But... I don't wanna grow up

Today is my 27th birthday. My new focus on my finances has been making me think about my long-term goals. I'm not where I thought I would be at 27. I was expecting to be at the point where I was financially secure. I never imagined I'd go to grad school and end up with so much educational debt. I also thought I'd be close to the point where I could afford kids. I'm so nowhere near that point. It's kind of scary. I'm really going to need to figure out how to get some extra income coming in. If I could do that, I would put it all into savings and investments. It's just a question of how. I'll be making $3,000 more a year at my new job, but I'll also have expenses I don't have at this job. I'll have to pay my own health insurance premiums, for one (my current agency pays employee premiums). A second job may be a possibility, but I at least have to get settled with the new job first - I don't want to overload myself.

Eh, quarter-life crises suck.

One more week

I have one week left at my current job! Unfortunately, I don't get a break before starting my new job. P and I are supposed to be going to visit her family next weekend. I'm debating whether to go with her or not, as it's kind of exhausting - a 5 hour drive each way and I usually end up baby sitting for her sister while we're there. I don't want to be feeling tired and lazy on my first day!

This week has already been exhausting. Between my current job which constantly keeps me running, having my pre-employment physical and HR meeting for the new job, and practicing for my first student performance, I've been insanely busy. I would really like to do nothing this weekend, but I know that won't happen!

Investing

I have to admit, I’m pretty clueless when it comes to investing. It was something that my mother never taught me about as a kid. Hell, we rarely talked about money at all. Several years ago I read a very basic personal finance book which introduced me to investing – something I had never imagined myself doing. Here’s what I remember from that book: money market funds are a safe place to keep an emergency fund because they are extremely low risk, but also low reward; bonds are slightly higher risk and slightly higher reward; stocks offer greater rewards but at the expense of being extremely risky and difficult to understand. Admittedly, after three years I’m sure my memory of this book has become foggy, but this is what I took away from it. Consequently, what money I did sock away was all stuck into a money market fund for safe keeping. I always planned to learn more about investing and diversify at some later point when I had a better understanding of what I was doing – that point just never came.

My trusty money market fund has done its job. My savings were kept safe and earned at least a small amount of interest, and it did help me out in an emergency. Last year when the hand-me-down car I’d been driving since I first got my license finally decided to die, my money market fund provided me with enough money to make a sizeable down payment on a used car – without totally wiping me out.

However, the time has come for me to finally do what I promised myself I would do years ago and start learning more about investing. To that end, I’ve begun reading Charles Schwab’s New Guide to Financial Independence. I picked it up at the used book store a couple years back but never got around to reading it. I’m now on page 62 and so far, so good. It starts off very simple and explains investing in a non-intimidating way that even the novice (aka – me) can understand. I was worried it would be somewhat dry, but it’s held my interest so far and I’m zipping right through it. By the time I finish reading this book, I plan to (dun-dun-DUN) diversify my investments.

July Transportation Challenge Update

My goal was to spend $80 on transportation for the month of July. It's the 15th and so far I've only spent $20.34 on gas - when I filled up at GetGo using my Fuelperks. My tank is still 3/4 full! Looks like I'll be well within my limit. I haven't made much progress on my other July goals, though. I should probably get on that.

Paying Yourself First

I first became interested in personal finance about four years ago. I was fresh out of college and had my first full time job and very few expenses. I read a few books on the subject and began saving my money. This is when I first came across the idea of paying yourself first. Unfortunately, I never put this idea into practice. I did, however, start a modest savings and opened an investment account. Two years later, when I started grad school, it became next to impossible for me to put any money into savings, as I was living on very little income and accumulating quite a bit of educational debt.

Now that I'm done with grad school and beginning my career, I'm making it a goal to start paying myself first. My first step in this is to get my budget in order so that I can accurately gauge how much money I need to get myself through the month, and how much can be saved. Once I have a realistic idea of how much money I can save, I want to get to the point where the first thing I do after I deposit my paycheck is transfer money into my savings. That way it's not sitting in my checking account just begging to be spent. When I start my new job I want to start making automatic 403(b) contributions, as well.

I don't make a lot of money, but I also don't spend a lot of money. Putting money away before I even really "see" it shouldn't be too difficult. It's just going to be a matter of making it a habit!

Leaving the door open

Yesterday I was talking to my supervisor about my new job and she asked if I would want her to contact me if a similar job opened up at the agency. Of course I said yes! I really would like to come back to this agency again. I've worked there in the past and know quite a few people. It's a really laid-back and friendly atmosphere. Plus, the benefits are the best that I've ever even heard of. I mean, they PAY their employees health care premiums! I'm so glad to know that they would want me to come back. I was scared that I would be burning my bridges by leaving!

