Despite getting terribly sick right before my vacation (I ended up taking off Tuesday and Wednesday as sick days), I had a great time in Ft. Myers. I only made it to one Red Sox game, but I spent ample time relaxing and on the beach so I feel the trip was a success. And, I spent way less than what I had budgeted for outlet shopping. I had planned to replenish my wardrobe in a major way, but I bought four shirts for a total of less than $50 at the J. Crew outlet and that was it. Crazy.
I updated my savings sidebars just now, and it's exciting to see that I'm back on track with my savings. I should have my fun fund maxed out by the end of April, or mid-May at the latest. I'm also going to start making weekly deposits into my 2009 Roth so that I can max it out by the end of the year. I think weekly is the way to go, since the market is so insane right now. May as well try to capitalize on some good old dollar cost averaging, rather than dumping the money in only to see the value plummet the next day, which is exactly what happened to me when I invested in a new mutual fund for the first $3,000 of my 2009 Roth. BAH.
Showing posts with label roth ira. Show all posts
Showing posts with label roth ira. Show all posts
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Sidebar updated + taxes
Sarah let me know that the Roth IRA contribution limit increases to $5,500 in 2010, so I've updated my sidebar accordingly. While I was in there, I also updated my savings information to reflect my mid-month deposit, and entered my initial Roth 2009 deposit, which I made last week. I bought a new index fund, so I had to make the $3,000 contribution in one lump sum; I'm planning to make small monthly deposits for the remaining $2,000 beginning in March.
I finished doing my federal taxes and started working on my state returns on Friday night (a riveting Friday night, to be sure). It looks like I'm going to get back a little over $500 between the two returns, which will be a nice bump. Last year I only got about $325 back. As I said in an earlier post, I prefer to get less taken out of my checks so that I can save the money myself throughout the year. As long as I don't wind up owing any money at the end of the year, this works best for me.
I finished doing my federal taxes and started working on my state returns on Friday night (a riveting Friday night, to be sure). It looks like I'm going to get back a little over $500 between the two returns, which will be a nice bump. Last year I only got about $325 back. As I said in an earlier post, I prefer to get less taken out of my checks so that I can save the money myself throughout the year. As long as I don't wind up owing any money at the end of the year, this works best for me.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Goals for 2009
Earlier today, I wrote about some of my accomplishments from 2008. Here are my goals for 2009.
Financial
~I started repaying my student loans in November, 2006. Since then, I've paid off $12,000 of the combined $77,000 principal, reducing my total debt by over 15%. My goal is match this 15% reduction in 2009, so that my total debt at the end of the year is $55k or less. That's still an outrageous amount of debt, to be sure, but if I can do it (and I know I can), I'll have paid off 30% of my total debt (about $22,000) in just three years.
This will mean that I'll have just 45% of my federal student loan debt left to pay at the end of the year. I'll still have about 87% of my private student loan debt, and about 58% of my Perkins loan remaining at the end of 2009. Currently, those loans have much lower rates (3.5% for my private loan, and 5% for the Perkins loan), vs. a 6.6% rate for my federal loan, so this makes the most sense right now. However, my federal loan rate will drop to 5.6% next December, and the adjustable rate on my private loan is sure to go up this year, so this may change slightly. However the rates adjust, I'll be throwing the same amount at my loans each month, so I should be able to meet my goal.
~Get a promotion at work, and at least a 5% raise. I'd really love to get a 7% raise, and I think I deserve it, but the economic crisis is the perfect excuse for companies to screw their employees out of raises, and I'm sure mine will be no exception. I'm going to work on my self-evaluation today and try to make the case for the promotion/raise, based on all of the extra work and responsibility I've had this year. Cross your fingers for me.
~Fully fund Roth IRA for 2009. I've got the full amount in CDs right now, and I'll start contributing to my Roth in February or March.
~Fully fund Roth 2010 fund by the end of the year. My parents gave me $1,000 at Christmas for my Roth, which was wonderful. I'm now well on my way toward getting this funded for the year. The rest of the money (a little over $3,000) will come from small amounts each month and/or my annual bonus, depending on how that plays out.
~With the economy the way it is, and my job in an unstable industry (publishing), I'm increasing my emergency fund to $11,000. I will fully fund this by the end of the year.
~I will fully fund my fun fund by the end of the year. The money in there now will remain in there until the next gift-buying occasion pops up. I've already bought my brother's birthday gift and allotted money for my dad's birthday gift (both birthdays are this month), and C and I typically exchange small inexpensive gifts for Valentine's day, so I think I can do this pretty easily within a few months. After this is funded, I'll throw the extra money each month at my 2010 Roth fund.
