May – What a Month…

Just a forewarning, this post is much more candid than my others, so I hope no one takes offense.

Took time on May 23rd to remember the 9th anniversary of my father’s passing. 2004 -> 2013, a lot has changed and certain things shockingly remain the same. I remember the day vividly, for all the wrong reasons. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, in honor of my company’s 100th anniversary. The weather was finally getting warm, a real treat in New York where a good half the year has cold or rainy weather.

I knew my father had some issues related to his dialysis upon seeing him 2 days earlier, but neither he nor I knew the extent until it was too late. Even the people who lived less than 20ft away in the adjacent room had no idea what was going on. No phone and based on my research, you only have less than 15 seconds to react. So even if I was with him, by the time the paramedics would’ve arrived there’s no guarantee they would be able to revive him.

To this date it upsets me talking about my father. He was smart, yet also limited by his disability and stubbornness. As a kid, his mom died before he finished high school. He worked to help support his siblings and earned a GED. In 1985 he was diagnosed with Alports Disease, which impaired both his hearing and sense of vision. In some ways history has repeated itself.

In the news, there have been stories about antigay hate crimes. Up to 29 so far for the year in NYC. I don’t live in NYC but we’ve both spent nights or weekends there at various times and it’s scary. Mark Carson, a black male in his early 30s was shot and killed because a random crazy guy armed with a gun chose him to be his victim. This was in Greenwich Village of all places, not some random hillbilly town in the country.

Then the massive destruction that came with the tornados in Moore, Oklahoma. An entire city decimated by the worst tornado in 14 years. We had warnings in Dallas, but fortunately nothing too serious on my end.

Two of the three people left my job. One seems happy, the other hates her job and may possibly be coming back. That all assumes she’ll be able to put her pride aside. Dabbling with the idea of moving near Reading, PA. It’s one of the poorest places in the country, the weather isn’t great and it would be boring as hell. Financially worth it from bf’s perspective, but I’d likely not have a job for a while or take a massive pay cut. Also saw a video of a drive-by shooting victim seeking medical attention there on YouTube, never a good sign. Not worth it as far as I’m concerned.

On a more positive note, I bought my mom flowers for her birthday. They were close to $80 (online, including balloon and same day Memorial Day delivery) but delivered the same day and she absolutely loved them. I was debating whether to purchase them since Mother’s Day was just a few weeks ago. I wanted to do something special though, since going out to dinner, etc wasn’t an option.

I did splurge on a new keyboard. My handy-dandy Logitech unit has sticking keys which annoys me each and everytime I type. I’ve put up with it for over 2 years but enough is enough. I ordered a Matias Tactile Pro 4 for $125 plus tax and shipping. I come from a generation of people who type fast as heck on the older mechanical keyboards and this is the best on the market short of buying a $299 Kinesis Advantage.

I could lease a 2014 Mercedes E350 for what I pay monthly in student loans. Some months it feels like a heavier burden than others. This is one of them, with $200 less disposable income than previous months and having to wait till the end of the week for payday.

We had a friend visiting us from NY which meant lots of eating and drinking out. Went to Six Flags Dallas for the first time and my oh my it is one large park. Still not as big as the one in Jersey, but 213 acres ain’t tiny. Also went to a fancy movie theater / bar / dinner spot and ended up spending way than I wanted. Got to see The Hangover 3 and two days later Star Trek… Bought sandals and a hat too. So this month I dropped the ball financially. My credit cards are still under control at least though…

Back from New York. Had a fun trip, got to see friends and family. Rented a zippy little Mazda 3 hatchback that was getting 50% better fuel economy than my Nissan. Started hypermiling and I went from 21.6mpg to 26.1. Let the bf drive along with me + our friends and it dropped to 24.6. Definitely notice how an extra 900 pounds of the car with A/C at full blast affects handing and acceleration. Makes me wish I got the V6…

Washed my car today. Nice and shiny. It’s kind of silly, when the car involved dirty and filthy I start thinking about selling it to get a new one… Over the weekend I spent some time enjoying the outdoors, both walking trails around a nearby Grapevine lake and doing tailgating for a Jimmy Buffet concert. I didn’t end up attending the concert but that’s another story.

Also did some major cleaning around the house as a friend came by to visit from out of town. Lots of last minute scrambling around, but the work needed to be done anyway.

So the Roth IRA contributions have been set aside. TD Ameritrade doesn’t seem to be processing my automatic withdrawal requests. Maybe something to do  my account being dormant for so long. I’m already battling with what I pay now so that might not be a bad thing.

Month 13 of Sallie Mae repayment.

Each month I pay the 452.76 plus an additional 150. The 150 covers interest, the 452.76 goes straight to principal. As my principal goes down, more of that 150 will go toward the principal. Come next payment I will be under 40k, a huge milestone for me.

