Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Sunday Brunch with my family...

My mom called me up last Monday and invited my husband and I to Sunday brunch since it had been a month or so since i'd seen her. She offered to treat and told us that my sister, her fiance and his mom would also be there and she was really hoping we could skip out on church and go. Since my mom and I have been getting along better, and since we knew that my sister would have a buffer (her future mother-in-law) there, we agreed since it looked like it would be a mellow ordeal with nothing too intense.

We picked up my mom at her house since she doesn't like to drive after she fell at work. (She was off for 2 weeks on medical leave and had to getting by using crutches. She's still healing and has a hard time going down stairs now while she heals).

We pulled in, parked, and went inside to find just my sister and her fiance... apparently his mom wouldn't be able to make it... and to top it off they were already sitting in the bar at a booth with 5 glasses of champagne on the table...

Now normally ordering drinks for everyone along with yourself would be seen as a polite gesture if you arrive early (or at least asking for a round of water....) but when you know that 2 people coming will not be drinking champagne and you order it for them anyway to make a big deal out  of the fact that they aren't drinking... and then demand within 2 seconds of sitting down that everyone toast, and clink glasses and drink up is just plain rude.

To add insult to injury, you probably shouldn't jokingly tell the one person who doesn't drink at all and never had (SCB) that you guess he could toast with the small orange juice glass that's half empty and that was used to cut the champagne with...

Oh, ya, and you probably shouldn't request to sit in the bar either...

So, needless to say SCB didn't participate in my sister's toast and she wasn't happy that while I lifted my glass and clinked it around, that I chose to set it down on the table and not consume it. After politely moving SCB's glass away from him (the smell makes him a bit sick), we tried to enjoy ourselves.

While no one got into a food fight or a table debate (mostly because we weren't included in the conversations to begin with), we made it through brunch. To call it a pleasant visit would be an exaggeration though, even by my families standards.

After we had had our fill of food from the buffet, and watched them go through 3 rounds of champagne while eating (including drinking the 2 glasses originally for SCB and I... which they also kept getting re-filled... we then had to sit through another 2 and a half rounds of watching them drink before we could leave because they wanted to make sure that if they didn't "eat" their monies worth, that they would drink their monies worth instead. (and somehow my sister was going to drive herself and her fiance (who came hungover btw) home????)

SCB fell asleep in the booth twice and the second time I just let him quietly dose off and sleep because it was obvious that he wasn't going to be included in any of the conversations and the environment was not fun for him...

Eventually we got to leave, and as I was driving my mom home she let it slip that when my sister's lease is up, she might have my sister AND her fiance move in so they can save money for a house....

(I guess that's why she put a new king sized bed in my sister's old room instead of replacing her 10 year old mattress/bed...)

If you flash back to when SCB and I got engaged and you remember how I asked my mom if I could just come and SLEEP in my old room for a few months leading up to the wedding so SCB could move out here and get a job... so we could date and spend more time together...  and how she told me no and I had to ask a family from my church if I could live with them when my own mother turned me down...

then you know that I ended Sunday brunch with a knife in my chest.

Yeah family... Yeah.

Monday, January 30, 2012

Weekly Updates (Spending & Money Goals)

Weekly Updates:
This is huge so i'm going to open our Weekly re-cap with it... OUR DENTAL LOAN IS GONE! I went ahead and paid the remaining bill for $2,318.00! BAM! It feels fantastic.

I had to deposit the rest of my Christmas money because we spent it this week.

Harry potter Lego, years 1-4 for XBOX ($21.54)... i'm so addicted!
Vanilla Candles, ($10.75)
History Book off Amazon, ($17.25)
Book, Stuffed Animal, Car Charger, Crochet book($34.80)

We also made our first run at the EDD card since we had to deposit our Christmas spoils. We were able to pull the $107.00 off the card and just switch it to our checking account. (I pulled $5 out for the farmers market I now go to on Friday's).

SCB and I combined our date night with an opportunity to give. Chili's is doing a "give back night" for our local Relay for Life so we decided to do date night on Thursday instead of Friday and went to Chili's so 15% of our bill (we also had a friend come with us) would go towards Relay for Life and the American Cancer Society.

I'm also training for the LA Marathon on behalf of Child Share. My partner and I did 14 miles last week and 16 this week. I went ahead and matched a few donations that came in this week with funds we had earmarked for giving prior to the lay off.  If you would like to donate to help me find a home for an abused, neglected child in the foster/adoptive system, you can visit my donation page! I'm trying to raise $2500.00. If you have read my About Me Page, you know why an organization like Child Share is so near and dear to my heart.

We may need to start shopping around more and outside of fresh & easy. Cheese slices used to be 2 packets for $5.00 on sale when the store opened... then they started going to $2.99 each with the 2 for $5 sale being less frequent. Just this week alone they jumped from $2.99 to $3.49! To that I say no... We hunted through Costco and found out we can get the equivalent of 4 packets of cheese (4 different types) for $8.29, making it about $2.07 a package so we purchased the cheese at Costco this week...

Ground Beef patties at Fresh and Easy run 8.99 for 3lbs... at Costco, we can get a 6lb bag for $17.19 making it an $8.60 equivalent. Last week we picked up frozen chicken breasts because the Costco equivalent put them at $1.99 lb, and fresh and easy was $2.50 lb for fresh chicken... more for frozen. And whole wheat pasta is now sold in 13.25 once boxes for $0.99 instead of 16 oz packages like the normal pasta... Oh, and tomatoes, no longer $0.99 for a package... $1.49 now so they didn't make their way into the cart.