~I'll contribute another $5,000 to my downpayment fund. At this rate, I should be close to $19,000 at the end of the year.
~Begin seriously looking at condos/extremely cheap houses. The market's only going to go down for so long, and I'd like to buy while things are still within my (extremely low) price range. I can afford to buy now, but only in less than desirable areas. Even so, I'd like to go see some of these places in person to get an idea of what my tiny fistful of dollars can buy.
~Continue to pull in an extra $7 - $10k from part time jobs. This year I made about $9k from my part time jobs, before taxes. I'd love to keep this going, as it provides a great cushion for my savings as I use my primary job to pay down my student loan debt.
Non-financial
~My number one goal is to be more comfortable with my myself, in general. I often feel uneasy in my own skin, which makes me want to hide from the world. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll suddenly, out of nowhere, feel so uncomfortable and gross that I'm forced to go home. I have no idea where this comes from, but it needs to stop because it's ruined too many days for me. This might the hardest of my goals, but I think it's probably the most important to my happiness and well-being.
~Continue to be physically active and stay in shape. I'm currently at my ideal weight, and I would love to maintain it by continuing to do all of my spring/summer/fall commuting by foot and eating healthfully. It's tough to get exercise in during the winter, since I don't belong to a gym, but I know I'll be right back on track by March (I hope it's warm enough to walk to/from work by then!).
~Finish at least one song. C and I have been doing some Sunday afternoon songwriting, which is a lot of fun. I'm not particularly musically inclined, but it's still a lot of fun to write lyrics/melodies/sing/etc. Most of what we've written so far are short snippets of incomplete songs – I'd love to get a few completed works under our belts!
~Successfully learn to knit, and complete at least three projects. It would be great to be able to give some of these as gifts next year and save some money on Christmas.
~Read 40 books. I think I can do this, provided I don't get stuck on the same book for weeks like I did a few times this year (I'm looking at you, Tom Friedman...).
~Go to more concerts of bands I like while they're still playing small clubs. I always talk myself out of doing this for one reason or another (no one to go with, don't want to spend the money, too tired in the middle of the week, etc.), but it seriously sucks to miss out an opportunity to see a band you like in a small venue, only to have them return a few months later playing a giant show that you can't afford. This is not happening to me anymore!
I think I can achieve all of these goals, with a lot of hard work and energy. Wish me luck!
Financial
~I started repaying my student loans in November, 2006. Since then, I've paid off $12,000 of the combined $77,000 principal, reducing my total debt by over 15%. My goal is match this 15% reduction in 2009, so that my total debt at the end of the year is $55k or less. That's still an outrageous amount of debt, to be sure, but if I can do it (and I know I can), I'll have paid off 30% of my total debt (about $22,000) in just three years.
This will mean that I'll have just 45% of my federal student loan debt left to pay at the end of the year. I'll still have about 87% of my private student loan debt, and about 58% of my Perkins loan remaining at the end of 2009. Currently, those loans have much lower rates (3.5% for my private loan, and 5% for the Perkins loan), vs. a 6.6% rate for my federal loan, so this makes the most sense right now. However, my federal loan rate will drop to 5.6% next December, and the adjustable rate on my private loan is sure to go up this year, so this may change slightly. However the rates adjust, I'll be throwing the same amount at my loans each month, so I should be able to meet my goal.
~Get a promotion at work, and at least a 5% raise. I'd really love to get a 7% raise, and I think I deserve it, but the economic crisis is the perfect excuse for companies to screw their employees out of raises, and I'm sure mine will be no exception. I'm going to work on my self-evaluation today and try to make the case for the promotion/raise, based on all of the extra work and responsibility I've had this year. Cross your fingers for me.
~Fully fund Roth IRA for 2009. I've got the full amount in CDs right now, and I'll start contributing to my Roth in February or March.
~Fully fund Roth 2010 fund by the end of the year. My parents gave me $1,000 at Christmas for my Roth, which was wonderful. I'm now well on my way toward getting this funded for the year. The rest of the money (a little over $3,000) will come from small amounts each month and/or my annual bonus, depending on how that plays out.
~With the economy the way it is, and my job in an unstable industry (publishing), I'm increasing my emergency fund to $11,000. I will fully fund this by the end of the year.
~I will fully fund my fun fund by the end of the year. The money in there now will remain in there until the next gift-buying occasion pops up. I've already bought my brother's birthday gift and allotted money for my dad's birthday gift (both birthdays are this month), and C and I typically exchange small inexpensive gifts for Valentine's day, so I think I can do this pretty easily within a few months. After this is funded, I'll throw the extra money each month at my 2010 Roth fund.
~I'll contribute another $5,000 to my downpayment fund. At this rate, I should be close to $19,000 at the end of the year.
