November Recap

After a month hiatus- I'm back. I needed some time to get my priories straight and I feel I'm now in good shape to start 2009. So without further a do, back to the monthly recaps.

This is the second month in a row I've done my recap almost a month after the fact! By the time I catch where I’m falling there isn’t enough time to fix for the next month.

DH and I have some big plans for 2009 so I need to be more diligent in my review and in our spending habits (but more on that in another post).

Highs

• Nov was the month my company's official sale took place and the month the FDIC left!
  
• PTO payout from FDIC- I set aside half (about $400) to cover some Christmas expenses.
  
• Year End bonus (paid out by FDIC in Nov)- I set aside all to our savings account!
• Under the new company I got a raise as I was underpaid by their standards. Yippee!
• Monthly income to expenses balance put us at $2,000 in the black thanks to the PTO pay out and the early year end bonus.
  
• No money spent on home maintenance
  
• Personal care came down $50 even though DH and I spent $135 towards early x-mas shopping.
  

Lows

• Mortgage went up $10 as property taxes increased this year
  
• Food outside the home needs to be cut in half still as it did not come down from last month's inflated amount.
  
• Vet bills- Forest had an ear infection and annual exam/shots

Back to work...

For the first time, my company took the day after Thanksgiving off! I guess there are some pluses to the new ownership after all. The 4 days off was a much needed break. I haven't take more than 3 days off (Fri-Sun) in over a year and that was for my family coming out.

Last week was a great week for me. Maybe it was because there were only 3 work days or maybe because I was focused on what I wanted to achieve. Either way I'm going to answer those 7 questions again tonight.

1. What will I try to improve this week?
Last week I worked on being more optimistic for my new employee. Well I've got another new employee starting this Monday and while last week I kept an upbeat attitude, I wasn't so prepared to train a new employee. It has been awhile since I had to explain all the rules and procedures and I stumbled through them terribly last week. (I've always had good employees so I've never had to worry about the attendance policy or the exact dress code, except on employees' first day.) This week I'm going to be more organized in my new employee training. I'm off to a great start as I had to work late Wednesday night and I spent the time organizing packets and outlining topics to go over.

2. What was I most proud of last week?
I feel recharged. I know I went into last week feeling in desperate need of a pick me up and I think I've found it. I'm getting back on track with my personal development, rereading the books that helped me "find myself" my last few years of college. I'm also getting back into yoga and using my Wii fit. Competitive sports were a huge part of my life up until a few years ago and I miss the structure and challenge they afforded me. I have to be even more self disciplined now that I don't have a coach to whip my butt when I slack off. Last week was a step in the right direction and I'm feeding off this energy to bring me into this week.

3. What was my biggest accomplishment last week?
Last week I realized my boss is just as stressed (if not more) about the transition to the new company as I am. We are both big organizers. While she values helping people and mediating during projects, I like to plan and execute. Together we make a great team and we are both struggling with the lack of information and organization we need to do our jobs. My accomplishment last week was listening to her. I've said my piece, she knows where I stand, and last week I got a chance to be there for her, like she has been for me so many times.

4. What have I done to get closer to my life goals last week?
I dug out DH's Nintendo DS. I've learned a few things about myself these past weeks. One is that I value intelligence and quick thinking and two is that after work I need to destress. TV, while often the method of choice, is not really what I'm looking for and I'm too emotionally drained to gather the energy to go to the gym (that's why I dropped my membership). What I do like is sitting down and challenging myself to some quick thinking mind games- Brain Age, Big Brain Academy, Brain Boost, etc. It doesn't take much physical energy so I can trick myself into pulling it out after a long day and 15-30 mins later the fast pace challenges have pumped me up to get me through cooking dinner, cleaning, and (much later in the evening) a quick workout.

5. What was the hardest thing for me last week?
I often focus on one thing really hard and ignore the rest. First it was my finances, which still need work but at least I'm not in the red at the end of the month anymore. Now it's feeling satisfied at work. I have to be really careful that I don't slip on the progress I've made with my finances and with the holidays coming and the sale shopping I can feel myself starting to slide...

