state tax return and ROTH

My state tax return was officially added to my bank account... so I added $150.00 to my Roth for 2007...

Contributions stand at $2,150.00

While I know i'll max out 2007, Part of me doesn't know if I want to max out 2008 anymore...

I really want to save for a house...

what if i'm being too ambitious here with retirement... I'm only 21... shouldn't i focus on saving for a house now and starting retirement at 25???

Roommate

Dee wants to move out before the lease is up... her mom passed away and the funeral was on friday/saturday... and she's got a lot of siblings that will need to be taken care of and a very busy dad... She told me she'd pay her share of the rent regardless because her name is on the lease.... but she asked if i could find someone to rent out her room so she didn't have to pay for the place anymore.... she told me if i found someone who wanted to move in but couldn't afford the %600, that she'd cover the other amount.

Well i found someone that day. (my read headed friend) so I told him about it and he was all game to move in and pay $450 a month and Dee was okay with cover the extra $150 a month... She'd be out my March 1st and would just cut me a check for the money... she'd take her stuff out and He would move in... They agreed... Done Deal right????

Last night she text me saying she wasn't sure if she was leaving.... wouldn't be gone by the first... that $150 was a lot to pay not to live somewhere and that she'd need to get a storage unit too....... needed time to think and everything....

So I kindly told her that it's her place and her choice and she can take the time to think it over.... but to keep in mind my friend.... and that i didn't want to keep going back and forth with him on whether he's moving...

She snapped back that its her name on the lease and went from there

So i told her take her time and let me know... He'd probably still be interested later down the line, but that she can't be mad if he doesn't want to move in after March and only be there 2-3 months before we have to move again...


I've been so cool about all of this... but right now i'm frustrated with her... who texts that kind of crap???? I have half a mind just to tell her i won't rent out the room and that she's got to pay the $600 anyway..... (but i won't do that.... i want to right now.... but i won't do that)

water....

I need to call Sparklets...

Last Month I signed up for home delivery because its was dirt cheap... like $10 bucks a month dirt cheap... (1 huge 5 gal bottle a month)... that I make the dear boyfriend change for me... =)

well i got a bill for 22.07 so i'll be calling them later and getting that problem fixed... this is why I saved my initial contract with the prices all over it... I think they think I want 2 of them or something.... but they need to adjust it.

UPDATED!!!

I called Sparklets... and they won't credit my account... they just won't deliever a bottle in February...

Lame.... Completely lame.... Good thing i like my Distilled water and my water cooler.... and its fixed for future reference...

I'm rubbing off on him...

So my boyfriend couldn't make the minimum payment on his Credit card last month because for some reason it was a lot larger then he was used to...

and they started calling when they only recieved a partial payment... So yesterday he closed the account and worked out a payment plan with them until he's done paying off his taxes. They he's paying off the 2 CC's he has and he's gonna try and walk the straight and narrow. He's determined not to charge anything to his other CC and just pay off what he puts on it and the like... There might just be hope for him yet.... =)

I did my taxes!!!!

So my employer gave me my W2 the other day... and i went online and looked at all my 1099's for interest and what not and lo and behold in 45 minuets (and while at work too) i had tracked down a freefile system off the IRS website and finished both my state and federal returns for $19.95 from ezTaxReturn!!! Well technically the federal was free, the state is what cost me $20.00.... but normally i pay way more and have them done, well not this year!!! wahoo.

So in 24-48 hours i will wait for it to be approved by the IRS... then i print, sign and mail...

and await my direct deposit....

$1,201.00 Federal
$149.00 State

= $1,350.00 =) yeah!!! and all that pretty money is going to my ROTH IRA for 2007... which means only $650.00 to get my april to max out 2007.... February is extra paycheck month for me so i'll have it by then (the extra i'll send to 2008's contributions!!!)

and another continues.... 2007 wrap up

Okay.... i finally figured out what I have to write in on my taxes 1099 style for the 3 savings accounts I use...

• IGoBanking Interest: $59.07
• Emigrant Direct Interest $156.90
• Ing Direct Interest: $44.70

I also cashed in some bonds and the like and those papers are on my desk at home so i'll have to play with those later...

