A few dollars down this week (I didn't buy any shares this friday because I wasn't at a computer... I was shopping.)
My Goal is the leave the workforce on my 55th birthday, 11,483 Days from now...
401 Account: Approximately 2.73 % of my portfolio
• $656.54 (Employer Paid 1% of Salary); $694.23 Worth
o Up 5.79% from inception, +$37.69
o Stable Value Money Market Accounts make up 30.10%
o Milestone 2040 makes up 69.90%
457 Account: Approximately 4.06% of my portfolio
• Was employer funded but future contributions discontinued (minimal interest earned)
o Positive $1,032.66
ING DIRECT Roth IRA: Approximately 10.06% of my portfolio
• $2,500.00 Invested; Worth $2,561.69
o Up 2.46% from inception. Positive $61.69
o CD’s ranging from 1.65% to 4.5% (savings 1.30%).
o Current Average CD rate 2.866%
ShareBuilder Roth IRA Approximately 44.27% of my portfolio
• $11,500 Invested; Worth $11,263.50
o Down 2.05% since inception… Loss of -$236.50
o Strategic Allocation Moderate 98.20%
o Money Market Cash 1.80%
o I have 1,329.661 Shares
o For my account to break even, shares would have to be: $8.50
o Currently shares are worth:$8.33
Excluding my Pension, my variable retirement accounts are worth $15,552.08. Of that I’ve only invested $14,000 of my money (the rest has been my employer). So technically I’ve made 11.08%. If I compare all the “free money” and my contributions (Totals 15,689.16), my portfolio is DOWN 0.87 % since inception.
Pension: Approximately 38.87% of my portfolio
If I quit tomorrow, I’d just have the cash in the account.
Account Cash Value as of 07.01.2008 $9,890.40
• I’m ALSO buying additional time in my retirement accounts from when I was 16-18 years of age (service prior to membership). It’s less then a year’s worth of service credit, but I’ll be paying $33.06 for 41 more installments.
My entire portfolio (if I cashed my pension out today) is worth $25,442.48
Saturday, November 28, 2009
I spent $565.46 on Black Friday… …
I spent $565.46 on Black Friday… …
But before you freak out… I was black Friday shopping for more than just me. My sister owes me $222.50… Boyfriend owes me $81.19
So I spent $261.77…. But I’m puppy sitting this week and am getting $195 from that… Plus I have $50.00 in CC rebates I have to cash still…
Which means I only “spent” 16.77 to finish my sister’s birthday presents (she’s the Big 25), her xmas, her boyfriends xmas, My boyfriends sister, his mother, his father, his brother in law, &&&& bought stuff for my condo.
Success. Since I got $10.00 in target gift cards for every $100.00 I spent on Black Friday, I got $30.00 in gift cards as my commission for the one actually in the stores buying things with my 2% cash back CC.
All that’s left is boyfriends xmas and some small things for friends. (My sister, her boyfriend, and & are going in together to get him a Wii. Maybe I’ll buy that at Target with the $30.00 in gift cards?)
=)
But before you freak out… I was black Friday shopping for more than just me. My sister owes me $222.50… Boyfriend owes me $81.19
So I spent $261.77…. But I’m puppy sitting this week and am getting $195 from that… Plus I have $50.00 in CC rebates I have to cash still…
Which means I only “spent” 16.77 to finish my sister’s birthday presents (she’s the Big 25), her xmas, her boyfriends xmas, My boyfriends sister, his mother, his father, his brother in law, &&&& bought stuff for my condo.
Success. Since I got $10.00 in target gift cards for every $100.00 I spent on Black Friday, I got $30.00 in gift cards as my commission for the one actually in the stores buying things with my 2% cash back CC.
All that’s left is boyfriends xmas and some small things for friends. (My sister, her boyfriend, and & are going in together to get him a Wii. Maybe I’ll buy that at Target with the $30.00 in gift cards?)
=)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
extra check coming my way.
I’m getting an additional paycheck this year that I normally wouldn’t receive. Our last payday for work done in 2009 falls on the first of January (which is a holiday) so they are giving it to us before the holiday so it will be on our 2009 income tax reports… and that means there will be three months where I received an extra check this year!
I normally use my extra paychecks to fund my Roth IRA account… But I’ll be receiving an additional 2 checks in 2010 (July & December)… So, the question becomes—do I put that aside for Roth 2010 and start the year with a good 1,000.00 to invest slowly… use the money to supplement the repairs/remodeling of my casa…
Argument for putting the money in the Roth:
• It means I can start investing right away for 2010. I really like the $100.00 a week method of investing and I’d have the money to start doing that right away, and when the market is possibly at a lower point.
• If I don’t put it into Roth 2010, I’d only have 250 a month or so to funnel into my Roth each month and I wouldn’t max out my account until the end of 2010…
Arguments for putting the money into the condo fund
• A lot of expenses are costing me more than I thought they would and it would be nice to have the money around in case I continue to miscalculate. I want to get my emergency fund up to $10,000.00 in 2010 (6 months), an increase of $3,000.00 from my current account… and with the costs of my remodel more then I planned; I won’t be able to use my tax refund to help accomplish this. The cabinets and new floors are wiping it out… and then some. So making sure I have the money to pay for everything is really important.