6. What was my biggest waste of time last week?
Some might say it was staring off into space, but I actually enjoy that time. It's almost like meditating just staring off while your brain tries to wrap itself around its thoughts. I think the real waste might have been being mad at DH. DH's career makes for a nontraditional home life and sometimes I get frustrated and silently mad at DH for it. (I'm silent because I'm smart enough to know he doesn't have control over a lot of it and it's more my problem not his).

7. What did I do this week that made me ashamed?
Again it's being mad at DH for doing his job. Funny how both weeks my biggest waste of time was also what made me ashamed. I guess I value not wasting time too. :)

Getting ready for the work week

So after a frustrating finish to my last work week, I've spent the weekend browsing different productivity blogs because something else I value in life is continued self improvement. As some of you know about 2.5 years ago I moved to this crazy county thanks to DH's employment and to say that opportunities around here are few and far between is putting it mildly.

When I look back at the person I was when I moved here and the person I am now, I feel like I've been slipping. I'm not as sharp, dedicated, or professional as I use to be. I use to be involved in lots of things outside of work and now I just go to work, go home, go to work, go home. The thing with not having lots of opportunities around is you have to work twice as hard to make them and I haven't been.

Several blogs suggested keeping a daily journal and one activity was to ask yourself 7 questions each Sunday to help you focus for the week ahead (there is a 20 question version too, but I need baby steps).

1. What will I try to improve this week?
I'm going to be optimistic and upbeat at work this week. I have a new employee starting Monday and I want my company to make a good first impression. I know that the management team (including myself) is extremely frustrated right now, but I'm going to do my best to shield my new employee from that negativity and spin a positive light on our current situation.

2. What was I most proud of last week?
Last week I got several contradictory directives for action from the president, director of operations, and our software development director. Instead of getting defensive about the miscommunication, I took a deep breathe and replied back as to what the original directive was and if I should now be doing it differently. I also calmly explained my frustrations to my boss that the contradictory messages were frustrating and that I would be happy to organize a project meeting to help clear up some of these issues.

3. What was my biggest accomplishment last week?
Identifying what I value in my life and in my ideal job.

4. What have I done to get closer to my life goals last week?
Last weekend I spent a lot of time figuring out what it is I value in my life's work which will help me focus my energy on things that are important to me.

5. What was the hardest thing for me last week?
My biggest struggle right now is the lack of direction with regards to the integration of the old company with the new company. Being a planner and an organizer, not knowing where we are going or what my responsibilities are is an extremely unsettling feeling.

6. What was my biggest waste of time last week?
Hands down it was complaining. I spent a lot of time bitching to my co-workers about my frustrations. While some venting is good, I definitely spent too much time focused on what I don't have control over.

7. What did I do this week that made me ashamed?
Again the complaining and gossiping about the lack of an integration project. As a person in a leadership role I need to be setting a better example.

I'm officially no more...

So the sale is official completed! Normally I would be excited but instead I'm really nervous. The last few weeks I've been spending a lot of time trying to figure out what I value and I started a nice little list-

What I value:

• intellegence
• knowledge
• responsibility
• accountability
• integrity
• being helpful
• respectful
• determination/perserverance
• communication
  

What I like to do:

• solve problems
• put together real life puzzles
• organize
• plan
• gather solutions
• track progress towards goals
  

All these things fit in rather nicely with my current career in project management and internal/external marketing. I felt really good going into work after making this list knowing that I had momentarily lost sight of what I valued and I was now back on track. I was pumped up and ready for action.

Then I find out that the new company isn't working like that right now. Normally I'm part of the project team, keeping everyone informed, and on task. I'm good at it and I like it, but oh no. The only people being informed and a part of this integration project are our senior leadership team (who by the way are not onsite). This means me and my own boss are clueless. Here we are the project department and we can't even be part of the project. I am going out of my mind. All my talent, all my skills sitting in a cubical focused on meditating as hard as I can so I don't go crazy. The few things I can't stand in the workplace are lack of organziation, planning, accountability, and communication and I can tell you that they are all present and in full force right now. Blah!