I think I'm going to attempt to e-file by myself and not pay someone to do my taxes.

I'm taking the standard and can claim me.... and i get a renters deduction... that's it.... hopefully it shouldn't be too hard.

one journey is over...

It all started so very long ago...

9/24/06... I posted my very first blog post on this website.... I was struggling to repay a personal loan to my mom, save up tuition money, car insurance money, and make the car payment... I was a mess... but i had a vision... and in September I began paying more on my car payment...

I went after a promotion unsuccessfully... but landed another one... a little less then a year later and bam...

September 10, 2007-- I paid off my auto loan in full... $13,623.75 @ 8.25%

but before i could be 100% debt free... i had to tackle the zero percent invisiline and not incure any student loans as i made it through college...

1/18/08 4460.00 paid.... 100% debt free....

I can't wait to change the payment cycle on my bill!

DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Invisiline Loan = $4,460.00 @ 0.00% for 12 months
07/13/07 $4,155.52
07/20/07 $4,081.00
08/04/07 $3,845.00
08/17/07 $3,702.00
08/24/07 $3,658.55
09/18/07 $3,524.55
09/28/07 $3,137.00
10/12/07 $3,011.00
10/29/07 $2,636.43
11/09/07 $2,438.35
11/21/07 $2,082.35
12/07/07 $1,963.35
12/17/07 $1,952.31
12/21/07 $1,536.42
01/04/08 $997.56
01/18/08 $0.00
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
$747 Paid
$3,713.00 in savings
Today I owe: $3,713.00... not including savings



I have all the money to pay off my debt... I'M DEBT FREE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

retirement account

I'm going to hold off switching my Roth IRA provider for the time being and keep it with ING DIRECT because its really easy right now to manage. I'm hoping to Max it out for '07... with my tax return and my extra paycheck that i'll get in February (which was ear marked for the retirement account for 08, but i figure its best to focus on maxing 07 first because there's a ticking clock against how much longer i can add money in for that year and its all the same thing anyway. The extra i'll send to '08's contributions.)

My automatic withdraws are continuing $100 a month for now but they count towards '08 and not the $2,000 left to go for 07.

hopefully i'll be aiming to max it out for 2008 as well, but i won't be looking into those figures until I've maxed 07 out or until i run out of time. I'll also be debt free around then too!

I figure if I aim to max out my Roth Ira every year i should get a nice nest egg starting for my retirement, especially along with my CALPERS accounts as well. =)

If i can max out 08 before 08 is over, then i plan on moving the account to a target date retirement at Fidelity, Trowe, or maybe vanguard... no idea which one, but i'll have to do some invistigating and the like first. (i'm taking advice)

i'm guessing here... but i think i can be debt free by the end of the month

i'm guessing here... but i think i can be debt free by the end of the month

• If the paycheck I get on friday has the across the board raise on it (meaning I get paid $15.90 an hour or more) for 88 hours
• and the 15.25 hours of overtime being paid $23.85 an hour..
• with my extra benefit money added in too $207.14...
• and basing the tax deductions off a check that was similar in size...

I should take home after taxes and junk $1480.00

so $450 to rent.... $50 to my House Downpayment Fund... and that leave me $980.00 and with Dee's contribution to the Electric bill I might just make it... assuming my claculations are correct that is...

It must be Love... in a financial sense

Apparently i'm rubbing off on my boyfriend...

He told me that he should have get the money to pay the government on time (and that this year he was gonna put money aside for next year's taxes... which he originally did but then found on-line shopping)

AND that come June/July he should be able to pay off both his credit cards and then he's gonna start saving for important stuff like his own place and the like!

=)

and he told me that to do this he probably won't be going out much and spending a lot of money... and i smiled and told him that that was fine and that i'm with him because I enjoy spending time with him and that I also want to save up some money so I can buy furniture and afford first and last and security, etc on the new house.... which hopefully soon well find out if we can rent.

a positive change of events.

So, I was talking to Dee yesterday and apparently she still really wants to live with me after the lease is up... I went ahead and told her about the possible house and if it works how i'd be moving and following that route... but she wanted me to know that she's basing her decisions off what I do, so if I want to stay in our apartment with her, I can...