• I kind of want new furniture in the living room… and I added my vacation money I saved up to the repairs account when Florida got cancelled… but when I transferred the money, I was saying inside my head, well maybe I’ll buy a new couch with it and entertain more at home and really enjoy my place…
But to be honest, I haven’t been too frugal or spend thrift lately. I’ve gone out to eat and paid for not just me, but boyfriend more this month then most… using the excuses like I don’t have a kitchen and I don’t want to cook at my apartment since my roommate could come home… and its date night so we can’t see your parents and have dinner there… I’m tired… The list goes on.
Plus, a whole remodel is expensive. Just this month alone I bought earthquake insurance$$$, paid for my 6 month Car insurance $$$, a $400 plumber, and other stuff for my condo $$$… I just see my accounts dropping and it’s really tempting to try and be like… “Okay, let’s save this.” But the other side of me is like, “you’ve saved and saved for this for a really long time… and you’ve never bought your own furniture… everything you have is hand me downs…”
I feel like I’m fighting myself. I know I haven’t been as careful as I could have been with my money this month by eating out more and being lazy about some things…
What I Have Left To Spend Money On:
• I still have to get my Wall AC unit fixed/replaced and I can’t do that with friends because it’s a structure issue so a bonded contractor has to install it.
• I still have to buy my counter tops.
• I still need a garbage disposal, and a microwave for the kitchen… and my calculations for the kitchen rely heavily on my friend doing it for free. (the contractor at home depot wanted over $3,000.00 to install the kitchen stuff).
• I still need to get my window treatments done and finish up the baseboards and doorframes in a couple rooms.
I have $5,664.00 in my remodel account (1500 of it was my vacation money).
I think in order to decide what to do with the money I need to get estimates on the Air Conditioning thing and my window treatments. I know the countertops will be around $2500.00 installed or less.
I normally use my extra paychecks to fund my Roth IRA account… But I’ll be receiving an additional 2 checks in 2010 (July & December)… So, the question becomes—do I put that aside for Roth 2010 and start the year with a good 1,000.00 to invest slowly… use the money to supplement the repairs/remodeling of my casa…
Argument for putting the money in the Roth:
• It means I can start investing right away for 2010. I really like the $100.00 a week method of investing and I’d have the money to start doing that right away, and when the market is possibly at a lower point.
• If I don’t put it into Roth 2010, I’d only have 250 a month or so to funnel into my Roth each month and I wouldn’t max out my account until the end of 2010…
Arguments for putting the money into the condo fund
• A lot of expenses are costing me more than I thought they would and it would be nice to have the money around in case I continue to miscalculate. I want to get my emergency fund up to $10,000.00 in 2010 (6 months), an increase of $3,000.00 from my current account… and with the costs of my remodel more then I planned; I won’t be able to use my tax refund to help accomplish this. The cabinets and new floors are wiping it out… and then some. So making sure I have the money to pay for everything is really important.
• I kind of want new furniture in the living room… and I added my vacation money I saved up to the repairs account when Florida got cancelled… but when I transferred the money, I was saying inside my head, well maybe I’ll buy a new couch with it and entertain more at home and really enjoy my place…
But to be honest, I haven’t been too frugal or spend thrift lately. I’ve gone out to eat and paid for not just me, but boyfriend more this month then most… using the excuses like I don’t have a kitchen and I don’t want to cook at my apartment since my roommate could come home… and its date night so we can’t see your parents and have dinner there… I’m tired… The list goes on.
Plus, a whole remodel is expensive. Just this month alone I bought earthquake insurance$$$, paid for my 6 month Car insurance $$$, a $400 plumber, and other stuff for my condo $$$… I just see my accounts dropping and it’s really tempting to try and be like… “Okay, let’s save this.” But the other side of me is like, “you’ve saved and saved for this for a really long time… and you’ve never bought your own furniture… everything you have is hand me downs…”
I feel like I’m fighting myself. I know I haven’t been as careful as I could have been with my money this month by eating out more and being lazy about some things…
What I Have Left To Spend Money On:
• I still have to get my Wall AC unit fixed/replaced and I can’t do that with friends because it’s a structure issue so a bonded contractor has to install it.
• I still have to buy my counter tops.
• I still need a garbage disposal, and a microwave for the kitchen… and my calculations for the kitchen rely heavily on my friend doing it for free. (the contractor at home depot wanted over $3,000.00 to install the kitchen stuff).
• I still need to get my window treatments done and finish up the baseboards and doorframes in a couple rooms.
I have $5,664.00 in my remodel account (1500 of it was my vacation money).
I think in order to decide what to do with the money I need to get estimates on the Air Conditioning thing and my window treatments. I know the countertops will be around $2500.00 installed or less.
NEVER get A carpet company to do tile
Carpet yes, Tile no.
When they come out to finish my tile in the kitchen they will be ripping out all of the existing tile and putting in new tile... with the underlayment this time. Apparently the person who inputted the order didn't put underlayment in the work order.... whatever...
