2010 Budget

On my flight home for Christmas, I entertained myself by creating my 2010 budget. I use Excel because I love spreadsheets! I had some tweaking to do, mostly because my car is now officially mine... which means I'm paying the insurance on it to the tune of $115/month. (I pay it in an annual lump sum in October.) Ouch.

These are my monthly expenses. I also put $200 into my Roth IRA and $250 into other savings each month, which I haven't included here.

December 2009 Networth

I haven't updated my networth in a few months, so I figured the start of a new year is as good a time as any to check on it!

Since I last updated it in September (!) it's definitely increased by a lot. This was due to largely in part to market increases but also an extra paycheck in October and not too much spending in November/December.

From December 2008 to December 2009, my networth almost tripled! WOW! I received a (teeny tiny) raise in 2009 due to my promotion last January plus I got a bonus, a tax refund, two extra paychecks and it was my first full year of working! In terms of actual numbers, it increased from $11,007 to $30,950, or 2.81x what I started the year at.

I guess you could say I'm a saver! :)

What's the most your networth has ever increased, if you track it?

Bookworm

I'm a bookworm. :)

I absolutely love to read! It's one of my favorite hobbies. It's relaxing but also a lot of fun to get swept up in a really well-written story. The genres I enjoy range from travel fiction, adventures/thrillers/mystery and historical fiction to the occasional chick-lit. Buying new books all the time is expensive, which is why I am a huge fan of the library. (Or receiving books as gifts.) It makes reading a much more frugal hobby! My city's public library system is fantastic, because if I can find a book through their online database that is available at another branch, I can simply request a hold on it and they will send it to my nearby branch for pickup. Another way I avoid buying books is through family: Mom and I have a very similar taste in books, so she buys a lot of them and then sends them to me to read. I, in turn, pass them along to another bookworm girlfriend or donate them to the library.

Last year, in an effort to read more and meet new people, I joined a book club through Meetup.com. Each meeting costs $1 and, depending on the location, about $3 for parking. I went to two meetings last year before my CFA studying got in the way and now I'm excited to go back. The next book club I am going to is at the end of January for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

What am I reading now? Well, I finally finished The Pillars of the Earth over my Christmas vacation which was absolutely amazing! It's now in my top 5 books of all time, because it was a historical fiction novel that had everything you could ever want in a novel: action, adventure, romance, twisting plots, you name it! I definitely recommend it if you love to read. Don't be intimidated by the number of pages, it goes by very quickly. For Christmas, I received Shantaram and Unaccustomed Earth. I've already started reading Shantaram and I can't put it down! :)

If you like to read, what are your recommendations for books? Some of my favorites include Eat Pray Love, The Lovely Bones, Almost French, I Dreamed of Africa, Watership Down, Angela's Ashes, Hitching Rides with Buddha, Water for Elephants, The Namesake... I could go on and on! :) Also, how do you save money if you like to read?

Shoe Shopping Hiatus

For the first six months of 2010, I vow not to buy any shoes... no heels and definitely no boots! (My wardrobe needs some updating, so I will let myself buy clothes. Just no shoes.)

In 2009, I spent close to $600 on shoes! Luckily it did not come out of my normal budget, but rather from extra income, budget leftovers or gift money. Many of them will last me quite a few years and I definitely added some amazing ones to my collection. A great pair of shoes is my vice! Recently, it has been all about boots. Three I purchased myself and one was a Christmas gift. :)

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!
Welcome to 2010... a new year and decade! Last year was a great one, and I know this year will be even better! Hope you all had a safe and fun New Year's, wherever you were. :)

2010 Goals

• Max out Roth IRA
  I am just about to max it out for 2009 and want to do it again in 2010!
  
• E-Fund to $15K
  $15K would give me about a 10-month emergency fund.
  
• Continue with CFA exams
  I recently took Level I, so we'll see what happens when I get my result in January.
  
• Take golf lessons
  This was a 2009 goal that I didn't accomplish. Here's round two! ;)
  
• Knit 3 items
  I started learning to knit at the end of 2008, but fell off the bandwagon in 2009. Even if I just knit three basic items like squares or scarves, I am really determined this year!
  
• Volunteer
  I volunteered a lot during high school and college. I would really like to start again!

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

It's Christmas Eve here on the West Coast. In my family, we open two presents each on Christmas Eve (German tradition) and the remainder plus stockings on Christmas Day. We also had a fantastic Christmas Eve dinner where each person in the family made one dish. My Mom made lava cake for dessert and then we watched a foreign movie. Overall, a fantastic night! :)