April 2011 Net Worth

Wow. My last net worth update was in August. Since then, a lot has changed. Most noticeably, I'm basically a blank slate as far as savings. Where did it all go, you ask? According to my calculations (er, quick mental montage of the past 6+ months), my favorite online retail establishments, most probably. It was all rather quick and...horrifying. Anyway, a new season, a new start. Onward!

Emergency Fund: $500.06
Checking: $190.00
Travel (aka Other People's Weddings): $200.00
Medical/Dental: $100.03
School: $ 100.03
Roth IRA: $9,802 (I only contributed about $550 last year because I knew the picture would be complicated by my spouse's earnings.)

401k: $7,285.09
Sharebuilder: $178.30
____________
Total Positive: $18,355.51

...which is almost EXACTLY where it stood in August 2010.

Rent: $PAID
Groceries/Utilities: $218.00
Phone: $60

Subway: $20.00
Credit cards: $45.26
Student Loan I: $6,062.63 (from over $19k)
Student Loan II: $0
____________
Total Negative: $6,405.89


Net Worth: $11,949.62

In order to simplify things, I excluded the joint account we have that contains our > $2k tax refund.

You'll notice I added a "School" savings category, and it's because I am thinking about going back to school. Wavering back and forth, really. Quivering at the thought. As someone once told me, I'm not really cut out for grad school (rude, no?), but the option's there if I want it.

My financial goals for this year are as follows:

• Save at least $1k/month;
• Open an IRA; and
• Record all spending.

Both the husband and I have been doing that last item for the past couple weeks, and I find that it really helps to keep me honest.

As of November, the husband's income has risen enough to make me ineligible to make Roth contributions. Since I have been gleefully flinging my money out the window anyway, I hadn't given it much thought. Now it's time to get down to business and start saving up to open that IRA. What about a 401k at my current employer, you ask? I can't believe it, but as of March, I am now eligible to enroll. Barf. I won't do it. Can't make me. As soon as I find something, ANYTHING else, I'm done-zo.

The final item of business is housing. We've been jonesing to move ever since our rowdy neighbors moved in upstairs. We've lived here for 3 years, and decided we don't need this much space. Our lease is up in June, and we ALMOST decided to move (we even put a [refundable] deposit down). Right now we live in a 2-bedroom apartment in a nicer area. Not downtown, not fancy, but safe and T-accessible. The unit is definitely priced below other 2-bedrooms in the area for various reasons, but our plan was to downsize and move into a 1-bedroom or a junior (glorified studio). The problem is that, even with a $75 rent increase this year, we can't find a cheaper place in an area I'd be comfortable living (eg. close to public transport since we don't have a car, not overrun by students, and not terrifying after dark), even though we're willing to downsize 1-2 rooms. We are willing to pay a bit more for a smaller place if it would give us some quiet, but we can't find a place like that. WTF, right?

Weekend Wear

This is the second in a series of HG ("Holy Grail" posts). To see the first, click here.

My HG of weekend wear is Lands End. I like my weekend clothes to be comfortable, slightly less refined than work wear, cheap, and able to withstand frequent washing. Enter the regular original shaped (having challenges naming your fits, much?) 1x1 rib top. Crew neck, v-neck, short sleeved, long sleeved -- I have them all in many colors.

And when I'm feeling sporty, the pima polo:



It's less bag-like in person. Last year it had a little strip of polka-dotted grosgrain ribbon around the interior of the collar, but not this year. What the hell, LE?

Both of these styles have held up great for the past year, despite frequent beatings. They're fitted enough so that it's obvious I'm a woman, but not so fitted as to give away the texture of my bra.

For fun summer polos (...as opposed to serious?), my favorite is Lilly Pulitzer.

For pants, I like Land's End the cords in winter. I'm also a huge fan of the 7" old-lady shorts for summer. Last year they had some with 4 buttons down each side -- an embellishment that deludes me into thinking they look age-appropriate on a 26 year old. The higher rise makes your shirts lay flatter across the front AND prevents them from sagging. And in case you were worried about looking even a little sexy, don't worry, these have the added benefit of a little strip of elastic in back to ensure maximum Mom Jean effect.

But seriously, I freaking love those shorts. Just make sure your shirt is long enough to cover half of your butt, and you're golden.

Shoes. I'm sort of crazy about shoes. Not that I love them, just that I have incredibly high expectations, and that leads me to being UBER selective in what I'll even consider wearing. Since my main mode of transportation is my feet, I can't deal with anything remotely irritating or painful. L.L. Bean's Camden Driving Mocs are tight like a glove out of the box, but stretch to your foot within a couple hours.