They lost my business for life.
They have to make sure they don't damage my baseboards. if they do they have to fix them too. So i'm going to finish putting them in this week so I don't have to worry about any more door frames and baseboards.
When they come out to finish my tile in the kitchen they will be ripping out all of the existing tile and putting in new tile... with the underlayment this time. Apparently the person who inputted the order didn't put underlayment in the work order.... whatever...
They lost my business for life.
They have to make sure they don't damage my baseboards. if they do they have to fix them too. So i'm going to finish putting them in this week so I don't have to worry about any more door frames and baseboards.
weekly retirement Perspectives
My Goal is the leave the workforce on my 55th birthday, 11,490 Days from now...
401 Account: Approximately 2.73 % of my portfolio
• $656.54 (Employer Paid 1% of Salary); $694.58 Worth
o Up 5.79% from inception, +$38.04
o Stable Value Money Market Accounts make up 30.10%
o Milestone 2040 makes up 69.90%
457 Account: Approximately 4.06% of my portfolio
• Was employer funded but future contributions discontinued (minimal interest earned)
o Positive $1,032.62
ING DIRECT Roth IRA: Approximately 10.06% of my portfolio
• $2,500.00 Invested; Worth $2,561.39
o Up 2.45% from inception. Positive $61.39
o CD’s ranging from 1.65% to 4.5% (savings 1.30%).
o Current Average CD rate 2.866%
ShareBuilder Roth IRA Approximately 44.30% of my portfolio
• $11,500 Invested; Worth $11,276.80
o Down 1.94% since inception… Loss of -$223.20
o Strategic Allocation Moderate 98.20%
o Money Market Cash 1.80%
o I have 1,329.661 Shares
o For my account to break even, shares would have to be: $8.50
o Currently shares are worth:$8.33
Excluding my Pension, my variable retirement accounts are worth $15,565.39. Of that I’ve only invested $14,000 of my money (the rest has been my employer). So technically I’ve made 11.18%. If I compare all the “free money” and my contributions (Totals 15,689.16), my portfolio is DOWN 0.78 % since inception.
Pension: Approximately 38.85% of my portfolio
If I quit tomorrow, I’d just have the cash in the account.
Account Cash Value as of 07.01.2008 $9,890.40
• I’m ALSO buying additional time in my retirement accounts from when I was 16-18 years of age (service prior to membership). It’s less then a year’s worth of service credit, but I’ll be paying $33.06 for 41 more installments.
My entire portfolio (if I cashed my pension out today) is worth $25,455.79
401 Account: Approximately 2.73 % of my portfolio
• $656.54 (Employer Paid 1% of Salary); $694.58 Worth
o Up 5.79% from inception, +$38.04
o Stable Value Money Market Accounts make up 30.10%
o Milestone 2040 makes up 69.90%
457 Account: Approximately 4.06% of my portfolio
• Was employer funded but future contributions discontinued (minimal interest earned)
o Positive $1,032.62
ING DIRECT Roth IRA: Approximately 10.06% of my portfolio
• $2,500.00 Invested; Worth $2,561.39
o Up 2.45% from inception. Positive $61.39
o CD’s ranging from 1.65% to 4.5% (savings 1.30%).
o Current Average CD rate 2.866%
ShareBuilder Roth IRA Approximately 44.30% of my portfolio
• $11,500 Invested; Worth $11,276.80
o Down 1.94% since inception… Loss of -$223.20
o Strategic Allocation Moderate 98.20%
o Money Market Cash 1.80%
o I have 1,329.661 Shares
o For my account to break even, shares would have to be: $8.50
o Currently shares are worth:$8.33
Excluding my Pension, my variable retirement accounts are worth $15,565.39. Of that I’ve only invested $14,000 of my money (the rest has been my employer). So technically I’ve made 11.18%. If I compare all the “free money” and my contributions (Totals 15,689.16), my portfolio is DOWN 0.78 % since inception.
Pension: Approximately 38.85% of my portfolio
If I quit tomorrow, I’d just have the cash in the account.
Account Cash Value as of 07.01.2008 $9,890.40
• I’m ALSO buying additional time in my retirement accounts from when I was 16-18 years of age (service prior to membership). It’s less then a year’s worth of service credit, but I’ll be paying $33.06 for 41 more installments.
My entire portfolio (if I cashed my pension out today) is worth $25,455.79
Friday, November 20, 2009
dividends = interest!
So, I decided for simplicity’s sake that I would go ahead and look at my dividends as interest. This way I don’t have to change anything around, and to be honest, dividends are interest. It’s the company paying you money for investing in them.
So how do I figure out if it was a smart move to buy mutual funds this year? (Besides the fact that by purchasing more I’ve been able to make up almost all the money I lost). I can compare the interest earned on my CD’s to what I get in dividends!
By the end of the year, I’ll have roughly earned around $60 in interest from my Roth CD’s (on about 2,500 dollars.) – Because CD rates are really pitiful right now… That’s 4.6 times what my Mutual funds should be worth since I’ve contributed $11,500.00 in mutual funds… So, if I earn more than $60.00 in dividends for every $2,500.00 I have invested, it was smarter to buy mutual funds then the CD’s.