I didn't get a chance to check the price of tortillas at Costco, but we will next time we go since they are now $1.29 at Fresh & Easy instead of $0.98.... and carrots are now $1.49 for 2 lbs instead of $0.98. I might have to try getting SCB to go back to making bread on a regular schedule since a small loaf is now running $2.29. We stopped making bread when he got laid off because we weren't going through it fast enough and I thought it was wasting money by getting tossed out (Store loafs go into the freezer so if we don't eat it one week, its okay)... but we may need to make that adjustment and go back to making our own.

I've also been going to a farmers market to pick up broccoli each week because I can get double the amount for the same price and it lasts longer, but we may start picking up more of our produce if prices start to rise.

Since we picked up a few extra items in bulk this week, we will probably spend more money on groceries than we planned, but with the overtime and some leftover gas money we have from this month we should be fine.  

Weekly Spending:
January 23:
  • Target: $5.82 (Mnt Dew)
January 24:
January 25:
January 26:
  • Marathon Matching donations: $37.69
  • Prescriptions: $4.00
  • Date Night: $48.00
  • HOA: $262.50
January 27:
  • Farmers Market, Broccoli & Strawberries-- $3 (Got a $2 parking coupon for walking part of the way there).
  • Cell phones $134.08
  • Internet: $38.94
January 28:
  • Costco: $30.86 (6lbs of frozen burger- $17.19); (Cheese slices $8.29); (Roast Chicken $4.99)
  • Costco: $4.79 -Lunch
  • Fresh & Easy: $29.94
January 29:

Money Goals:
  1. 2011 Roth IRA: $5,000 / $5,000. We have deposited $4k of the $5k we have saved so far. 
  2. 2012 Roth IRA SCG:  $220.00 / $5,000.00 (4.4%) If we put $220 a month in the Roth IRA, and take my 2 "extra checks" we will be able to max it out. This combined with my pension and my $5.00 a paycheck deductions to a 457 account is 15% of my earned income. 
  3. Emergency Fund: $11,192.80 / $12,500.00 (89.5%) We added $100 from SCB's unemployment card and that with the interest that's been growing in the account, puts us at almost 11,200.00. Why $12.5K? its 6 months of expenses for us and 3-6 months of expenses is the recommended amount for an emergency fund so the "money guru's" declare.   
  4.  Paying Extra on the House:  $0 / $1,301.28 We want to pay 2 additional mortgage payments this year.
  5. $1,000.00 Car Fund: $0 / $1,000.00 Our cars are both getting older and starting to get up in mileage and since we drive more frequently to and from Utah we need to start saving up money for larger repair bills and to ultimately replace them down the line.
  6. 2nd Roth IRA: 15% $0 / ? We're just aiming to put 15% of what SCB earns in this account when he goes back to working so as a household we put 15% of our income to retirement. 

Friday, January 27, 2012

Job Lead, Dead End.

Our friends in the next complex over were mentioning to us last week that her dad might have some temp work for SCB... which was fantastic news for us since he's been signing in to Labor Ready every day with no luck and we have yet to receive anything from the state of Utah pertaining to sealing his old misdemeanor... (which prevents him from getting a job with most employers in this current economy)...

So we had dinner at their home, talked construction work, paint jobs, and the type of work SCB would be doing. Her dad didn't seem to mind that SCB didn't have a big background in painting and he told him he would rather have a newbie he could train and teach correctly then a guy who thinks he knows what he's doing and really doesn't. He also mentioned how he needs to let a guy go because his SS Number keeps getting flagged in the E-Verify system, but it would formally take a few weeks because they had to notify him in writing and give him the opportunity to correct the error.

So everything seemed to be going well and it looked like in a few weeks he might have a gig coming up... We continued talking details and her father started talking about how SCB would need to sign up with the temping agency that he hires through... and when we asked which one, we got a case of Deja-vu

He contracts through Labor Ready.

Which leaves us in a bit of a dead end for the moment since this isn't apparently a new lead at all. We were hoping to find another local temping agency or perhaps land this as a temporary gig with a couple real paychecks for a few weeks... but alas, its Labor Ready again.

Just for a little FYI, Labor Ready tends to send people out on jobs not necessarily on a first come, first served basis, but based on the information in your file. If you have done dish washing jobs in the past with them and one of those comes up, they will give it to you over someone who hasn't done that type of work before regardless if you were the first person there or the 25th. (If they keep their customers happy, they continue to call back for more employees later.) The only way around that is to be asked for. That happened a couple times with SCB and his dish washing gig. After we got married and he got a full time job, Labor Ready called him to see if he could work there again. He politely told them he'd gotten a full time job and then the calls stopped.

So for SCB to get a painting gig, he'd have to be first in line on a day when no other painting guys have checked in or could be reached by phone.... or be asked for by name. Here's to hoping for the later.

While her dad has plans to eventually get his own payroll system up and running so he won't be charged $17 an hour to be supplied with a worker from Labor Ready, that move will take some serious time and won't be in the near future.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

EDD Debit Card?

We got a letter in the mail yesterday informing us that South County Boys Unemployment check from the EDD won't actually be a check at all... Apparently they do debit cards that get re-loaded each week after they get the work verification papers that they mail out.

The idea of a debit card is interesting in and of itself, but what bothers and irks me is that the cards are issued from Bank of America.

The idea of having to deal with Bank of America for anything more in my life is a bit unsettling. First I have to keep asking myself how they landed that gig... and how much they are getting paid in fees....

Apparently there *should* be away to take the funds off the card without getting nailed with a fee by either visiting a teller at a bank and withdrawing them or having them deposited into your checking account...

but then again, its Bank of America so who really knows?

Has anyone out there had any experience with the EDD debit cards?

