be the easiest place to save noticeable money.
Electricity in summer is evil!

On a not directly related but still wallet-impacting note, student loan consolidation is taking forever and once that's done, my monthly payments will go down. I'm going to try and screen grab Mint to get my August expenditures.