So As long as I receive over $276.00 in dividends, It was a good investment move for the year.
AND
According to Google,
My mutual fund is currently offering a Yield of 5.66%
I’m assuming that means I’ll be receiving 5.66% of whatever my mutual funds are worth… So if I base that on yesterday’s closing price of $8.36, that’s $0.47 for every share I have... and since I have 1,317.656 shares that’s $619.00!
I think I like my mutual funds a lot more right now then I did before I fully understoof them (that $600 would put my account into the land of profit!).
So how do I figure out if it was a smart move to buy mutual funds this year? (Besides the fact that by purchasing more I’ve been able to make up almost all the money I lost). I can compare the interest earned on my CD’s to what I get in dividends!
By the end of the year, I’ll have roughly earned around $60 in interest from my Roth CD’s (on about 2,500 dollars.) – Because CD rates are really pitiful right now… That’s 4.6 times what my Mutual funds should be worth since I’ve contributed $11,500.00 in mutual funds… So, if I earn more than $60.00 in dividends for every $2,500.00 I have invested, it was smarter to buy mutual funds then the CD’s.
So As long as I receive over $276.00 in dividends, It was a good investment move for the year.
AND
According to Google,
My mutual fund is currently offering a Yield of 5.66%
I’m assuming that means I’ll be receiving 5.66% of whatever my mutual funds are worth… So if I base that on yesterday’s closing price of $8.36, that’s $0.47 for every share I have... and since I have 1,317.656 shares that’s $619.00!
I think I like my mutual funds a lot more right now then I did before I fully understoof them (that $600 would put my account into the land of profit!).
Tile screwed up...
My tile company didn’t install the underlayment I paid to have installed… therefore I now have another battle with the tile company… who was supposed to call me yesterday.
Guess today will be another angry phone call day.
The plumbing company knocked off an hour of service from the bill… but I’m still very unhappy with them and will likely not use their service in the future… Unless the other company stinks more… *(please, no more plumbing issues???!!!!)*
Remodeling is frustrating…
But I love my carpet... and the tile I chose... (i just wish it was installed correctly...)
Guess today will be another angry phone call day.
The plumbing company knocked off an hour of service from the bill… but I’m still very unhappy with them and will likely not use their service in the future… Unless the other company stinks more… *(please, no more plumbing issues???!!!!)*
Remodeling is frustrating…
But I love my carpet... and the tile I chose... (i just wish it was installed correctly...)
Saturday, November 14, 2009
I'm so dumb!
So I’m really dumb.
I was reading an online investment guide about diversifying portfolios and the like and I read about mutual funds and stock’s that payout yields and dividends annually and it was then that I realized that my mutual funds pay out dividends…
This makes me wonder if all my retirement perspective calculations have been off. If I look at the dividends like interest on a savings account, then I’m fine… But I wonder if I should look at them that way, especially since I re-invest those dividends and buy shares with them…
I originally opened my account through ING direct in 2007 and in 2008 they rolled that over into a ShareBuilder account so I can’t look at my account history before October 2nd 2008 as it doesn’t exist anymore (so I’ve no idea how much $$$ I collected through dividends).
Since my accounts moved to ShareBuilder, I’ve received to date:
• $713.79 in dividends. (6.20% of the amount I personally invested $11,500.)
Which is a nice amount of “free” money to invest… but since my account is still in the red, this means I actually lost an additional 6.20% when we hit the recession. Ouch…
I don’t know if I’m okay with just shrugging my shoulders at the dividends and calculating them like interest (but that’s what they are… a thank you for my investment in “whatever companies” my mutual fund has in them).
But I’m kind of bummed that I lost an additional $713.79… especially when my account is soooo close to breaking even. It makes me feel like I won’t break even on my account until it’s worth $12,213.79
So, should I go back and amend all my retirement perspectives to account for a dividends reinvested (that I know of) section? Or just leave it be and just look at the money I’ve put in from my paycheck and compare it to the market value that it’s worth?
I was reading an online investment guide about diversifying portfolios and the like and I read about mutual funds and stock’s that payout yields and dividends annually and it was then that I realized that my mutual funds pay out dividends…
This makes me wonder if all my retirement perspective calculations have been off. If I look at the dividends like interest on a savings account, then I’m fine… But I wonder if I should look at them that way, especially since I re-invest those dividends and buy shares with them…
I originally opened my account through ING direct in 2007 and in 2008 they rolled that over into a ShareBuilder account so I can’t look at my account history before October 2nd 2008 as it doesn’t exist anymore (so I’ve no idea how much $$$ I collected through dividends).
Since my accounts moved to ShareBuilder, I’ve received to date:
• $713.79 in dividends. (6.20% of the amount I personally invested $11,500.)
Which is a nice amount of “free” money to invest… but since my account is still in the red, this means I actually lost an additional 6.20% when we hit the recession. Ouch…
I don’t know if I’m okay with just shrugging my shoulders at the dividends and calculating them like interest (but that’s what they are… a thank you for my investment in “whatever companies” my mutual fund has in them).