Monday, January 23, 2012

Weekly Updates (Spending & Money Goals)

SCB doesn't like being unemployed...
Weekly Updates:
Another Busy week. I pulled 57 hours this week between planning my work fundraiser event and working the holiday this past Monday. I'll be excited to see 9 hours of overtime to stick in our savings, and 12 additional vacation hours then my normal amount (Which i'll use in 11 days to head to Utah for a baby shower!)

Speaking of baby shower, I finished the pink baby blanket I was working on, & I figured out how to crochet a baby beanie to match it! I really wanted to get a sweater made for the shower, but it just hasn't happened and I don't think I'll be able to whip one out in 11 days... But I might try if I feel productive.

The picture attached to the post was taken the day before we found out about qualifying for unemployment. He's been really down lately... even with his Mountain Dew. But things might be looking up. He's meeting with a possible employer on Sunday night at his home for dinner to talk about possible work situations for him! **Cross you fingers!**

My sister also emptied her closet and dropped off 3 bags of clothes for me to go through... of which I ended up with one dress and a top... But hey, free is always good.

Weekly Spending:
January 16th: No Spend
January 17th: No Spend
January 18th: No Spend
January 19th:
  • Mortgage: $808.18
  • Kaiser Prescriptions: $20.00
January 20th:
  • Stater brothers $1.69 (Needed Eggs...)
  • Rubios: $6.99 (hubby needed food while I was working my event)
  • Frozen Yogurt (Date Night): $7.95
January 21st:

  • Costco: $25.28 (Groceries)- 10 lbs of Chicken and a block of cheese
  • Costco: $4.79 (Lunch)
  • Costco: $35.45 (Gasoline)
  • Fresh & Easy: $34.47 (Groceries)

January 22nd: No Spend!

Money Goals:
  1. 2011 Roth IRA: $5,000 / $5,000. We have deposited $3k of the $5k we have saved so far. I'll probably transfer another $1k to the fund this week since I didn't get around to it last week.
  2. 2012 Roth IRA SCG:  $0.00 / $5,000.00 (4.4%) If we put $220 a month in the Roth IRA, and take my 2 "extra checks" we will be able to max it out. This combined with my pension and my $5.00 a paycheck deductions to a 457 account is 15% of my earned income. 
  3. Emergency Fund: $11,000.00 / $12,500.00 (88%) We will be depositing any money SCB gets from unemployment straight here because we will NOT be increasing our lifestyle on the tax payer's dime. Why $12.5K? its 6 months of expenses for us and 3-6 months of expenses is the recommended amount for an emergency fund.   
  4.  Paying Extra on the House:  $0 / $1,301.28 We want to pay 2 additional mortgage payments this year.
  5. $1,000.00 Car Fund: $0 / $1,000.00 Our cars are both getting older and starting to get up in mileage and since we drive more frequently to and from Utah we need to start saving up money for larger repair bills and to ultimately replace them down the line.
  6. 2nd Roth IRA: 15% $0 / ? We're just aiming to put 15% of what SCB earns in this account when he goes back to working so as a household we put 15% of our income to retirement. 

Friday, January 20, 2012

We qualified for unemployment!

South County Boy and I got a bit of good news today. It looks like he qualified for 19 weeks of unemployment. His benefits won't be much, but I feel better knowing more money is coming in for the next 19 weeks at least.

While SCB was making $1600 a month at his work, he didn't work all of the month of December, and since they take your income based on pre-selected 3 month periods...  they took his wages that he earned over October, November, and December ($3,853.50) and somehow calculated his highest earning quarter ($2,775.50) and somehow that means we get $107 a week in Unemployment Insurance.

As we mentioned before when we were deciding if we should apply or not, we won't be increasing our life style at all with the additional $400 a month. It will go straight to our emergency fund so we have the money in case something does happen and we need to call on that safety net.

South County Boy has been getting up at 3:45am each morning to go sign in at Labor Ready... but nothing has come of it so far... But we may have a lead on a part time gig with our neighbor from the next complex over. Her dad does contract work and wants to have us over for dinner to meet SCB and see what his skill level is to see if he can help us out!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

Mortgage Update + Condo Costs (January '12)

Mortgage Update:
Principle paid down: $157.95
Interest: $492.69
New Balance: $112,457.52

The pay off date is still January 2039 which is 8 months ahead of schedule and if I continue to pay the minimum on my loan I will pay $111,996.75 in interest instead of the original $116,404.23. The extra $1,339.10 I've tossed at the mortgage to date has saved us $4,407.58 (not bad).

It took us $7,057.08 to get the keys to my condo... and another $17,672.29 to remodel and repair it...

In short, we were -$24,729.37 in the hole on day one... 

But thankfully the hole is getting filled in a little bit each and every month.
  • In 2009 I got the First Time Home buyer's Credit giving us $8,000.00. I also got to write off some of the property tax I paid in addition to taking the standard deduction. This gave us an extra $90.10 which was basically erased when I had to pay an Electrician $95.00 to fix an outlet... Then the refund I got from my botched tile job gave us $1,265.00
  • In 2010 I saved $1,087.00 on my federal taxes and $461.00 on my State taxes from itemizing my homeowners expenses. (This is what I received ABOVE what I would have with just the standard deduction). 
  • In 2011 I spent $12.97 at home depot, and $72.29 on a kitchen door, but I received a small $70 refund check from closing costs. We also saved $494.04 by living in our condo instead of renting (See Mortgage Update + Condo Costs December '11 for the break down.) Since we tied the knot in 2011 we won't be able to itemize our housing costs so there's no savings there. 
All in all, this leaves us $13,442.49 in the hole...
  • If we assume our home is worth what we paid for, then we have $7,542.48 in equity...
Leaving us about $5,900.01 in the hole.