They don't have the best shelf-life, but to be fair, I do wear them everywhere. I also like Etienne Aigner loafers, but they haven't proven themselves just yet for long-distance walking. In the winter I wear my Sudini boots mentioned in my work wear post.
Next up, handbags.

It's a new year, and...

I've continued to live off the wagon.

Yes, it's simultaneously delicious and painful to dig into my hard-earned cash to pay for my ... garbage habit. But as I sit here browsing Talbots.com, free-shipping coupon in (e-)hand, I've realized I've learned enough about value as it relates to ladies' goods to share some of my hard-bought knowledge.

What follows is the first in a series of HG (holy grail) posts. Sure, my HGs will only apply to a small group of sensibly-dressed, sturdy women, 25-45, but I worked hard to find my HGs, so I intend to share.

Before we get started, I should mention that my modus operandi is to search relentlessly for THE PERFECT THING, and then buy 21 of that thing and only that thing. The thing in question then comprises my entire collection of that type of thing. So I'm sort of an expert. Make sense?

First up, we have WORK WEAR:

As I alluded to above, Talbots really won me over last year. It's not your mother's Talbots anymore, but it's not your daughter's either. Talbots is what happened when J.Crew got her period. It's like if J.Crew had a baby -- as in, if J.Crew got knocked up and had to hold down two jobs to pay for organic baby food and yarn to knit outfits for her cockapoo -- you get the picture: Talbots is J.Crew grown up.

...Anyway, my work HGs include various incarnations of the pima tee -- long-sleeve, short-sleeve, balletneck, or turtleneck -- which are slim, but not tight, and come in 5,000 colors. Though Talbots is trying, J.Crew still wins for the most forward-thinking color palette (if I can use that term to describe color). Talbots wins for quality and cut, though.

On the bottom half, my HG is a pair of heritage-fit twill pants. The heritage cut is supposed to be the "granny" cut, but I find it to be the most modern. Again, they're slim, but not tight, and the higher cut is very flattering (it's important to note that they don't have the dreaded saddlebag/jodhpurs void on the sides). I've given the lower, signature-fit a chance, but they don't they don't hold a candle to the heritage-fit. Can any woman honestly say low-cut pants are more flattering? Unless you're slimmest at the hips (...eh?), I think not.

A variation of this outfit would involve a Charming cardigan set, by far my HG of cardigan sets. The Charming cardigan is basically Talbots' answer to the J.Crew Jackie cardigan. The Talbots version is more flattering and feminine, with a slightly lower cut and a teensy bit more length.

And if I need to dress it up, I'll throw on a Grace-fit jacket (I have a few), and voila, I'm only slightly under-dressed.

Simple, yes. Boring, maybe. But I'd rather put on my "uniform" than stand shivering in the nude, reinventing the wheel.

(And Talbots, if you mess with my formula, I will crush you.)

My HG footwear is similarly easy: Sudini Ashland or Storm shooties. I can't figure out the difference between the Ashland and the Storm, but I own both in various colors: chocolate leather, chocolate suede, black suede, and another chocolate leather as a backup. They're perfect. I love the aesthetic: classic almond toe, small buckle, and with a 1 3/4" heel, I can walk miles in them. I can't generally wear heels -- they hurt, and they usually make me look like a lumbering gorilla -- but these work. The black leather still eludes me. It's my white whale.

Next post, WEEKEND WEAR.

(stay-tuned, and by all means, comment with your work favorites.)

More Remorse

Sorry, dudes, for my complete and thorough neglect. This is the first time that I've failed to post my monthly net worth since I started this in March of 2008 - and for 2 months, no less.

As you can probably guess, I fell off the wagon pretty hard. According to the laws of nature, an inverse relationship exists between my weight loss and my savings account balance. Since I've been relatively successful at the weight loss bit recently, my savings has taken a nose dive. New fall clothes and personal blues compounded the problem, and now I'm left with a "final sale" receipt-littered trail of regrets.

And now that I'm back from a week vacation, I'm up 8 pounds, and therefore ready for a budget overhaul.