I also get to take the Black Leather couch with me if we part ways (it was given to us by her EX boyfriend and she hates it and I love it so, BONUS)...

Which means even on the high end, i'll only really need around $3,000 to move into my own apartment if the house deal falls short and we can't find another place to move to... but now theres also the option of staying where i'm at and not moving....

hmmmm.... things to definently to ponder and consider. It can be hell living with Dee at times... But she even mentioned possibly wanting in on the house deal i'm looking into if her work will allow her... But right now it's a 4 bedroom place and I'm pretty sure all 4 bedrooms might be taken... But its something to float around. My Greek Goddess Friend might get flaky about the house if she can't handle communting to school.... and it would be nice to have the option of having someone else take the extra room if someone bails out....

Just stuff to file in the "maybe" bin inside my head. either way I don't need to buy a couch which saves me money in the long run.

For now that action plan is to steak out that house for an open house day or a time to meet up with the relator and take a looksie to see how big the rooms are and how many people we could if needed cram in there.

YUP!!!!

So, This tuesday i'll be switching rooms with Bee and Dee.... and Bee will be moving into the living room because my Greek Goddess friend will be splitting the master bed room with me till the lease is up... which means my rent drops to $450 a month once things settle down.

But i'll keep my fingers crossed and clip coupons until next weekend when She moves in.... at least it's only until the end of June... and this way i'll have money for Yosemite and Texas if I go.

A roommate for me?

I went ahead and talked with my Greek Goddess Friend about possibly splitting the master bedroom with me till the lease expires on my apartment and she seemed interested.

The rent would be cheaper then her old place, but she's have to get a job down here and drive 3 days a week to Riverside for class... (gas no bueno in a truck)... but 415 a month including utilities is cheap...

Plus she's thinking of renting out one of the rooms if the 4 bedroom place works out and that would mean that she'd be around for My redhead friend and the Double to meet and hang with to see if co-existing would work out if we can get the other place. And Dee is okay if i find someone to split the larger room with cause then her rent drops $50 buck to $600.

I told her to talk it over with her family and that it's an open invite so if she decided a month from now all is still good. Bee should be gone by the end of January and i'm switching rooms on Tuesday with Dee cause she starts schoool up again and needs to change rooms before then. Bee will be mainly in the living room and slightly bunking with me until she's out.

A little bit about what's going on in my life, some finance stories, and dating on a dime.

A little bit about what's going on in my life, some finance stories, and dating on a dime.

Hotel Boy, who is my best male friend and basically my older by 7 days non related brother, wanted me to go see a movie (national treasure 2) with him and i think his girlfriend K, who's also my good friend... but i told him i was waiting for the $1.50 theater cause i can't blow 11 bucks on a movie with Bee moving out so suddenly... and that i just don't see movies in the expensive theater unless i have a gift certificate or unless a whole big group of people are going to see the same movie.... But i told him if he was going to do something else to let me know. =)

(i ended up hanging with my boyfriend for a little while and falling asleep at 8:45pm and doing nada that night... I was supposed to go over to Techie's parent's place and hangout and watch movies.... but i had been running on 3 hours of sleep the last few nights and it was so nice to call it an early night.)

The other girl who still kind of likes my boyfriend and I are trying to be civil, maybe friends? I'm not sure really, but I asked her to get coffee with me the other day because I felt she didn't really know what happened... she understood where I'm coming from and we're being civil for now, which is nice for a change. But its still a little awkward... anyways, She invited me down to see the Dead Sea Scrolls with her yesterday (and hopefully a group of people,) and i told her I had a work meeting so I couldn't go until at least 6pm, and i asked how much it was to get in because one of my roommates was moving out so i had to eat part of her rent and had to be more careful with my money... she told me $28 bucks and i told her i couldn't blow that much cash, but maybe next time, or the next thing we all do as a group...

The funny thing is, my boyfriend told her almost the same thing (not about the roommate moving out because he still lives with his parents) but because he's freelance and they didn't process his check yet so he didn't have any cash... =)

Later she texted me telling me they were going on Sunday instead around 6 and I told her I had Church and that I really couldn't blow that much money on admission... lol, some people apparently don't get it... But at least my boyfriend does.