But I’m kind of bummed that I lost an additional $713.79… especially when my account is soooo close to breaking even. It makes me feel like I won’t break even on my account until it’s worth $12,213.79
So, should I go back and amend all my retirement perspectives to account for a dividends reinvested (that I know of) section? Or just leave it be and just look at the money I’ve put in from my paycheck and compare it to the market value that it’s worth?
Retirement Perspectives
My Cal-PERS statement came online & the Market picked up!!!
My Goal is the leave the workforce on my 55th birthday, 11,497 Days from now...
401 Account: Approximately 2.68 % of my portfolio
• $642.30 (Employer Paid 1% of Salary); $682.93 Worth
o Up 6.3% from inception, +$40.63
o Stable Value Money Market Accounts make up 30.20%
o Milestone 2040 makes up 69.80%
457 Account: Approximately 4.05% of my portfolio
• Employer Funded. Future Contributions Discontinued (minimal interest earned—like pennies)… I can’t wait till this makes up less the 1% of my portfolio…
o Positive $1,032.59
ING DIRECT Roth IRA: Approximately 10.04% of my portfolio
• $2,500.00 Invested; Worth $2,560.95
o Up 2.43% from inception. Positive $60.95
o CD’s ranging from 1.65% to 4.5% (savings 1.30%).
o Current Average CD rate 2.91%
ShareBuilder Roth IRA Approximately 44.44% of my portfolio
• $11,500 Invested; Worth $11,329.50
o Down 1.48% since inception… Loss of -$170.50
o Strategic Allocation Moderate 97.30%
o Money Market Cash 2.70%
o I have 1,317.656 Shares
o For my account to break even, shares would have to be: $8.50
o Currently shares are worth:$8.37
Excluding my Pension, my variable retirement accounts are worth $15,605.97. Of that I’ve only invested $14,000 of my money (the rest has been my employer). So technically I’ve made 11.47%. If I compare all the “free money” and my contributions (Totals 15,674.89), my portfolio is DOWN 0.43 % since inception.
Pension: Approximately 38.79% of my portfolio
If I quit tomorrow, I’d just have the cash in the account.
• Up until 2007, Employer paid all contributions. Jan 2007- July 2009 Employee’s contributed 1%. As of August 1st, 2009, employees contribute 2%:
o 2007- $299.74
o 2008- $336.12
o 2009- $421.92
Total: $1,057.78 (November 6, 2009)
Account Cash Value as of 07.01.2008 $9,890.40
• I’m ALSO buying additional time in my retirement accounts from when I was 16-18 years of age (service prior to membership). It’s less then a year’s worth of service credit, but I’ll be paying $33.06 for 42 more installments.
o 2009- Total Contributions $330.60 (November 9th, 2009)
My entire portfolio (if I cashed my pension out today) is worth $25,496.37
My Goal is the leave the workforce on my 55th birthday, 11,497 Days from now...
401 Account: Approximately 2.68 % of my portfolio
• $642.30 (Employer Paid 1% of Salary); $682.93 Worth
o Up 6.3% from inception, +$40.63
o Stable Value Money Market Accounts make up 30.20%
o Milestone 2040 makes up 69.80%
457 Account: Approximately 4.05% of my portfolio
• Employer Funded. Future Contributions Discontinued (minimal interest earned—like pennies)… I can’t wait till this makes up less the 1% of my portfolio…
o Positive $1,032.59
ING DIRECT Roth IRA: Approximately 10.04% of my portfolio
• $2,500.00 Invested; Worth $2,560.95
o Up 2.43% from inception. Positive $60.95
o CD’s ranging from 1.65% to 4.5% (savings 1.30%).
o Current Average CD rate 2.91%
ShareBuilder Roth IRA Approximately 44.44% of my portfolio
• $11,500 Invested; Worth $11,329.50
o Down 1.48% since inception… Loss of -$170.50
o Strategic Allocation Moderate 97.30%
o Money Market Cash 2.70%
o I have 1,317.656 Shares
o For my account to break even, shares would have to be: $8.50
o Currently shares are worth:$8.37
Excluding my Pension, my variable retirement accounts are worth $15,605.97. Of that I’ve only invested $14,000 of my money (the rest has been my employer). So technically I’ve made 11.47%. If I compare all the “free money” and my contributions (Totals 15,674.89), my portfolio is DOWN 0.43 % since inception.
Pension: Approximately 38.79% of my portfolio
If I quit tomorrow, I’d just have the cash in the account.
• Up until 2007, Employer paid all contributions. Jan 2007- July 2009 Employee’s contributed 1%. As of August 1st, 2009, employees contribute 2%:
o 2007- $299.74
o 2008- $336.12
o 2009- $421.92
Total: $1,057.78 (November 6, 2009)
Account Cash Value as of 07.01.2008 $9,890.40
• I’m ALSO buying additional time in my retirement accounts from when I was 16-18 years of age (service prior to membership). It’s less then a year’s worth of service credit, but I’ll be paying $33.06 for 42 more installments.
o 2009- Total Contributions $330.60 (November 9th, 2009)
My entire portfolio (if I cashed my pension out today) is worth $25,496.37
The wedding
Was beautiful. and fun.