August 2010 Net Worth

Emergency Fund: $4005.20
Checking: $29.50
Future Fund: $0.04
Other People's Weddings Fund: $0.02
Misc. ING Funds: $0.22
Roth IRA: $7,925.59 (out of the $7,810 I've invested so far)

401k: $6,355.10
Sharebuilder: $42.27 (out of $50 initial investment)
____________
Total Positive: $18,357.94


Rent: $PAID
Groceries/Utilities: $218.00
Phone: $45

Subway: $20.00
Credit cards: $574.71
Student Loan I: $7,150.22 (from over $19k)
Student Loan II: $0
____________
Total Negative: $8,007.93


Net Worth: $10,350.01

Once again, wedding festivities have precluded me from posting in a timely manner. I'm almost through wedding season (for this year), but as you can see, I had to dip in my E-fund to help finance it. My spending was out of control this past month, and I'm hurting, cash-wise. The only positive item for this month is the fact that my old employer just contributed just over $1,400 into my 401K for FY2009. I was holding out on transferring my 401K exactly for that reason, and I wasn't sure if it would happen, so yaaaay!

July 2010 Net Worth

My delay in posting is due to the insane 4th of July weekend. I'm still puffy from overindulging in terrible, wonderful foods and plenty of liquor. And honestly, I'm not super excited to report this month's numbers. Here's why:

Emergency Fund: $5,004.56
Checking: $63.09
Future Fund: $0.79
Other People's Weddings Fund: $122.89
Misc. ING Funds: $1.00
Roth IRA: $7,244.87 (out of the $7,710 I've invested so far)

401k: $4,476.20
Sharebuilder: $34.27 (out of $50 initial investment)
____________
Total Positive: $16,947.67


Rent: $PAID
Groceries/Utilities: $218.00
Phone: $PAID
Subway: $20.00
Credit cards: $1,169.83
Student Loan I: $7,231.16 (from over $19k)
Student Loan II: $0
____________
Total Negative: $8,638.99


Net Worth: $8,308.68

This month was horrible in terms of shopping. I was doing fine in that area for a while, but then I realized I had no summer clothes. I have long been on a search for my holy grail of shirts. I could never find shirts that weren't some or all of the following: (i) too thin, (ii) too short, (iii) too long, (iv) too skanky, (v) too stretchy, or alternatively, (vi) shapeless. The trend at all major retailers hawking clothes to Gen-Y women has been to make really long, very close-fitting, paper-thin tops. Not to play the "back in my day card", but when I worked at the Gap about 9 years ago, the tops were still a nice gauge and fit (I still WEAR some of these nigh decade-old tops, because they've held up!). You definitely only needed to wear one shirt at a time, which sounds ridiculous, but now, even after layering a couple shirts, I still kinda feel naked.

Enter Land's End. I had never purchased anything from Land's End before because I thought it was frumpy, but I was game after looking over a recent catalogue. It took me a couple orders to figure out fit and size, but I can tell you that I am thrilled with their "original" fit tops. The fabric is mostly cotton. It's not see-through, and it has some give, but not too much; the length is right, the sleeves are perfect, the v-necks aren't too deeply cut, and the sizing doesn't skew on the small side. What more could I ask for? Oh yeah, colors. And they have MILLIONS of colors. To sum it up without going into too much detail, I went a little overboard. Everything is well-priced, and sure, I've made returns, but the 15 or so articles of clothing I kept really add up. But if shopping at Land's End makes me frumpy, so be it.

Probably my most overdue purchase was a belt. I've only ever owned 1 belt, and it was back in middle school when everyone wore baby tees. I literally have not touched a belt since. Isn't that strange? How did I keep my pants up, especially now that the only kind of jeans out there now are the kind that get super baggy after 1 wear? I didn't. I was a serial tugger. So I am now the proud owner of the "Heritage Leather Belt", which I am happy to report does a wonderful job keeping my pants up without incessant tugging.

So that's where most of my money went. Hopefully by next month I will be better behaved.

June 2010 Net Worth

Emergency Fund: $4,606.69
Checking: $179.88
Wedding Fund: $0.79
Other People's Weddings Fund: $100.71
Misc. ING Funds: $67.14
Roth IRA: $7,380.11 (out of the $7,600 I've invested so far)
401k: $4,565.19
Sharebuilder: $37.60 (out of $50 initial investment)
____________
Total Positive: $16,938.11


Rent: $PAID
Groceries/Utilities: $PAID
Phone: $PAID
Subway: $10.00
Credit cards: $1,055.25
Student Loan I: $7,349.16 (from over $19k)
Student Loan II: $0
____________
Total Negative: $8,414.41


Net Worth: $8,523.70


Ouch. Explanation to follow.