Sunday Evening Post: New Year Edition
|
Day |
Amount |
Place |
Category |
|
Monday |
$50.50 |
Gas |
Car |
|
Tuesday |
$8.00 |
Lunch |
Allowance |
|
$12.00 |
Safeway |
Groceries |
|
|
Saturday |
$89.00 |
CostCo |
Groceries |
|
$1.00 |
Safeway |
Groceries |
|
|
$5.00 |
Parking |
Car |
Only about $165 in spending this week, and it would have been less if I had remembered to bring our CostCo gift cards to CostCo. Oh well, they’ll keep the spending down another week. There might still be a parking expense this evening.
The New Year is not starting off on the best note on the personal side (vs the financial side). At this moment in time, I’m not ready to go into details, but the MIL went from being a week or so away from going home on Christmas Eve to being in the ICU on New Year’s Eve.
Over the next week or so, I’ll be doing my yearly comparisons going back 3-4 years, showing how C and I have changed our spending patterns (or at least our tracking our spending patterns) and have a good retrospective on what worked for us in 2011 and what didn’t.
Things I do count as a success:
We paid for all of C’s college courses in cash. As long as tuition prices don’t go up too much (state budget cuts), we actually have enough in savings to pay the rest of his tuition through 2013.
We paid $0 in credit card interest this year, while still earning $300 worth of credit card rewards in the form of gift cards and money off of travel. This despite losing one dog to cancer and then having a cancer scare with another one. Yay for having an emergency fund.
Our basement has not flooded this winter, for the first winter since we bought this house. While we are still paying on the basement work until April, let me tell you, I definitely count this one a win.
I also have some goals for 2012. Nothing as exciting as what some of the other bloggers have posted, but things I’m working on, none the less.
1) I want to have at least one piece of fiction writing accepted for publication- a paying publication.
2) I want to publish my next art/fiction combination book, working with an artist I adore. The goal is for it to pay for itself, and maybe even a little extra.
3) I plan to attend FinCon12. Preliminary research shows plane tickets should cost a little over $200, and that Jana of Daily Money $hot is willing to share a room with me, cutting both of our hotel fees in half. I am beyond excited about this. However, it still is going to cost me 4 months’ worth of allowance, and I am bad about saving my allowance, so I need to get some discipline around that. I plan to use any money I make from my fiction, the book, or ads toward FinCon.
Aggressively, I’d like to say I want to pay for FinCon completely with side hustle money, but I also want to be realistic.
4) I want to become a full member of Yakezie. (You’ll see more about this in Tuesday’s post.)
5) I would like to actually make money from this blog. I haven’t checked my Google Adsense account since I started my website, so it’s possible I’ve already made some, but somehow I doubt it. For this, I’ll need to reach out to others on the Yakezie network for help and advice.
6) I want to be healthier. I refuse to make it a goal to lose weight, even though I am morbidly obese, per BMI. I believe very much in the Healthy at Any Weight movement. Sure it would be nice to be skinnier; that’s much more acceptable in our society, but I want healthy. I want to improve my endurance, get my knees in better shape, and keep my cholesterol under control. (Both sides of my family have cholesterol issues, so it’s a battle against genetics, but one I think can be managed.)
I know Larry will make a great running companion, so I need to research parks around here that have good, FLAT running trails. Hills are everywhere. I need flat, at least to start.
So those are my 6 goals for the year that I am 62 years old.
I hope that everyone has a great 2012, and I look forward to seeing what everyone can accomplish.
I am looking forward to seeing you at the FINCON12. It is nine months away but if we all make it there, it should be a blast. I also hope that we can become Yakezie members. Sam is predicting to close a door to Yakezie next year. I hope it is just a prediction.
I am also pretty stoked about FinCon12, and Yakezie. Just have to make myself do the work and all
Isn't it an awesome feeling to know that the rest of your college tuition is already covered? Awesome!
It is awesome to know the rest of C's college is paid for (at least until he looks at grad school). I would be nice if the rest of my college tuition was paid for, but we're still looking at another 3+ years for my loans to all be paid off.
FINCON12 should be another terrific experience. Good goals. Keep up the good work.
Thank you
Good luck with fincon, your health and side hustle. Keep in mind that you dont need to earn ALL Your fincon money right away. You can buy your ticket first, then pay for the plane ticket at a later time, when you earn more side hustle money, and same for the hotel – that's what I ended up doing last year. I grew up in denver though, and I live close by, so I'll be staying at my parents house (maybe) and driving in. SHould be a cheap one for me.
See, if FinCon were in Seattle, I'd be set.
No, I don't need to earn everything at once, but the cost is going to be over 4 months allowance (since I forgot to include the price of the conference intself in my initial calculations), and I like to spend my allowance. However, I am allowed to go into debt to myself and use vacation savings to cover what I don't have right away. I would just like to earn something to help cover the expenses.
Great goals for the year. I look forward to seeing how you achieve them as the year progresses!
I think there is going to be an additional section to the Sunday Evening Post to help keep track, so you'll all be forced to see how I progress. 😉
You're 6 squared–that's funny!!!
Jeff's right–you don't have to earn or save all your FinCon money right away. Do it piece by piece (that's how I did it last year). And you know I'm willing to help out on the hotel if you need it! I've known you forever; it'll be awesome to finally meet you in person so you better be there 🙂
I can't wait to meet you in person, either. And I won't need money help. I need money discipline, but if I have to go in to debt to myself for the conference, I will. We have the savings to cover it if need be. (And, I can put everything on a credit card to give myself and extra month to pay) 🙂
Wow, I'm glad I'm not the only one who forgets my Costco gift cards… Good work on your budget!
Yeah, they sat in the gift box they came in instead of making it to my wallet. They are there now, though. next challenge- remember to use them.