I looked spectacular, boyfriend danced with me in public, and the bride and groom insisted that I be in all the family photos.
perfect evening
I looked spectacular, boyfriend danced with me in public, and the bride and groom insisted that I be in all the family photos.
perfect evening
Floors this week
I bought the rest of the baseboards for the whole place and painted them.
i'm hoping my friend will come over Sunday afternoon and cut the boards to size, but not put them in yet. We have to get the hight of the tile once its installed because some walls will have tile on one side and carpet on the other, so we need to make them match up.
Tile goes in Monday, so monday night we will put in one board over the tile, and then do the area where the carpet will go (since well have the tile measurements) and hopefully get some of them in before the living room carpt goes in the next day.
For the most part, the to- do list is the same so i won't repost it.
Our goals for sunday are to fix the slider doors (so it gunks up the old flooring); maybe put in a mirrored closet if we can swing it, and possibly cut the baseboards so we can install some monday night.
If i can, i'll try and paint the laundry room closet in the middle of this week and just put a tarp down to cover the new floor since i can't paint parts of it till the box the washing machine/dryer is on is removed.
i'm hoping my friend will come over Sunday afternoon and cut the boards to size, but not put them in yet. We have to get the hight of the tile once its installed because some walls will have tile on one side and carpet on the other, so we need to make them match up.
Tile goes in Monday, so monday night we will put in one board over the tile, and then do the area where the carpet will go (since well have the tile measurements) and hopefully get some of them in before the living room carpt goes in the next day.
For the most part, the to- do list is the same so i won't repost it.
Our goals for sunday are to fix the slider doors (so it gunks up the old flooring); maybe put in a mirrored closet if we can swing it, and possibly cut the baseboards so we can install some monday night.
If i can, i'll try and paint the laundry room closet in the middle of this week and just put a tarp down to cover the new floor since i can't paint parts of it till the box the washing machine/dryer is on is removed.
I have debt again... Condo spending update
I financed my floors and my kitchen cabinets...
but before you get worried, its at zero percent no interest no payments for 12 months... which i'll have the tax rebate by then and can pay them off in full.
but i had to mention it and all the prices!
What I’ve spent on my Condo:
• Down payment, Closing Costs, Prorated fees… ect $7,057.08
• Locksmith $70.00
• 2 Parking permits $50.00
• Home Depot Weekend #1 (electrical, lighting, tools, etc) $459.83
• Food for Friends Weekend #1 $66.64
• Paint, Primer, Supplies: $231.13
• Medicine Cabinet: $44.00
• Re-surface Tub: $350.00
• Baseboards (bedrooms and closets), Door Frames (all), Tub Fixtures $265.59
• Random: $12.11
Door knobs, painting supplies: $63.24
Bathroom Sink, New Fawcetts, recessed kitchen lighting $233.55
Truck Rental $20.66
Stove cord $23.77
New electric stove, ceiling paint, and wall texture $424.95
Paint, Shower rod, Curtain, TP holderm Shelves for the bathroom $154.87
Random lighting, ceiling, and wall patch extras 34.91
Baseboards, kitchen sink, kitchen fawcett $381.58
plummer***** 490.01
Grand Total 10,433.92
Financed:
Tile Loan: $4,345.00
Home Depot: $4,397.48
(8,000 tax buyer credit-- so an additional $742.48 of my own money once i get the credit to pay these financed items off---FYI nothing else will be financed)
I have 2.03% Equity as of today: $2,444.89/$120,000.00 (purchase price)
I still have $5,887.63 left in my remodel account…
but before you get worried, its at zero percent no interest no payments for 12 months... which i'll have the tax rebate by then and can pay them off in full.
but i had to mention it and all the prices!
What I’ve spent on my Condo:
• Down payment, Closing Costs, Prorated fees… ect $7,057.08
• Locksmith $70.00
• 2 Parking permits $50.00
• Home Depot Weekend #1 (electrical, lighting, tools, etc) $459.83
• Food for Friends Weekend #1 $66.64
• Paint, Primer, Supplies: $231.13
• Medicine Cabinet: $44.00
• Re-surface Tub: $350.00
• Baseboards (bedrooms and closets), Door Frames (all), Tub Fixtures $265.59
• Random: $12.11
Door knobs, painting supplies: $63.24
Bathroom Sink, New Fawcetts, recessed kitchen lighting $233.55
Truck Rental $20.66
Stove cord $23.77
New electric stove, ceiling paint, and wall texture $424.95
Paint, Shower rod, Curtain, TP holderm Shelves for the bathroom $154.87
Random lighting, ceiling, and wall patch extras 34.91
Baseboards, kitchen sink, kitchen fawcett $381.58
plummer***** 490.01
Grand Total 10,433.92
Financed:
Tile Loan: $4,345.00
Home Depot: $4,397.48
(8,000 tax buyer credit-- so an additional $742.48 of my own money once i get the credit to pay these financed items off---FYI nothing else will be financed)
I have 2.03% Equity as of today: $2,444.89/$120,000.00 (purchase price)
I still have $5,887.63 left in my remodel account…
Plumbing and carpet nightmares...