Indirectly had someone piss me off. Let’s just say someone I interviewed with last year who worked for a part of the company I was interested in working for. This person’s feedback weighted heavily on the hiring manager. Then at the tailgating party they made a rude side comment about me not getting hired. I hate workplace politics and I’m much better off not working there. I’m an INFP and we

I’m really enjoying the great outdoors – Texas style. Thinking about getting a roof rack for my car. I hate to put anything on the car, but it won’t fit inside. Also debating  a gym membership at my local planet fitness. They are about 13 minutes away from my house but I wouldn’t have to pay a toll to get there. It’s the least expensive gym in our area, ranging between $10 and $20 per month and has the highest reviews. One big constant I see people saying is that it’s rarely super busy and always clean.

Here are some pictures from my excursions.

Takara Kabuto

The road bike continues serving me well. $185 and so far about 30 miles on it. I get a thrill going downhill at 24mph.

My feelings are mixed on American Airlines. The MD-80 I took flying in was nice inside but I would’ve preferred a 737. I arrived at the airport early from LGA to DFA and they bumped up my flight 2 hours with no extra charge. With the sequester in place my flight would’ve been delayed a half hr or more. A friend went to Hawaii from Dallas non-stop and they wouldn’t even provide any type of snacks. Not to mention the horror stories of people sitting on runways for hours..

I constantly make reference to my personality type, INFP in this blog. The reason is simple, it defines such a huge part of me.
“INFPs do not want just any job or career. They want to do something they love, something they are passionate about. They want to use their creative gifts and abilities in ways that bring personal fulfillment and contribute to the greater good. The quest for a suitable career choice cannot be divorced from INFPs’ search for identity. Before settling on a career path, INFPs want to know who they are and where they fit into the fabric of the working world. They want a career that capitalizes on their unique abilities, coincides with their values, and ignites their drives and passions. Because most jobs fail to consistently inspire them, INFPs often end up feeling restless and dissatisfied. Even those with a college degree may struggle to find long-term career satisfaction.”

This is part of why I haven’t jumped at the first job posting that was going to offer me more money. I don’t want to work with a company that overworks its employees, lacks work/life balance, would involve a massive amount of travel or is just boring. Does that make me picky? Perhaps. I just have worked enough dead-end jobs over the years I never want to experience that for as long as I can help it.. I’m feeling chatty, so expect another post soon.

Got paid on Friday, this time it was 3 weeks income plus overtime so really a much larger check than normal. Over 1800 vs 1200 after taxes… In some ways it feels like I’m getting free money when I know for a fact I am not. I’m being conservative as possible with my spending.

We recently celebrated my boyfriend’s birthday, lots of friends came over and tons of food was served. I overindulged as I often do. The pounds keep on creeping up on me. Also haven’t been to the gym as much as I’d like. I’ve been making excuses there and it shows. The gifts I bought him between food, books and a game were around $200.  Nothing too extravagant, but also within my budget.

Saturday I got my Nissan serviced at a local Dallas dealership. Got a CVT fluid flush and an oil change. Having no idea what it cost, I told the service guy what I needed and he showed me a price list. It was $299.99 for the flush. A little extreme I thought, but I plan to keep the car for quite a number of years now so not a big deal. I mentioned a coupon for $30 off at the cashier before they finished writing up my paperwork. The clerk said she would take care of it and thanked me for notifying them. To my surprise the discount was not $30 but  $100 off. Not complaining about that though. Altogether I paid $209.

I’m at a bit of a crossroads. I know I should be contributing to my Roth IRA, especially being 29 and having pulled the money out in the mid 2000s when the market was headed south. The student loan debt still bothers me and contributing a small amount like $10-20/week really is within my comfort zone. Then there’s the question of what to invest in with such little money. Far shot out from the chunk of $3k I had invested into a Vanguard Lifestyle Fund.

No changes on the job front. Things have been a bit crazy at work, moving around to different teams, mandatory overtime and a fair number of meetings. Interestingly enough, a former coworker who left around December is coming back. I’m not judging, but based on my age (3 years her senior) I know very well the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. I really loathe the process of looking for jobs and on many levels I fear working for a company that doesn’t offer work/life balance or is full of unhappy, negative people. Some say working at a company for a year isn’t really long enough to move elsewhere without having it raise more questions. I’m kind of on the fence about that.

Got paperwork about being included in a class-protected group for my previous employer being sued because of the WARN act. If they are found to be in violation and agreed we should be paid for 60 days of time plus my bounced paycheck I’d be in a much better spot.  I’m owed about 6000 post taxes if this gets approved for the full amount and 1200 if it doesn’t. That’s a big chunk of cash to me..At this point though after a year I’m not holding my breath for anything to happen soon.

Originally started writing this last night then fell asleep. So here’s to a Round 2. My partner is in the windy city right now for work and I’m sitting in cozy 87° Dallas. I’ve never experienced this in March and enjoy the warm weather. It makes me feel more active than I would be otherwise.