Chargeback? wtf?

I've been getting in the habit of consistently checking my bank account online in order to help keep track of my spending. I logged in today and see a mysterious charge for $50 which is described simply as "Chargeback, store #1234". Huh? I've never seen such a thing before. So I call my bank and talk to customer service. Turns out it's a bounced check. A check I got as a graduation gift. And now I'm going to be charged a $10 fee for it. ....Thanks???

What's a lunch break?

Since I've started this job, I've taken exactly one lunch break. One. I'm always way too busy to stop and eat lunch. Lately I've been bringing protien bars with me and eating those at my desk while I'm working. I miss lunch. I miss eating real food for lunch! I always used to take a lunch break at my former jobs, because I think it's important to have a decent meal and take some space from your work.

Maybe at my new job I'll get to eat.

I have officially given my notice!

It didn't go as bad as I had feared. In fact, it actually went pretty well. My supervisor was a little surly at first, but then she realized I was giving four weeks notice and she softened up - apparently she had thought I was going to leave immediately. She was actually pretty understanding in light of the fact that this new job will be a step up for me and will be paying me more, which she admitted she wouldn't be able to do. I told her I was worried about burning my bridges at this agency and she told me I wouldn't be, which made me feel much better.

So in four weeks I'll have an AWESOME job! yay!

Super Cheap Gas

I took my car to GetGo today to fill up and use my Giant Eagle fuelperks. After my fuelperks discount was applied I paid only $1.99 per gallon! It cost me a total of $20.34 to fill up, and I saved $20.35! I love fuelperks, because I earn them just for buying groceries and getting my prescriptions filled at Giant Eagle, which I would be doing anyway. Looks like meeting the July Transportation Challenge will be easier than I thought.

Money 101

CNN Money has a site called Money 101: A Step-by-Step Guide to Gaining Control of Your Financial Life. I've read the first two lessons so far, on setting priorities and creating a budget. I found the setting priorities lesson to be particularly helpful: it helped me identify some financial goals that I hadn't even thought of, and then helped me prioritize my top three goals. There are 23 lessons in all. I'm planning to read them all because my basic financial knowledge is pretty lacking.

Taking a new job

I graduated from grad school this May and started my first "real" job in June. Well, the job was not what I had understood it to be during the interview process. Since my first day there, I've been stressed more than I ever was in school (and my school was no walk in the park - it's one of the top 10 in the country). I never even have time to eat lunch when I'm there, and I've come to realize that everyone in my position takes work home with them in order to get everything done. Even if I end up working more than 40 hours a week, I can't get paid over time - despite the fact that the position is hourly. Add that to the fact that the actual work I'm doing is quiet different than what was described to me, and I am not a happy camper.

As I've said before, I work in a field where I don't earn a lot of money, but I choose to do so because the work is rewarding. I wanted to have a job that I enjoyed so that I wouldn't have to dread going to work everyday. I didn't want my life to be like Office Space. Yet my job is currently making me miserable. I've had jobs in my field before - I know it doesn't have to be like this.

Well, yesterday I received a job offer from another agency for a position that is very close to being my dream job. They also offered me $3,000 more a year. Needless to say, I accepted on the spot. Now comes the little problem of informing my current employer. I'm feeling a huge amount of guilt - I'm not a job-jumper and I hate to leave after only one month. I'm afraid of burning my bridges and making the people I work with angry with me. I'll be giving them four weeks notice, so it's not like I'm going to leave them completely high and dry, but I still feel horrible.

My partner keeps telling me that I'm making the right choice - I deserve a job where I'm happy, or at least one that doesn't make me hate my life. I still can't help agonizing over it. I know I'm going to have to tell them when I go in on Monday, and I keep imagining how everyone is going to react. I'm absolutely dreading it. I feel like I'll be letting people down.

I think I'm going to give myself an ulcer...

Budgeting

For some reason, I always have difficulty with budgeting. In June I started mid-month trying to track my spending and it became a bit of a mess. This month I'm hoping to start fresh and keep track of where all of my money goes. I created a spreadsheet to try to help with this. It's based on this ING Spending Record, but I personalized it a bit.

My spending for the month isn't starting off very well. I had a horrible day and came home and ordered us some Chinese food, which ended up costing $18. It did make me feel better, though! Sesame tofu is my favorite.