We also assume our monthly payments are a wash since its cheaper to OWN our home then to RENT an apartment. Check out Housing Comps 2012 for how we figured that out.

If I sold the condo tomorrow, I'd have to sell the property for $134,591.54 to break even.
  • This assumes a 6% total commission ($8,075.49)
  • Enough money to refund the amount i'm in the hole for ($5900.01)
  • and enough money to cover the first time homeowners tax credit i'd have to repay for not living in the property for 3 years. ($8,000.00)
If I wait out the remaining 9 months left on the credit, I'd be able to sell for $122,471.79
  • Assuming 6% total commission ($7,348.31)
  • and enough money to refund the amount I would be in the hole for 9 months down the line ($4,282.10)

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

New monthly bill...

South county boy went to Kaiser yesterday to do an annual checkup, meet his new doctor, and get one of his prescriptions refilled.

Tomorrow he'll need to fast and just drink water for 12 hours and then go back to get his blood work up done to see how healthy he is and where we need to improve.

In the mean time though, it looks like we will have a new monthly bill. With my old prescriptions, I used to be able to get a 3 month supply in the mail for $10 since it was generic... but the hubby takes name brand Singulair and that's $20 for a 1 month supply from the pharmacy. I think his antidepressant is generic so I hope we can get the three month supply for $10 for that too, but either way it looks like well need to start setting aside about $25.00 a month to cover prescription costs for SCB.

It seems like our tight budget just keeps getting a bit tighter these days.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Refinancing Our Mortgage will never happen

The other day I was going through the mail and I saw a notice asking me to call about refinancing my mortgage. It was a streamline loan that would mean no property value assessment and very little if any fees.  To add more icing to the cake, they were offering a 3.75% interest rate.

I was reading up online about how you could get a 15 year FHA mortgage with NO mip payments if your loan to value was less than 89.99%. Now I hate those stupid extra interest payments each month and right now they won't go away until our loan to value ration is below 78% and we have paid them for 5 years. So the idea of getting them to go away now sounded amazing... only problem is our loan is at 89.99 loan to value. It's way higher. 

So I did some math. If SCB and I didn't put any money into my Roth IRA for the year, we would have enough money to pay down our loan to the correct loan to value ratio...  Essentially giving us a better rate, a shorter term, and no more MIP payments!  

So I called... 

and my dreams shattered. You aren't allowed to refinance a 30 year FHA loan into a 15. The only streamline refinance I can do is a lower rate at another 30 year FHA mortgage... but then that peaky little problem of ours resurfaces...

Our FHA 30 yr fixed rate mortgage comes from BEFORE the government changed the formula for MIP payments. Essentially new mortgage MIP payments are double what we pay.  

The guy on the phone did a lot of math and at then end, he told me he couldn't refinance me into a better rate because all the savings would be eaten by the increased MIP or the amount we would save would not justify the costs and restarting our 5 years of MIP payments (at a minimum).

So our best bet is to simply pay down our mortgage, wait till we have 20% equity by current property value standards, and if rates are still low at that point, then look into refinancing.

So much for that idea.   

Monday, January 16, 2012

Weekly Updates (Spending & Money Goals)

Weekly Updates:
Another week gone and lot has gone on. I had a fabulous mental break down where I curled up in a ball and just cried and then spent the night playing lego harry potter on my husbands Xbox. South County Boy is having a hard time dealing with being unemployed... and I've been having a hard time trying to hold the both of us together (hence my little break down, but I won't elaborate much more on it.) SCB did receive his statement in the mail from the state for his benefits and filled it out and mailed it off. I've no idea when or if we will start receiving checks since there wasn't a check included in the statement.

In other news, Marathon training is picking up again. My friend and I carved out 14 miles on Saturday to prepare for the LA Marathon, which i'll be attempting for a third time to raise money for Child S.H.A.R.E., a wonderful organization that finds homes and stability and love to ever beat up bruised and abandon child. If you've read my "About Me" page then you know my story and how I should have been pulled from my home growing up-- and wasn't. I participate in the marathon each year so no child has to go through what i had to endure. If you'd like to donate, you can visit my First Giving Page here.

I got a notice from the great people at the California DMV that its time to smog my car :( Looks like that's how i'll be spending my weekend next week. I'm glad I had a bit of overtime on my paycheck this week from working the holiday to help us cover this. I hope after the long trip to Utah and my recent maintenance check up that my car will pass all on its own. 

I also have a huge fundraiser event i'm putting on with the help of my planning committee at work so i'm sure to have an InSaNe week and i'm just praying my sanity holds up to boot.

Thankfully, our spending has been in pretty good time and we have been slowly receiving our tax documents so I can begin to figure out whats the best way for us to file, etc. I used some of my Christmas money to pick up some marathon training supplies since these were items I asked for for the holidays and then got cash so i could pick out the ones I wanted since some things are particular.

