Temporary transfer from savings

I had to break down and transfer money from savings this month.  UGH!  Not a pleasant thing to have to do but at least I had the savings to do it.  My plan is to transfer it back in four weeks.  I have plotted my income and outgo for the next few weeks and I think that it is possible.  Up until this transfer it had been many months since I had to spend any savings. 

My net worth this month will take a hit due to the savings transfer and the stock market.  I have not had the heart to look at my investment accounts.  I know I just need to hang tough and not do anything.  I will publish my July net worth in a few days for all to see.

Credit cards cash offers

Why is it that I always get “convenience” checks from  my credit card companies in the mail.  Every week I get new offers.  Maybe beacause in the past when I ran really short on money to pay bills I would use them.  It is an expensive way to get money.  Not “pawn shop” expensive but expensive none the less.  I have built up a little savings which I helping with my temporary shortage this month so I am not tempted by the credit card offers.

They charge 3% right off the top with no maximum.  YIKES!  Using savings will not be free either as I will have to for go the interest I would have earned for the time is it out of my account…but that is still way cheaper than the alternative.  Having savings is a nice thing.

Back Home

Well I am happy to be back in Atlanta.  A decent apartment in NYC costs about $4 per square foot.  The cost of living is quite a shocker.  Another shocker was the $523 vet and boarding bill for my two cats.  UGH!  I love them dearly but it is always something.

I live in a new townhome and I am lucky enough to have 1,600 square feet of space along with a one car garage.  I cannot imagine what that would cost in NYC.  Using the $4 per square foot rule of thumb, my mortgage would be $6,400 per month.  YIKES!  I only pay $1.18 per square foot in ATL.

I have just posted my latest debt graph.  I owe on my car, student loan, and credit card debt.  I am chipping away a little at a time (but the vet bills do not help.)  I am hoping to have my credit card paid off early next year. 

July debt update

Still in NYC

I have not been able to write for the past few days due to my trip to NYC.  When I get back to Atlanta I will update my debt chart as I have paid off a little more this month.

Trip to NYC

I have just spent the weekend in NYC and will be here through Thursday.  I honestly don’t know have the average person could afford to live here.  The city is great but the cost of food and housing are higher than what I am used to.  I guess I had better stay in Atlanta  

Independent Wealth

I just found out that I am probably not going to get the promotion I was sort of expecting.  This makes me wich that I was independently wealthy and did not have to work.  In fact, I feel like buying a lottery ticket right now. 

Credit line increase

Discovercard increased my total credit line to $9,900 up from $8,400.  That is good because it will decrease the total credit line that is being used from 14.7% to 14.3%.  After i make a payment later this week the percentage will go down to 13.9%.  That should help my credit score.  I have not checked my credit score in about a year.  It was 770 last I checked and I will check again next month.  The website for the free report is www.annualcreditreport.com.  This site allows me to request a free credit report, once every 12 months from each of the nationwide consumer credit reporting companies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion.  The report will not include the credit score, which can be purchased for $5.

My 2007 raise

I am starting to get bad feelings about what my next raise is going to look like.  In recent years I have averaged over 11% annual raises.  This year due to a variety of reasons I feel like I need to ratchet down my expectations.  I am also not expecting to get a bonus this year.  I got a $5,500 bonus in 2006 and a $6,000 bonus in 2005.  I do not expect to get one this year.  I was originally hoping to pay down  credit card debt with the extra money.  Oh well.  I am confident that I will get a good tax refund next year that will help a  lot with the debt.  I was also going to increase my 401k with a portion of my raise.  We will see.

Back at work

After having a long weekend, I am back at work today.  Another day… another dollar.  Speaking of making dollars, I do have a good salary.  I am very close to making six figures.  My current base salary is $93,600 or $3,600 bi-weekly.  Not too bad for a single person with no dependents.  Why am I not better off from a net worth perspective?  I can easily answer that by looking at Quicken.  I do tend to fritter my money away. I feel that I have gotten better at NOT frittering it away though.   Although yesterday I took my girlfriend out to lunch and spent $15.59.    We went out to dinner on Friday night and I spent $55 with a tip.  I try not to go overboard with dinners and stuff but I do need to bear my share of the relationship weight with things like that.  

Certainly, if I had no friends or relationships I could get by with spending a lot less money but then I would be miserable and lonely.  Not a good way to spend one’s life.  I will happily pay my fair share if that is the alternative.  Yes, dating can be expensive to the wallet but not dating can be expensive to the soul.