Weekly Money Check Up

The weekly money check up is hosted by My Pretty Pennies. See her post here! :)

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1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on renewing my AAA membership for $48.

2. Today I feel good towards money. Why? Because it's a three paycheck month! :)

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was have a Sunday night roommate family potluck dinner. I contributed homemade hummus and a bag of chips, so it was an inexpensive side dish. The company was worth any cost, thought!

4. I will consider this week a success if I renew my car's registration! It's due by Oct 26th and I'll be out of town on vacation...

5. If I could could quit my job for a month and travel throughout one country, I would choose ohh this is a hard one! I'm obsessed with India and Vietnam, but I've been to both those countries already... so, I'll go with Egypt. :)

Three Paycheck Month

October is the other three paycheck month of the year! I am so excited, and it couldn't come at a more perfect time. I'm leaving for two vacations in 11 days, my car tabs expire at the end of the month and so does my gym membership - which I will probably try to negotiate. It's already been spendy but as Suze Orman says: People First! :) Here's what I plan on doing with my extra paycheck, which will be about $1K even.

Travel Fund $250
Roth IRA $200
Gift Fund $200 (needs to be padded before Christmas!)
Car Registration Renewal $150 (I used this calculator and am over-budgeting by $50)
Self $200 (gym renewal or shopping or whatever!)

What are you doing with your extra paycheck this month?

Weekend Spending Report

I know, I've been a bad blogger recently! My posts have been few and far between. Sometimes it's just hard to find inspiration to write, especially about monetary matters when everything about my finances is basically automated. Set it and forget it! :) Plus, work is just draining me even without working any overtime, there is just a lot more to do and learning a lot of new responsibilities due to a co-worker quitting a month ago has been interesting on top of my regular work. I was able to do 1.5 hours of OT last week, which will be reflected on this upcoming paycheck, hooray!

On another note, here's my weekend spending breakdown:

• $15, hookah bar & a drink with friends on Friday
• $27.81, gas (my tank was at 1/4)
  
• $5, lunch at Rubio's with some girlfriends on Saturday
  
• $4, individual-sized Pumpkin Spice bundt cake as part of a gift
  
• $3.51, Target for gift bag + tissue paper + a snack
  
• $41, my tab for girlfriend's birthday on Saturday night (I forgot how much fun piano bars are!)
• $12.50, delicious brunch with girlfriend & her husband on Sunday
  

Having an awesome weekend that included LOTS of much-needed friend time, a Sunday afternoon nap and a roommate family dinner of pot roast, mashed potatoes and mac & cheese? Worth. Every. Penny! :)

You Never Know: A Follow-Up

Back at the end of July, I blogged about the you never know concept as it pertained to my job. I asked my boss about a potential salary increase and your encouraging comments were fantastic!

It's been two months... and I've got nothing to report back. My boss never followed up with me like she said she would in August. We also had an employee quit at the beginning of September so myself and the other associate have split his responsibilities. This week, there was a relevant conference up in San Francisco... but the other associate got to go, not me. Even though I'd been promised a conference for the past two years in my job since everyone else has been to at least one!

Needless to say: I'm frustrated. Very much so. I thought about bringing up the salary issue again with my boss, but didn't want to be a pest. My monthly meeting today was rushed and by the time she asked if I "had anything else" to discuss, she was already standing up near the door because she had another meeting. Of course, I didn't have the guts to bring it up right then!

So, I've made a decision. I'm going to start looking for another job. To see what's out there and test the waters. I spent the weekend re-writing my resume and searching for jobs. I figure this could go a few different ways:

1. I find nothing and have to hang on to what I have,
2. I find some jobs and can move onto something with better pay/opportunities, or
   
3. I find some jobs and can use them as leverage for an increase at my current position.

I figure a little over two years' experience is a reasonable time to do this! Plus, to be honest, my department cannot afford to lose me right now as we just lost someone else and cannot replace them due to a hiring freeze so that should afford me some leverage. (I hope.)

Any thoughts/suggestions? What would you do?

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New Favorite Sweater

My Mom recently went on a girl's weekend to Vancouver, Canada. While she was there, I asked if she could see if there was anything that I would like at my favorite store, Le Chateau. I told her I would pay her back for whatever she was able to find me. Their size XXS runs very small so I own a few items (which I bought at their NYC store) like basic tank tops and some belts.

This time, my Mom hit the jackpot... and told me to consider the clothing an early Christmas present! She's the best :) My favorite item was the below absolutely fabulous sweater! It's an acrylic/angora blend that's incredibly soft and I love the color. Dare I say this is now my favorite item of clothing?? I paired it with white jeans and one of my pairs of boots. I love the tunic style, especially that it's a bit longer at the back.

Weekly Money Check Up

Courtesy of My Pretty Pennies! I'm a few days late, but it's fun to do.

1. The most I’ve spent this last week was on clothes! I spent $91.02 at H&M :)

2. Today I feel good towards money.

3. Money can’t buy happiness. One free/inexpensive thing I did last week that made me happy was continue watching S4 of Dexter with friends.

4. I will consider this week a success if I don't spend too much on groceries! They are my vice.

5. My first job was the ticket seller at a go-karting track... other than babysitting. It was really fun and really easy! I think that's what started my interest in customer service. (Even though that's not currently what I do.)

Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend!

The New Young Investor: Shunning Stocks

The other day, I read this article on the Money section of CNN's website, entitled The New Young Investor: Shunning Stocks.

To be honest, the article didn't surprise me that much. Investing is very emotional for everyone. I can see how those of us in our 20s and early 30s might be confused/scared/nervous after seeing many of our parents and elders lose a lot of money in the stock market over the last decade.

However, I in no-way-shape-or-form believe that Generations X and Y should be pulling all of our money out of the stock market. It's a tried-and-true form of income, especially if you are investing for the long-haul of 35-40+ more years. Sure, even I've been slightly skeptical at times. But then again, I've only been investing for two years come this October! Of course the market is going to fluctuate during that short time frame, especially given the economic situation/recession we are in. 100% of my Roth IRA and 401k investments are in pure stocks. No bond funds for me! Of course, I do have a sizeable chunk of money is savings... but those are just for rainy days and I expect to deplete/replenish those accounts as life happens. My retirement funds are for the LONG haul!

I have faith in the stock market. I won't stop having faith in the stock market unless it completely implodes and disappears all together one day. I'm going to continue to invest and have a bit more money than those who have decided to pull out for the time being and who are trying to "time the market"... it's impossible to do!

What are your thoughts on the article?