Weekly Spending:
January 9th:
  • Electric Bill: $32.01
January 10th: No Spend
January 12th
  • Chipotle: $6.41
January 13th
  • Matched my first 3 LA Marathon donations: $86.15 (from our giving savings account)
January 14th

  • Gasoline (SCG) $39.44
  • Costco: $11.59 (Milk and refried beans)
  • Costco: $29.62 (Polarized sunglasses for life guarding) (Christmas Money)
  • Target:  $10.38 (Running socks and Mac & Cheese) (Christmas Money)
  • Walmart: $14.88 (Stop watch, bulb) (Christmas Money)
  • Fresh & Easy: $21.93 (Groceries) 

January 15th: No Spend

Money Goals:

  1. 2011 Roth IRA: We have deposited $3k of the $5k we have saved so far. I'll probably transfer another $1k to the fund next week.
  2. 2012 Roth IRA: We'll start setting aside money from my next paycheck for this. If we can save $220 a month and use both my extra paychecks i'll get this year, we can accomplish this with our current budget.
  3. Emergency Fund: We'll start this after our February trip out to Utah (drive out on a Friday, drive home on a Monday kind of short visit to attend a bridal shower.) If SCB gets to go back to work, we'll drive up after he's off on Friday and then drive back on Sunday so were ready for Monday work. 
  4. Paying Extra on the House: This will start after the Emergency fund goal gets taken care of. We want to pay 2 additional mortgage payments.
  5. 2nd 2012 Roth IRA: Only if SCB gets to go back to work.
  6. $1,000.00 Car Fund: Only if SCB gets to go back to work and we simultaneously put 15% of his money into retirement.

Friday, January 13, 2012

Housing Comps for 2012

Each November I look at the old apartment complex that I used to live in and I find out what a one bedroom unit would rent for had I not purchased my home. This gives me my bench mark for what I would be paying each month as a renter and I can then compare that to what I actually pay as a homeowner.

This way I can see if it was smart to buy when I did despite the housing market.  To be honest, if I didn't buy when I did, I'd be living in a one bedroom apartment there right now so I think its the best comps I can use.

My old apartment complex is also pretty much an equal commute to my work (Further for SCB) and while the apartment is smaller in terms of square footage, it makes that up in the fact that it has a single car garage so we could store a few boxes in there.

Last year I assumed I would have renewed a lease on a 600 square foot apartment so I wouldn't have to factor in moving costs or a new security deposit (which you got back if you stayed 2 full years). Last year that one bedroom would have rented for $1,095.00 this year, its $1,195.00.

But truth be told, I'm married now... and our home is actually 753 square feet. So for 2012, i'll be using the slightly larger 672 square foot 1 bedroom apartment in my comps since it rents for a little bit more at $1,225.00 a month and its closer to our actual home size. Given the option of a larger space for only $30 more a month, we would take it. I also won't need to account for the $400 security deposit or moving costs because the old $400 security deposit would have been refunded and my friends would have helped me move. Or I can choose to believe this. =)

The only issue is that by now, with all the added laundry I do from acquiring a husband, I would not be walking down 3 flights of stairs to haul the laundry to a laundry mat at the complex. So for this years apartment costs, I'd have to factor in the purchase of a washer/dryer and a higher water and gas bill. The cheapest Washing Machine at the home depot would set us back $314.10 and the Dryer $296.10 (the units there don't do stack-ables). Monthly, that's an additional cost of $50.85 and I would have either paid cash outright or done a zero percent finance loan for a year. Considering we'd pay at least $30 a month to do it at the complex laundry mat (it was usually $15 a month when i lived there alone and SCB dirties more clothes then I do with his work), so the $20 convenience would have been a no brain-er.

Costs Associated with Apartment for 2012
FYI- I don't include electric bills since i'd have to pay for those at either place, but my HOA fee includes water, gas, and trash so i'll account for them here using the fees I used to pay 2+ years ago) Monthly: $1,393.85, Annually: $16,726.20
  • Trash: $15 a month
  • Water: $60 a month
  • Gas: $35 a month
  • Rent: $1,225.00 a month
  • Renters Insurance: $11.00 a month
  • Washer/Dryer Payments: $50.85 a month
Costs Associated with Condo for 2012
I'll update this list as the year goes on if we spend more money on the condo or if we add additional principle to the loan I count it here as an expense. Monthly: $1,071.11| Annually: $12,853.32
  • Mortgage: $650.64
  • MIP: $51.97 a month
  • HOA: $262.50 a month
  • Property Taxes: $106.00 a month

Making my condo $322.74 cheaper a month, or $3,872.88 cheaper a year assuming no real maintenance issues occur.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Religion and Marriage: Why my husband doesn't go to church

I promised some updates on how my husband and I are balancing my non-denominational Christian faith with his less active LDS background, and here they are. There's a lot to write about so this will be a series of posts spread over the next few weeks and months as I participate in some discussions with local missionaries and attend services to have my questions answered.



Why my husband isn't active in the church:
(My wife loves me and is letting me proof read this and I'll be commenting in purple where I want to. OH! and by the way, hi everyone ~waves~)

While my husband considers himself a member and believes the LDS church is the true church, he has had some problems over the years with members of the church.
When he was younger, SCB went to his Bishop and confided some struggles he was having in a confessional sort of way... He was a bit shocked to find that some of his more private concerns were made known to his mother when there was no need. (At the time I was suffering from depression and having a hard time of it, and I could understand the bishop telling her if I wanted to kill myself, which I didn't, but he told her something else that she had no need or right knowing.) At this age trust was a big thing for him and this was kind of strike number 1 on his active participation in "church culture." ( not to mention the general scorn i "earned" from my peers for living in southern California and not being able to look "rich".)

Strike 2 came a little differently. For awhile the church "highly suggested" (IE not made a social leper) every male to become a missionary at age 19. It wasn't until a few of my husband's older brothers had already completed their missions that the church decided to modify that "guideline" and make missions more voluntary.  Most young men continued to choose to do so out of tradition...(or because they actually wanted to spread the gospel) but when my husband was given the choice, he chose not to go.