I had 6 valves replaced… and 5 hoses because mine were all rusty and gross in my condo. I called one of the only 2 companies that know how to work with our boiler system, and I asked for the plumber my neighbor recommended… But he wasn’t what I got.
I got another fellow from the company… and he took a whole hour and a half longer then I was quoted (they are paid hourly)… and then I had to argue with him to actually do the job I was paying him to do!
He didn’t connect any of the new hoses to the sink faucets and was going to leave me without running water (and I wouldn’t be able to check to make sure he did the work correctly if they weren’t hooked up)… he hooked up the bathroom without much fuss, but argued for over 20 minutes that he was worried he’d damage the old hose so he couldn’t attach the new one… but I was paying for him to attach the new one and toss the old one so I’d have hot and cold running water. He wanted to leave the new cold hose unattached so If someone accidentally turned on the cold water, it would shoot out from under my sink…
It was a nightmare that I’d rather not get into detail about. But I’m very tired of being looked at like a 23 year old that doesn’t know what’s going on.
Then my sick neighbor came up as he was banging around trying to put the washing machine back… and she had to help him because he couldn’t do it— Once he pulled it out I decided not to replace those hoses because he was already at 3.0 hours and they looked fine to me (but changing those was in my time estimate BTW).
He also left tools in my place that I had to walk out to the car to give him… which just angered me more.
So I got billed for $490.01--- paid with my credit card and once he left… called the company to complain. The receptionist was appalled by his behavior (did I mention the cell phone calls he answered that were not from his office?). She was shocked that he would do that and apologized for her error in sending the wrong plumber (she wasn’t under the impression that I wanted Mark specifically, she thought that I heard he was great so I was calling the company based on my neighbors referral—apparently Mark is booked until December).
The owner/manager should be calling me before they run my card to reduce the charges since he charged me to argue the whole time, make personal calls, and for his unbecoming conduct. They are a small company and want my business back… that’s for sure.
They haven’t called me back yet to negotiate the price and talk to me about my dissatisfaction, but they also haven’t run my card either. I’m calling them on Monday if I haven’t heard back from them yet.
---
Ya, and the carpet/floor company tried to cancel my appointment last week when they were already ten minutes late. I had to call her to ask where she was and she told me she was going elsewhere because her boss told her to skip my appointment (and not call me to reschedule?!?!?)
So I told her flat out that she was rude and that if The Tile Company didn’t want my money because it wasn’t good enough for them then they could shove it and I’d call the other company I was considering. She “defied” her boss and came to my place and I ordered my carpet and tile from them only because they were the only company who agreed to rip out all the old tile and put in just the entrance way, bathroom, and laundry room on one day (leaving the kitchen and dining room to finish after my cabinets are installed in Dec) and come back the next day for the carpet.
I hate that people see me as a girl and think they can walk all over me! I’m smarter and more savvy than half their clients and if they were smart reps, they would be really good to me so I can refer all my friends in a year or two when they need their places done!
I got another fellow from the company… and he took a whole hour and a half longer then I was quoted (they are paid hourly)… and then I had to argue with him to actually do the job I was paying him to do!
He didn’t connect any of the new hoses to the sink faucets and was going to leave me without running water (and I wouldn’t be able to check to make sure he did the work correctly if they weren’t hooked up)… he hooked up the bathroom without much fuss, but argued for over 20 minutes that he was worried he’d damage the old hose so he couldn’t attach the new one… but I was paying for him to attach the new one and toss the old one so I’d have hot and cold running water. He wanted to leave the new cold hose unattached so If someone accidentally turned on the cold water, it would shoot out from under my sink…
It was a nightmare that I’d rather not get into detail about. But I’m very tired of being looked at like a 23 year old that doesn’t know what’s going on.
Then my sick neighbor came up as he was banging around trying to put the washing machine back… and she had to help him because he couldn’t do it— Once he pulled it out I decided not to replace those hoses because he was already at 3.0 hours and they looked fine to me (but changing those was in my time estimate BTW).
He also left tools in my place that I had to walk out to the car to give him… which just angered me more.
So I got billed for $490.01--- paid with my credit card and once he left… called the company to complain. The receptionist was appalled by his behavior (did I mention the cell phone calls he answered that were not from his office?). She was shocked that he would do that and apologized for her error in sending the wrong plumber (she wasn’t under the impression that I wanted Mark specifically, she thought that I heard he was great so I was calling the company based on my neighbors referral—apparently Mark is booked until December).
The owner/manager should be calling me before they run my card to reduce the charges since he charged me to argue the whole time, make personal calls, and for his unbecoming conduct. They are a small company and want my business back… that’s for sure.
They haven’t called me back yet to negotiate the price and talk to me about my dissatisfaction, but they also haven’t run my card either. I’m calling them on Monday if I haven’t heard back from them yet.
---
Ya, and the carpet/floor company tried to cancel my appointment last week when they were already ten minutes late. I had to call her to ask where she was and she told me she was going elsewhere because her boss told her to skip my appointment (and not call me to reschedule?!?!?)