Have had a lot on my mind lately. What I’ve learned is change doesn’t happen overnight. It takes discipline and in many scenarios staying the course. Also knowing when to take a different course when the time is right. Still figuring out the 2nd part of that process.

Three people at my job put in their two weeks notice. One a manager, one at my level and a third in between. They’ve all been there longer than I. I’m really curious to see where they’re going off to. Is the grass really greener on the other side?

I check my credit annually and was very surprised to see my credit score is a 798. All the years of my mom’s worrisome mentality of being able to pay the bills on time and my grandmother’s use of the expression borrowing from Peter to pay Paul has rubbed off on time. It also helps that I’ve had people looking out for my best interests for quite a few years now. I’d love for it to be 800+ next year. I’m right on the cusp.

Student loan will be under 41k soon and that’s something to celebrate. I can’t believe I’ve almost been at this a year and will have only knocked down about 10% total of what I owed. When you’re young you don’t realize where all the money goes. Think you can live under your parents roof forever or they will help you out if you’re on your own. Then reality hopefully sets in. I earned about 30k for the last year but I honestly couldn’t tell you on what I bought. I earn 300/mo more now than I did in New York though household expenses and actually paying down my loan eat up a chunk of that.

Using my credit card again, earning my Thank You points. The 1% cash back through using my debit card really wasn’t earning me much over the course of a year. Still spending very little overall though. I ordered a set of airline tickets to New York next month. I paid half, bf paid the rest 390 round trip through American Airlines. It will be nice to see my family and friends a lot less rushed than last Fall.

Once I hit 5000 in savings, I still plan to use a majority of my income above to accelerate my debt payoff efforts. One of the biggest challenges thus far is getting to that point…

Going in with the sincerest of intentions, not sure where it will lead me, but I recently enrolled into an IT course. I found it through one of the deal sites I was looking at. I have wanted to do some training for a while, but not go into $20k of more debt as I would with the University of Pheonix online or a traditional university. Not to say the programs compare, but I’m all about not sinking in huge amounts of cash into an investment I have no guaranteed return on.

CompTIA A+ certification validates foundation-level knowledge and skills necessary for a career in IT support. It is the starting point for an exciting career in IT. The international, vendor-neutral certification proves competence in areas such as installation, preventative maintenance, networking, security and troubleshooting.

Network+ certification: The exam covers network technologies, installation and configuration, media and topologies, management, and security. Candidate job roles include network administrator, network technician, network installer, help desk technician and IT cable installer.

Security+ not only ensures that candidates will apply knowledge of security concepts, tools, and procedures to react to security incidents; it ensures that security personnel are anticipating security risks and guarding against them.

Project+ validates that project managers have the necessary skills to complete projects on time and within budget. The exam covers the entire project life cycle from initiation and planning through execution, acceptance, support and closure.

The cost was $2695 $99. If it works out for me I’ll be a step closer to getting a much higher paying job and I will open up my career options. My MBA is great, but it’s been five years and Finance / Accounting is not the direction I want to pursue. My current line of work has limited long-term potential.

If I eventually become an iOS developer, I could earn double my current salary or more. Some of the other roles such as Linux support, computer programmer, systems administrator, computer systems analyst. I’ve been using computers for over 20 years and they’ve always fascinated me. The fear of being burned out or having to start over from scratch aren’t as valid as they used to be. Stay tuned.

Little late with this one, lots of things have been going on. Basically it’s still in progress. My bf was semi-interviewing recently with a company on the east coast. The job that he is trying to get  would pay amply more, but expenses would be significantly higher and my pay would be about 10% less off the bat, then tack on 5.75% income tax and much higher food prices / cost of living. Basically for him it would be a win but for me it would be a loss.

The job market in this location is much worse off than the DFW area and the night life / culture / gay friendliness of the area is all leaps and bounds behind. I would be guaranteed a job however. After much deliberation I decided against it, as we’re homeowners now, would need to rent out or sell our house, long term it would be a step back for my career unless I somehow wowed the owners and got a promotion. This all was over the course of the last few days.

Now there are rumors of layoffs at my bf’s company. Other factors going on that complicate things, but I’m not at liberty to discuss them. I still think I made the right choice, but if he is axed in the next week, based on tradition he will get severance pay and his new employer won’t have to buy him out of his contract. We shall see.

Onto an update of my finances…

Interest rate on my 0% APR credit card jumped up to 11.99%. It was a good run and I’m doing everything within my power not to use it again. Credit card debt is still 0 and the occasional online purchase goes on it, paid in full before the due date and not used for much else.

I’m still reluctant to making any principal payments right now. Much uncertainty about my future  and my emergency fund isn’t up to snuff yet. Doing my taxes, getting ~$650 back. Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. I’m just glad I haven’t made any large scale purchases recently.