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.
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