~Begin seriously looking at condos/extremely cheap houses. The market's only going to go down for so long, and I'd like to buy while things are still within my (extremely low) price range. I can afford to buy now, but only in less than desirable areas. Even so, I'd like to go see some of these places in person to get an idea of what my tiny fistful of dollars can buy.
~Continue to pull in an extra $7 - $10k from part time jobs. This year I made about $9k from my part time jobs, before taxes. I'd love to keep this going, as it provides a great cushion for my savings as I use my primary job to pay down my student loan debt.
Non-financial
~My number one goal is to be more comfortable with my myself, in general. I often feel uneasy in my own skin, which makes me want to hide from the world. Sometimes when I'm out, I'll suddenly, out of nowhere, feel so uncomfortable and gross that I'm forced to go home. I have no idea where this comes from, but it needs to stop because it's ruined too many days for me. This might the hardest of my goals, but I think it's probably the most important to my happiness and well-being.
~Continue to be physically active and stay in shape. I'm currently at my ideal weight, and I would love to maintain it by continuing to do all of my spring/summer/fall commuting by foot and eating healthfully. It's tough to get exercise in during the winter, since I don't belong to a gym, but I know I'll be right back on track by March (I hope it's warm enough to walk to/from work by then!).
~Finish at least one song. C and I have been doing some Sunday afternoon songwriting, which is a lot of fun. I'm not particularly musically inclined, but it's still a lot of fun to write lyrics/melodies/sing/etc. Most of what we've written so far are short snippets of incomplete songs – I'd love to get a few completed works under our belts!
~Successfully learn to knit, and complete at least three projects. It would be great to be able to give some of these as gifts next year and save some money on Christmas.
~Read 40 books. I think I can do this, provided I don't get stuck on the same book for weeks like I did a few times this year (I'm looking at you, Tom Friedman...).
~Go to more concerts of bands I like while they're still playing small clubs. I always talk myself out of doing this for one reason or another (no one to go with, don't want to spend the money, too tired in the middle of the week, etc.), but it seriously sucks to miss out an opportunity to see a band you like in a small venue, only to have them return a few months later playing a giant show that you can't afford. This is not happening to me anymore!
I think I can achieve all of these goals, with a lot of hard work and energy. Wish me luck!
Financial Achievements for 2008
Though I've always cared about saving, 2008 was the first year I truly dedicated myself to personal finance.
In 2008, I:
~Landed into this amazing rent-free opportunity!
~ Began using the debt snowball method to eliminate my student loan debt as quickly as possible. You can find a great debt snowball spreadsheet here; I've come across many of these types of spreadsheets, and this was the most useful one I've encountered.
~ Split my savings account into separate accounts to reflect my savings goals, almost meeting my $7k emergency fund goal, and reaching the halfway points of my down payment and fun funds.
~ Fully funded my Roth IRA for 2008, and saved up the full amount for my 2009 contribution, with a little leftover to go towards the beginning my of my 2010 fund.
~ Continued to put 6% of each paycheck toward my 401k. My company matches 100% of the first 3%, and 50% of the next 3%. Since I'm still relatively broke, and investing in a Roth IRA each year in addition to my 401k, this is as much as I'm willing to put into it at this point.
~ Began investing monthly in company stock and individual stocks of well-established companies that pay dividends in order to capitalize on low stock prices during a down market, and to continue diversifying my overall investment portfolio.
~ Finished the year reducing my federal student loan debt at a rate of 3% per month, and my private student loan debt at a rate of 0.3% per month. If I continue at this rate, loans will be completely paid off by the end of 2014. This sounds like a very long time from now, but I will be extremely impressed with myself if I can manage to pay off $77k, plus interest, in less than 10 years.
In non-financial 2008 accomplishments, I also:
~Got a promotion and 5% raise at my full-time job, and a dollar-per-hour raise at my part time job (I guess this one is finance-related, too :)) This was almost a year ago, and I'm hoping to add this to my 2009 accomplishments soon.
~Hung out more with co-workers (from both jobs) and attended more social gatherings. Sounds boring, but I'm a pretty shy person who feels most comfortable alone or one-on-one, so this was a pretty big deal for me. Hopefully I can continue on this path in 2009.
~Went on my first business trip - alone. I was really nervous about having to talk to people I didn't know for five days, but it went surprisingly well, and I even made a few friends out of it. Of course, my company (like most companies) is cutting its travel budget, so who knows when I'll get to go on another business trip, but it was still a good experience.
~Read over 30 books. I hope to increase that number in 2009. In fact, I should have at least one finished by the end of the day.
~Began to learn how to knit. So much fun! I'll be writing a separate post about this soon.