So I told her flat out that she was rude and that if The Tile Company didn’t want my money because it wasn’t good enough for them then they could shove it and I’d call the other company I was considering. She “defied” her boss and came to my place and I ordered my carpet and tile from them only because they were the only company who agreed to rip out all the old tile and put in just the entrance way, bathroom, and laundry room on one day (leaving the kitchen and dining room to finish after my cabinets are installed in Dec) and come back the next day for the carpet.
I hate that people see me as a girl and think they can walk all over me! I’m smarter and more savvy than half their clients and if they were smart reps, they would be really good to me so I can refer all my friends in a year or two when they need their places done!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Not much planned for this week on the condo due to the wedding.
Current to do list:
***indicates boyfriend project, or boyfriend and his daddy project/ Contractor/Can’t do by myself.
General:
• Plummer coming Tuesday Morning
• Floors scheduled for installation the 16th (Tile in entry way, laundry room, & Bathroom) & 17th (carpet)
• Finish all changes to cabinet design for kitchen so I can order it. - Sunday at 1:00pm
Small Closet:
• Measure for a new closet mirrored door. This Weekend
• ***install new mirrored closet door (after baseboards).
Bathroom
• *** Install the countertop and new sink fixtures
• Bring extra cabinet down to Neighbor This Weekend
• Buy over the toilet storage counter
• Paint/BUY the baseboards
• ***Put in the new door trim
• ***Put in the baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
• Put in the new door stopper
Bedroom:
• ***Look at the sliding doors leading out to the patio… replace or fix.
• Custom plantation shutters.
Living Room:
• ***Install door trim
• Paint/Buy baseboards
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
• Find wall A/C unit and buy.
• Submit paperwork for it to be installed.
• ***Install A/C Unit
• ***Fix the sliding Glass doors/replace
• New patio screen door.
• Custom plantation shutters for the sliding glass doors.
Entry Way
• Buy decorative trim
• Paint decorative trim
• ***Install decorative trim
• ***Put new door trim on.
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Dining Room
• Touch up the ceiling
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Utility closet:
• Paint the closet
• Paint the shelves
• Paint ceiling
• Figure out a way to put a door up to close the washer/dry from view.
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Kitchen:
• ***Remove the rest of the cabinetry that needs removal.
• Finish Painting walls This Weekend
• Buy a new microwave to have installed after cabinets.
• Order new kitchen cabinets. (wait 3-4 weeks for delivery)
• Order granite countertops and knobs for doors (after cabinets are installed).
• ***Put in new floor. (December)
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
MOVE ALL MY STUFF IN AND PARTY!
***indicates boyfriend project, or boyfriend and his daddy project/ Contractor/Can’t do by myself.
General:
• Plummer coming Tuesday Morning
• Floors scheduled for installation the 16th (Tile in entry way, laundry room, & Bathroom) & 17th (carpet)
• Finish all changes to cabinet design for kitchen so I can order it. - Sunday at 1:00pm
Small Closet:
• Measure for a new closet mirrored door. This Weekend
• ***install new mirrored closet door (after baseboards).
Bathroom
• *** Install the countertop and new sink fixtures
• Bring extra cabinet down to Neighbor This Weekend
• Buy over the toilet storage counter
• Paint/BUY the baseboards
• ***Put in the new door trim
• ***Put in the baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
• Put in the new door stopper
Bedroom:
• ***Look at the sliding doors leading out to the patio… replace or fix.
• Custom plantation shutters.
Living Room:
• ***Install door trim
• Paint/Buy baseboards
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
• Find wall A/C unit and buy.
• Submit paperwork for it to be installed.
• ***Install A/C Unit
• ***Fix the sliding Glass doors/replace
• New patio screen door.
• Custom plantation shutters for the sliding glass doors.
Entry Way
• Buy decorative trim
• Paint decorative trim
• ***Install decorative trim
• ***Put new door trim on.
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Dining Room
• Touch up the ceiling
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Utility closet:
• Paint the closet
• Paint the shelves
• Paint ceiling
• Figure out a way to put a door up to close the washer/dry from view.
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
Kitchen:
• ***Remove the rest of the cabinetry that needs removal.
• Finish Painting walls This Weekend
• Buy a new microwave to have installed after cabinets.
• Order new kitchen cabinets. (wait 3-4 weeks for delivery)
• Order granite countertops and knobs for doors (after cabinets are installed).
• ***Put in new floor. (December)
• ***Install baseboards
• Cover the nails in the baseboards
• Sand the baseboards
• Touch up paint on the baseboards
MOVE ALL MY STUFF IN AND PARTY!
Its been a ride...
I'm busy!
This weekend is boyfriends sister's wedding, so this week has been devoted to getting ready for the big event.
My to- do list keeps growing, not shrinking...
and the holidays are upon us. I promise to try and blog more updates and eventually post pictures when I find my camera cord.
This weekend is boyfriends sister's wedding, so this week has been devoted to getting ready for the big event.
My to- do list keeps growing, not shrinking...
and the holidays are upon us. I promise to try and blog more updates and eventually post pictures when I find my camera cord.
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