He felt he wasn't prepared enough and at that point in his life he was struggling with other issues and he felt that a mission would do more harm then good. (Essentially I didn't really know what to do with my life at all. After managing my depression to some degree, I was astounded that i had actually lived through it. I was floundering with what to do with myself because i felt that i shouldn't have lived that long to begin with.) But he soon found out that his choice not to go wasn't good for "church culture" and the looks and whispers began. The common belief where I was living at the time was that if you didn't go on a mission, there had to be a BIG reason why. Since I didn't have any apparent medical problems, the people in the area leaped to the conclusion that I must have sinned in some MAJOR way so as to prevent me from going... because just who wouldn't wanna go on a mission if they possibly could?  (can you hear the sarcasm in that last bit?)

When he was older and he and his family moved to Utah (actually i was living in Utah when i was having to decide to go on a mission or not), which has a large LDS population, he found he continued to struggle socially and couldn't fit in. Then he saw how other members of the church continued to treat people he really cared about in a negative way (namely his/our best friends in Utah). Some very nasty lies that I will not even detail on this blog were spread about our friends throughout their wards. (two separate incidents happened to both friends and in both cases no one believed either of them) As a result, they became really isolated by the community and no longer felt welcome to attend church events or even sacrament meeting because of the starring and the whispering... even when one of their ward's Bishops stood up and told the congregation the truth it was a little too late and it was obvious that the damage was already done to the family. While his friend eventually returned to the church after a year of not attending, his wife has stayed away and can't bear the idea of going back to that particular group (and because they live in Utah, they can't choose to go to another ward unless the boundaries are re-done because everyone is assigned a church since there are so many members in the area). This was strike 3.

So he was no longer attending and hadn't for years.


(it also didn't help that more than once there were comments made in public along the lines of "how nice of you to join us"  dripping with sarcasm  when I did come just because i tend to be quiet in public settings and not participate with people i consider strangers.)


(thanks for letting me join in and hope you enjoyed the commentary and clarifications. ~waves bye-bye~)

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Christmas with my family

A really awesome house we saw out in Utah... 
On Sunday after church my husband and I finally got my mom, my sister, and her fiance together to celebrate a belated Christmas.

and i'm proud to report we all left unscathed...

It wasn't a big to do since the real holiday was done and passed for some time, but it was one of the more functional holidays we have had with my family. We spent a few hours spending time over the football game snacking on appetizers and opening gifts. My sister was happy and surprised that she got things she didn't even ask us for that she wanted (vanilla candles, a tree ornament, and a homemade crochet headband in addition to her $70 perfume.) My mom was happy with her new heels, a calendar, her favorite chocolates, pen re-fills for the Pen SCB made her last year, and a small Cheshire cat figure since she loves that character. My sister's fiance walked away with an XBox controller and a tree ornament and he was a happy camper.

SCB got a few video games and a lot of stuff to make wood turning easier and more do-able in his make shift shop... and three cases of Mountain Dew (which he hugged for a photo opportunity that I sadly don't have a copy of). Christmas could have been worse though. I had to help my sister get SCB a present for Christmas at the last minuet... She called me 2 days before we were supposed to do Christmas to drop the bomb that she didn't buy him anything yet and was basically operating under a small budget because she forgot about him.

So after our date night SCB normally window shop and browse to let our food settle before we go home so I had him and I walk though Target and Walmart to see if he got excited about anything reasonable so I could tell her about it via text when I got back. It was a bust so I made him go into Game Stop and look around. Thankfully the gal let me know they had a used copy of a game he wanted so I secretly put it on hold while he was distracted and I called her later to know she could pick it up if she wanted for $25.00 ... So like I said, it could have gone worse, and if the situation was reversed and we hadn't gotten her fiance anything until the last minuet all hell would have broken loose... but thankfully it didn't and I was able to figure something out.
 
I ended up with some clothes and to be frank, Cash. My Aunt gave me $75 dollars hidden in a box of chocolates and my sister was paid me back for a pair of jeans and two sweaters I bought for myself on Black Friday that she couldn't wrap since I needed to wear them in Utah. I had to exchange some stuff from Bath & Body works and got some more cash with it, then went shopping there with a gift card I got back from my bridal shower. I also traded some of my loot for a new CD I've been dying for and some glue for SCB to finish my wood shelves :)

The rest i'll save till there's something treat worthy that I want (which is nice since we really only have date money in our budget at present and i'm getting low on some make-up and other girly treats.)

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

What I earned in 2011

Since I finally got around to looking at my last pay stub and comparing it to what I've made over the past few years, I have wonderful news to report.

I made more money last year then I have since I started tracking my work income 4 years ago... I even cleared the year I got 27 paychecks instead of 26!

Drum Roll Please....

I made $45,002.46

I finally cleared the 45K hurdle!!! Woot Woot! Here's how it breaks down.
  • Regular Earnings: $37,398.42
  • Overtime: $2,831.88
  • Cafe Cash: $3,868.64
  • Additional Pay for working Holidays: $903.52
Sadly I don't believe i'll be able to do it again next year. Since my husband is now on my insurance account, I won't be getting any cafe cash added to my paychecks anymore... (I'll actually be paying out of pocket for some of it)...

If things stay the same way I think they will, I'll be lucky to clear $40k in 2012. But here's to hoping I make the best of what I do make, and that I can strive to do more!

Monday, January 9, 2012

Weekly Updates (Spending & Money Goals)

Weekly Updates:
It's good to be back and what a busy week we have had! Between the cleaning and getting back to work, dealing with the flu, and trying to play catch up, I find that time is just slipping away from me. We're still tossing things out and donating things left and right... guess its just a new year and I feel the need for a clean start :)

But I finally managed to get a few things done.

I had to call up our dental insurance company because our "Credit" of $1,933.00 has not posted to our dental loan at Wells Fargo and the 45 business days had already passed from when our award letter was dated. I left a message and she contacted me the next day and told me they would cut us a check directly and that it would take a few weeks to process it. Then I got a surprise call from her the next day telling me it will be a matter of days instead of weeks because she had already started our refund process a few weeks ago all on her own accord. Then the next day we got the check in the mail! Bueno. Looks like we'll wipe that bill away this month and I can take down the progress bar!