He was telling me a story the other day when we went to Disneyland (I found out that Bee was moving out late that night at the park... a little downer, but he and Techie cheered me up.)

Either way, before Techie, showed up we were roaming the park solo and he told me how in the past one of his Co-Workers "m" asked him why he didn't get a girlfriend before, and my boyfriend told him that you need money to date a girl... cause they like nice things, and you should pay for dates, etc and "m" told him that, that was bull and a girl shouldn't like you for your pocket book, (which is the first nice honest and true thing to come out of his mouth... he believes that dating multiple people is okay and he is the definition of a player... lol) but either way my boyfriend now knows what "M" meant by all that. That sweet gestures don't have to always be bought... and that they shouldn't be demanded or expected.

Apparently I'm the first girl he's dated to tell him that he doesn't have to buy me flowers and stuffed bears all the time... and I'm definitely the first girl to tell him that I'd be happier if he paid off his CC and kept it off, then to charge it up buying stuff for me... He know's I'd frown if he charged something as apposed to buying it with cash. =)

The other day he came over to hang out while i cleaned my apartment and did laundry. While he was there he fixed my closet, the smoke alarm, took out the trash,--twice, and helped me change the broken belt on my new vacuum cleaner. I made a frozen lasagna in the oven and we had dinner at my place before driving to his parents house to meet up with Hotel boy and his GirlFriend "K" for a doubles pool game.

All in all, the night costs us zero bucks (i bought the food with last months grocery money)... and we still had a wonderful night.

Yeah for dating on a dime

Spent the morning pondering...

Well i went over the budget and I tried to come up with $200 extra bucks to stay on the right track...... but i only found 140 for starters and its going to be a big change for me so i'll try for it. .. no more Movement and a grocery and gas cut...


~*~*~*~*~ Paycheck 1~*~*~*~*~
Groceries $120.00
Basic Home Stuff $45.00
Gas and Car $150.00
Electric and Cell Bill $100.00
Insurance [car+ renters] $127.00
Fun Money $50.00
Roth IRA $100.00
Invisiline payment $469.73
Laundry $20.00

~*~*~*~*~ Paycheck 2~*~*~*~*~
Rent $800.00
Invisiline Extra payment $331.73
House Dp Fund $50.00

All bets are off... my rent is going up now...

Bee is officially moving out 5 months before the lease is up... which means Dee and I need to revert back to our old arrangement , which means my rent is going to rise an extra $200.00 and i'm ultimately going to loose 1,000 of savings... and i have to switch rooms in the apartment again since she'll be gone by the end of January.

so this changes the whole dang budget and debt pay off schedule... and everything...

the 18 hours of overtime gives me just enough money to cover the costs of my next car service, and my raise goes into effect next paycheck so i'm going to have to fiddle with a few things for the time being... Right now i'm going to stop putting money into my emergency fund and just put all the extra towards my invisiline.

Budget: $2363.46 after taxes (estimate)
~*~*~*~*~ Paycheck 1~*~*~*~*~
Groceries $160.00
Basic Home Stuff $45.00
Gas and Car $200.00
Electric and Cell Bill $100.00
Insurance [car+ renters] $127.00
Fun Money $50.00
Roth IRA $100.00
Invisiline payment $329.73
the Movement $50.00
Laundry $20.00
~*~*~*~*~ Paycheck 2~*~*~*~*~
Rent $800.00
Invisiline Extra payment $331.73
House Dp Fund $50.00

and then the debt moving out and pay down schedule changes......

• January 2008:Debt $812.91; Emergency Fund $4,011.15; Moving out Fund $0.00
• February 2008: Debt $151.45; Emergency Fund $4,011.15; Moving out Fund $0.00
• March 2008:Debt $0.00; Emergency Fund $4,521.16; Moving out Fund $0.00
• April 2008:Debt $0.00; Emergency Fund $5,000; Moving out Fund, $182.62
• May 2008:Debt $0.00; Emergency Fund $5,000; Moving out Fund $844.08
• June 2008: Debt $0.00; Emergency Fund $5,000; Moving out Fund $1,505.54

and 1500 is not the 3800 i hoped to have....