Category: Uncategorized

Hi all,

Thanks for your comments on my last post! I thought about it and realized that I still had my old site, http://thesingledollar.blogspot.com/ — where I posted for six months or so before moving here.

I’ll probably keep posting there, once a month or so. The only issue is that I’m not sure whether I can import the archives from this site or not. I’ve exported them to an xml file so I have that backup, but it seems like you can’t import that kind of file into blogger. Googling indicates that there used to be a conversion tool but it’s not around anymore.

However, even if I can’t import the last few years of content, at least I’ll have a place to be (that is free!) going forward. It’ll be good not to let the blogging go entirely, even if at my current rate of posting I couldn’t justify continuing to pay for the site.

Hi 🙂 Checking back in.

Continue reading “Beginning of November net worth update”

Hi! I’m checking back in now that things have settled down a little. It’s nice to see my net worth chart going back UP again after several flatline months and a couple of decline while I was unemployed:

Continue reading “September 2017 Net Worth Update”

Okayyyyyyyyy. Obviously I’m not really updating anymore — for a combination of reasons. Partly, as my finances stabilized I had less to say about them; partly, I’ve been distracted by politics; and partly, I wasn’t really sure what was going on. For a while I thought I might be volunteering, but then I ended up taking a job after all. My old contract was up on June 30 and my one didn’t start til August 15 — meaning six weeks without my regular income. That hasn’t been a problem, since I had plenty of savings to work with, but I definitely didn’t keep as much of an eye on my spending as I might have over the summer. That was a little intentional, since I wanted to make it a really great summer with friends (I had to move for the new job). But I did also end up spending some money I didn’t need to at all. I don’t even know how much, since among other things I stopped keeping track for a while. I figure I’m going to reset YNAB for September when I get my first paycheck and start over again with the tracking.

Anyway, I just haven’t been that inspired to write, clearly. But today something happened that is relevant to this blog, namely, I pulled a little trick with my new housing situation and saved myself $1000.

Continue reading “How I Just Saved $1000 (also, hi!)”

Hi all. I don’t have a net worth update today, partly because Mint is misbehaving — its connection with Vanguard seems to be off, and it’s showing me with an extra account there, which in turn is increasing my net worth by $17K. Not that this wouldn’t be nice, but it’s definitely not accurate 🙂

Speaking of net worth! Double Debt Single Woman is in positive net worth territory this month! It has been a long haul for her — she’s increased her net worth by over $140K in five years, through a job loss and surgery, to get to this point. Amazing work, DDSW.

I myself am thinking about a period of unemployment next year, not exactly on purpose but also not exactly NOT on purpose. My current contract runs out at the end of June and so far I don’t have a job lined up yet, though I do have a phone interview in a couple of hours and also some other things ‘cooking.’ However, I’m also considering volunteering full time for a while, at least six months or so.

Continue reading “Savings rates and net worths”

Things are doing fine on the net worth front. I got paid this morning and according to Mint I’m at:

$20,111.61 in cash (savings and checking)

$41674.17 in retirement investments

for a total of $61785.78, representing an increase of $1269 in March. This is a little low as an increase, because of the car repair I paid for this month, but it’s fine. Who can argue, really??? My emergency fund has been partially replenished once I got paid and is now back up to $3840, and I made a substantial contribution to the life fund too, which is at $14,522. Ticking along.

 

 

…of $22, state and federal combined 🙂 Actually, this is great news, since I made several thousand dollars in fellowship last year that didn’t have anything deducted from it, so I was worried I’d have to pay this year. On the other hand, my job deductions were very strange due to the lump-sum payment I got in the fall, so I was pretty sure that enough “extra” had come out of that one to compensate. And it did, obviously, working out almost exactly equally. I spent about $20 on brunch today, which I don’t do often these days, so that’s that.

Anyone have a more exciting tax return story to tell?

Another one of those funny pieces of financial behavior that I’ve been doing for a while but is maybe weird?

Continue reading “Is this taking “treat your credit card like a debit card” too far?”

My freelance check showed up! $1250. Not life-changing but also not bad. I immediately transferred it into the “life fund” which is now over $13,000 again. (It was up to $15,000 or so last year before I moved some of it into my IRA.) Even with that, I am still under $60,000 though! Between the car repair bill, paying rent, and taking my cash draw out…. Close, though, and when I get paid next week I’ll be back over $60K, and also be able to transfer $650 into the life fund and $190 into the emergency fund.

Continue reading “That does brighten the day (slash car musings)”

Hi! Yes, it’s been two months 🙂 I’m definitely not in a place where I think about my money every day, or even every week. Which I guess is kind of good? But after two months I wanted to drop in here with at least a quickie net worth update. Here’s where I’m at:

SAVINGS: $16273

CHECKING: $2595

INVESTMENT/RETIREMENT: $41648

TOTAL NET WORTH: $60516

Hey, excitement, I made it over $60K! Less excitement, I will very shortly be back below that due to paying rent and also paying for a car repair. It’s still “pending” in my credit card, so about $400 of that money in checking will disappear tomorrow when I pay that off. It’s my first test of the infinitely refreshing emergency fund concept. It does bother me a little to see my e-fund down around $3600 when it was just broke $4000 a couple weeks ago, but I think it’s still a good idea to just keep refilling it on schedule rather than scramble to get it back up to where it was ASAP.

I should also have a substantial freelance check, a little over $1000, arriving this month. The company has a really annoying new online system for paying out and it’s taking forever! But I don’t think it will be much longer; it’s already been over a month.

Generally, how are things going? Well, ok. I’ve been working really, really hard the last couple of weeks on the end of a big project at work and I turned in a not-quite-final draft of that earlier today. Still got a ways to go, but it was a big step. Speaking of work, I should have news on the job front pretty soon — but not today.

Politics…well. Sigh. I’ve been working on the resistance too. Although I had to back off the last couple of weeks and work on my work project instead of going to meetings constantly 🙂 I’m glad I’ll have a little more time for the next few months to do stuff in my community.