I'll be posting my 2009 goals this afternoon- stay tuned...
In 2008, I:
~Landed into this amazing rent-free opportunity!
~ Began using the debt snowball method to eliminate my student loan debt as quickly as possible. You can find a great debt snowball spreadsheet here; I've come across many of these types of spreadsheets, and this was the most useful one I've encountered.
~ Split my savings account into separate accounts to reflect my savings goals, almost meeting my $7k emergency fund goal, and reaching the halfway points of my down payment and fun funds.
~ Fully funded my Roth IRA for 2008, and saved up the full amount for my 2009 contribution, with a little leftover to go towards the beginning my of my 2010 fund.
~ Continued to put 6% of each paycheck toward my 401k. My company matches 100% of the first 3%, and 50% of the next 3%. Since I'm still relatively broke, and investing in a Roth IRA each year in addition to my 401k, this is as much as I'm willing to put into it at this point.
~ Began investing monthly in company stock and individual stocks of well-established companies that pay dividends in order to capitalize on low stock prices during a down market, and to continue diversifying my overall investment portfolio.
~ Finished the year reducing my federal student loan debt at a rate of 3% per month, and my private student loan debt at a rate of 0.3% per month. If I continue at this rate, loans will be completely paid off by the end of 2014. This sounds like a very long time from now, but I will be extremely impressed with myself if I can manage to pay off $77k, plus interest, in less than 10 years.
In non-financial 2008 accomplishments, I also:
~Got a promotion and 5% raise at my full-time job, and a dollar-per-hour raise at my part time job (I guess this one is finance-related, too :)) This was almost a year ago, and I'm hoping to add this to my 2009 accomplishments soon.
~Hung out more with co-workers (from both jobs) and attended more social gatherings. Sounds boring, but I'm a pretty shy person who feels most comfortable alone or one-on-one, so this was a pretty big deal for me. Hopefully I can continue on this path in 2009.
~Went on my first business trip - alone. I was really nervous about having to talk to people I didn't know for five days, but it went surprisingly well, and I even made a few friends out of it. Of course, my company (like most companies) is cutting its travel budget, so who knows when I'll get to go on another business trip, but it was still a good experience.
~Read over 30 books. I hope to increase that number in 2009. In fact, I should have at least one finished by the end of the day.
~Began to learn how to knit. So much fun! I'll be writing a separate post about this soon.
I'll be posting my 2009 goals this afternoon- stay tuned...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Strategizing the last $2,000 for my 2008 Roth IRA
Yikes.
Earlier this year, I put $3,000 into a Vanguard index fund in my Roth IRA, leaving me with $2,000 to invest for 2008. Unfortunately, though Vanguard is otherwise awesome, its $3,000 minimums to invest in new funds conflict with the $5k limit Roths currently have.
Last year was my first year investing in a Roth. The 2007 max was $4,000, so I put $3k into an index fund, and the rest into the truly awful Vanguard STAR fund, which has a $1,000 minimum. I figured that after a year, I could move that money into a new fund with the remainder of my 2008 investment, so that I'd have money in three different index funds. But, since the economy/market decided to tank within weeks of my 2007 investment, I'm well under $1,000 and therefore don't have enough to open a new fund.
Today I decided to stop putting this off and to just suck it up, so through the end of the year I'll be weekly auto-investing the remaining $2,000 into the two funds I'm already in. I'm sure things will get worse, and I'll lose money some (or most) weeks, but it can't hurt to try to balance out my cost basis a bit. I figure that buying in weekly can only help me. And I'm certainly following the conventional wisdom to buy low, that's for sure. ;P
Earlier this year, I put $3,000 into a Vanguard index fund in my Roth IRA, leaving me with $2,000 to invest for 2008. Unfortunately, though Vanguard is otherwise awesome, its $3,000 minimums to invest in new funds conflict with the $5k limit Roths currently have.
Last year was my first year investing in a Roth. The 2007 max was $4,000, so I put $3k into an index fund, and the rest into the truly awful Vanguard STAR fund, which has a $1,000 minimum. I figured that after a year, I could move that money into a new fund with the remainder of my 2008 investment, so that I'd have money in three different index funds. But, since the economy/market decided to tank within weeks of my 2007 investment, I'm well under $1,000 and therefore don't have enough to open a new fund.
Today I decided to stop putting this off and to just suck it up, so through the end of the year I'll be weekly auto-investing the remaining $2,000 into the two funds I'm already in. I'm sure things will get worse, and I'll lose money some (or most) weeks, but it can't hurt to try to balance out my cost basis a bit. I figure that buying in weekly can only help me. And I'm certainly following the conventional wisdom to buy low, that's for sure. ;P
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