October Recap

I apologize for being so late on posting my recap. You know it's been to0 long when you think back and can barely remember the month! But "making excuses justifies failure" so without further a do here's what our numbers looked like last month:

Savings:

• Since I'm on a biweekly payroll, October was the month of triple paychecks!
• What's even better is after all the bills were paid we didn't need it so a whole paycheck is going into the bathroom savings!
• Our cable bill was super cheap, not only because we gave up many services but because we did it in the middle of the month amd had a credit carry over. So instead of saving $80 on our new cable bill we saved $100!
• Our gas bill was down by $40 and that was before gas was below $3.00 so I'm really excited about November!
• Our grocery bill was down another $100. I'm not sure where all our grocery money was going before...
• We only spent $40 on hobbies this month which is normally upward of $100

Expenses

• Our city water rates went up again. When I first moved here we were paying $25 a month and that was the minimum amount (if you used less water you still had to pay that). Now we are still at the minimum amount but are paying $58.77. That's a big jump in 2 years time.
• The flip side to our grocery bill being down was that our eating out was up by $100. I'm sad to report that we have slipped back to our old ways of eating out once a week. The good news is that we are doing it with friends rather than just because we are lazy and we are still spending half as much as we use to.
• Last month I paid the last of our credit card debit which meant our payment was significantly higher than our planned payment. I planned to cover this with my extra paycheck but our expenses were down in other areas that I didn't need to!
• I had a moment of weakness for dog toys. With the winter season coming up the dogs needed some none outside activities to keep them busy. I spent $100 on dog toys which included a winter coat for Porter, a few food dispensing puzzles, and some chew bones. I also entered a X-mas doggie toy exchange and got some stuff for my swap partner.
  
• Another dog expense was Hank's vet visit and the stocking up of heart worm, tick and flea meds. When you have 3 dogs this really adds up!

DH and I definitely slipped a little last month with the expenses but we have made a lot of positive changes that impact every month's bottom line so we still came out ahead. I know that saving isn't DH's favorite way of living so if a few slips now and then don't set us back into debit and keep us on track for the long term goal, I'm okay with that. I do, however, want to watch the eating out, it's such an easy way to cut back on the budget.

How are you doing?

The Target Challenge Continues

The Target Challenge has really paid off long after the initial 30 day recess. I’m pleased to report that my twice a week Target habit is officially broken. Nov 1st DH and I made a trip to Target for some essentials (draino, carpet cleaner, body soap) for less than $20! Better yet I haven’t been to Target since and I really don’t feel a dying need to go like I use to. It feels good to know I'm not waste money on non essentials like I use to!

Money Makeover- Chapter 8, 9, 10

While I have appreciated all the insight and inspiration I am getting from Ramsey's book, I'm admitting right now that the plan to this extreme will not work for me at this point in time. I know, everyone thinks they are the exception to the rule- but let me explain. This has nothing to do with the fact that my husband and I don't see eye to eye on financial matters and everything to do with the fact DH and I bought a fixer up over a year ago and certain things aren't going to hold up as long as we had hoped, e.g. our bathroom.

What I've learned from Ramsey is that it is far better to save ahead for major purchases to avoid having to take out debit. Believe me lesson learned. Our bathroom floor is on the way out; literally we are probably a few months away from having to shower under our house instead of in it. Our tub is leaking, our toilet is leaking, there is mold growing in the walls from excess moisture and the floor was rotted away when we bought the house (what were we thinking?!?).

I have more than $1000 in our emergency fund as I have been anticipating this problem and trying to gather money in advance of a really expensive emergency. But since I am a long way off from the projected costs of the project I feel it is more important to be saving up for this so we have the money on hand within 6 months to get it fixed. This means that instead of rolling over the payments from paid off debit to the next debit I’ll be putting it into our bathroom savings account so we can pay for it without taking out more debit.

I’m still reading and applying the principals as best I can but I also want to be prepared for the future and think this is where I need to be focusing at this point in time.