We also had to have the Toyota brought in for a 5k maintenance check. When we were driving back home from Utah you crossed 65,000 miles on my Car so this week we took it. It pays to ask for old discounts apparently. I still got my 10% AAA discount because I asked for it... normally they ask if your a member and remind you of the discount, but they apparently aren't doing it anymore but because I asked, they honored it.

I also carved out 12 miles with my friend this week as we continue training for our marathon in march. SCB found a nifty calorie counting app that I can use to help me reach my goal of loosing 15 lbs this year!

While we were out and about we picked up a few small stocking  items since we'll be celebrating Christmas on Sunday with my family and we had a little extra money left in our Christmas Account when we got back. We also got the last paycheck SCB earned from his work in the mail so we have a little buffer money for the month if we need it since we've been needed to re-stock an almost empty house grocery wise.

I've also decided to just start up with the new year in terms of tracking our spending. Before we left and during the trip I just kept track of the money in our accounts to make sure we didn't over spend, but i didn't keep good records in terms of every dime we spent at each location or on what so instead of letting my head hurt, we'll just pick up with January.

Weekly Spending:
January 1st: No spend day!
January 2nd:
  • Costco: $29.86
  • Gasoline (SCG): $52.87
  • Lunch (Costco) $4.92
January 3rd:
  • Gasoline (SCB): $37.27
  • Pick up Stix: $11.29 --because I was sick...
  • Groceries/House items (Walmart): $23.18
January 4th: 
  • Toyota: $73.85
January 5th:
  • Wood Turning Supplies: $47.95 SCB ordered a belated Christmas Present from the online store since we couldn't pick these up when we were in Utah and we had put the money aside so he could purchase some pen kits. 
January 6th:
  • $18.19 Walmart ($10 Gift, $8.19 Marathon fanny pack)
  • $4.57 Target (Gift)
  • $27.43 California Fish Grill -- For our date night.
January 7th:
  • $53.20 Fresh & Easy (Groceries)
January 8th: No spend day!

Money Goals:
For now our goal is to stay in line with our monthly budget and slowly add the remaining amount to my 2011 Roth IRA to max it out now that we have all the funds together to do so. I have added $2k thus far and over the next few weeks if things keep going okay, we'll drop in the remaining 3k.

Any money we are able to keep at the end of the month will be going towards 2 goals simultaneously. Our first being to save up another $5k for maxing out a Roth IRA for me in 2012 AND the second, adding $1,200.00 to our emergency fund. When SCB and I worked out how to prioritize our goals for the year, we knew maxing out 1 Roth IRA needed to be at the top, and with his work situation being shaken, we new it would also be wise to add more to our EF.

We are hoping over the next three months to get the Emergency fund taken care of. Between the tax return we may be getting back from the Feds (crosses fingers), the hubby's last paycheck we just got, some overtime from some events I have scheduled at work, being careful with our money, and possibly a unemployment check or two, that our emergency fund should grow by $1,200.00 (it's at $11,092.80 at present since we had some interest added, so were hoping to add $1,200 more.)

We have some money set aside in the budget for the Roth IRA, so we'll set that aside if we can, but anything extra will go towards the Emergency fund first. 

    Thursday, January 5, 2012

    Update: Filing for Unemployment

    I’ve spent the last few days sick with a nose that resembles Niagara falls and a pounding in my head that’s just not pretty… but I’ve been meaning to post an update about my husband’s employment status, so alas, here we go.

    In case you missed it, check out "Temporarily laid off" for the back story.

    After talking with his HR department before we left for our trip, we found out that A) its legal for him not to come into work for however long they desire because they can just change his employment status, and B) we can file for unemployment since they will change his employment status if contacted by State.

    The only hiccup with applying for unemployment is that SCB has only worked for them for a short while. According the time tables posted on the state website, we won’t really benefit from Unemployment unless we file after January 1st so his income from October, November, and December can actually count. Otherwise we are attempting to use his “seasonal” employment from Labor Ready and a month or so where he was working for his current company… and we aren’t sure that his Labor Ready work would count towards any benefits at all since its seasonal and temporary.

    So knowing we needed to wait till after the 1st took a lot of pressure off our shoulders. It allowed me to research a bit more about the process without stressing. We found out that it takes a week or so to process any UEI claims after you file. Considering we had to wait till the 1st and then the week to 10 days for processing, we decided we weren’t going to file for UEI if SCB would be back to work by February 1st . It just wouldn’t make much sense for us to do it for 1 or 2 checks considering our budget and the fact that we could get by. Yes an inconvenience, but we have been careful with money and savings in case one of us were to lose our job.

    So I had SCB call his HR rep on Tuesday to see if they had a date for him to come back to work…

    And they didn’t.

    He’s been off work since December 9th and it’s almost a full month later and they don’t have a date for him to return…  His HR rep contacted his supervisor to go one step further and see if he had any information about it, but he hasn’t a clue when any of the guys will be back full time and no one had contacted him to do a single day since the notice went out.

    If we are going to file for UEI, it’s now or never. While we can keep a roof over our heads and food on the table with my income alone (its tight and there isn’t a buffer at all if something unexpected happens) but the fact of the matter is that we CAN do it. We can get by… so is it morally right for us to apply for UEI?

    I normally wouldn’t have questioned it, but I was listening to a Dave Ramsey call the other day on his radio show where a woman was collecting UEI while her husband made a sizeable about of money and they weren’t really hurting. It didn’t go over very well for him to hear that she was collecting when they didn’t need the money.

    Part of me is hesitant to apply because WE CAN pay our bills and eat at the moment… but what I worry about is the “what ifs.” What if this lasts a few months longer and then UEI won’t be an option down the line… What if he needs to find a new job because it’s not really “temporary” and the place he works for is a load of dung? Since we have only just started the process of clearing my  hubby’s record, finding a new job is hard. It took him MONTHS to find this one that he does have…

    So we applied.

    We decided that instead of adding any money that SCB may get from UEI into our budget we will put it into savings. That way it’s there in an emergency and I don’t feel like we are taking advantage of the situation and increasing our lifestyle on the backs of other people.

    The Nano second we get the notice that his misdemeanor is sealed (which should take a few months minimum), he will get to applying and looking for a new permanent job so we aren’t in this position again.

    Until then, its back to Labor Ready and hoping to get a day job while he waits for his work to call him in.

    January Budget

    Since we are assuming SCB will not be earning any money this month since he's hasn't been called back to work yet, we are cutting back and establishing a new budget.

    With any money that SCB does bring in, we will divert it towards one of our savings goals until we know for sure that he will be working steady again.

    Starting with this month, my paychecks should drop down to around $1200.00 per pay period since SCB is now on my health insurance plan and I will not be able to cash out some of my unused cafeteria cash anymore. We have a little money from each paycheck that we can use to purchase something not in the budget or use to have a simple dinner out as a treat to help us stay sane.  

    Paycheck #1:

    • Mortgage (P&I, Property taxes, MIP): $817.50
    • HOA: $262.50
    • Christmas Fund: $50.00
    • Date Night/Spending Money: $70.00
    Paycheck #2:
    • Birthday Fund: $50.00
    • Date Night/Spending Money: $70.00
    • Gasoline/Car: $237.00
    • Groceries: $250.00
    • Insurance (2 Autos, earthquake, homeowners) $143.00
    • Utility Bills (2 Cell Phones, Electricity, Internet: $230.00
    • Roth IRA $220.00

    You may have noticed that our new budget doesn't include any "giving" or charitable contributions. Until SCB is able to bring in a paycheck we will be donating our time, talents, and energies instead of our dollars.

    Tuesday, January 3, 2012

    My 12 for 2012...

    As we start what will hopefully be a better year than last year, South County Boy and I decided to sit down and go over what we would like to accomplish over the course of 2012.  

    Some of the goals are financial, some personal, and some are just fun and practical, but I find that I work a lot better and stay focused when I have a good list of things I'd like to accomplish over the course of the year.

    My 12 for 2012
    1. Put $5,000.00 into a Roth IRA for me.
    2. Add $1,200.00 to our emergency fund.
    3. Pay 2 additional mortgage payments this year.
    4. Open and put in $5,000.00 into a Roth IRA for South County Boy.
    5. Save $1,000.00 to start a "new car" fund.
    6. Change the rest of my accounts, etc to my new last name.
    7. Loose and keep off 15 lbs.
    8. Finish a Marathon.
    9. Read at least 6 books.
    10. Crochet a sweater.
    11. Attempt to bake/cook 12 new recipes.
    12. Attempt a small vegetable garden on my patio this spring/summer. 
    Additionally, while we were out in Utah over Christmas we started the process to get SCB's old shoplifting violation sealed so he can have a better shot at looking for a job closer to home that doesn't shut down for 2 months out of the year (more on that later this week, I promise.)

    Monday, January 2, 2012

    Were Back!

    Its been a few weeks since I've posted on our little blog. I decided to enjoy the holidays and take a technology break and just spend my time enjoying family and Utah and not having a single obligation, including worrying about blog posts and updates.

    We made it to Utah safe and sound. South County Boy spent lots of time gaming with his brothers while I crocheted numerous stuffed animals for all my nieces and nephews, watched holiday movies, learned to cook authentic food with my Japanese sister in law, and even managed to play in the snow for the 4 hours it was outside before it all melted. I re-discovered a love for puzzles, read 2 novels, and learned how nice it is to listen to someone playing the piano live.

    We drove up to temple square one day while we were there to re-visit the place where SCB asked me to marry him. We spent a day shooting some 22's and a few 9 millimeter guns with SCB's brothers and my new sisters in law. We spent some time with our friends as well, relaxed, and visited a few places that are only in Utah.

    Each night my husband and I walked the neighborhood to anonymously drop off some secret Santa gifts for my mother-in-law. we'd play with the husky on the corner who was so gentle and amazing that I wanted to pack him up and take him home with us.

    I got a bit homesick on Christmas and missed my little piece of Southern California, but I wouldn't trade the time we spent living with 19 people under one roof. It was amazing to be surrounded by family, and at times I was a bit lonely since it was a different environment for me to be in, but it was a wonderful holiday.

    We picked up some emergency supplies out in Utah, and some food storage containers and the like and still managed to keep our budget in tact and in the green. SCB's dad even gave us some unexpected gas money to get home and with getting re-paid for the things we picked up for some family members we actually have a few hundred dollars just sitting around! This will come in handy since we haven't heard much back from SCB's job and since our car passed the 65,000 mile marker as we headed towards home.

    We drove back the day before new years eve and then walked sown to subway for dinner to help stretch our legs from the 10 hour drive.

    We spent new years eve day cleaning the house, unpacking, and tossing and purging all kinds of things we haven't used since SCB and I got married. I figured the house was a mess from all the unpacking that we might as well make it dirtier and do a good job.

    We even spent a few hours of new years eve at my mom's house and we have no disaster's to report.

    Looks like 2012 will have some good things in store for us :)