Entering The Season of Wanton Spending

The end of the year is always problematic for my budget.  From Halloween until January first, it’s an endless orgy of parties and shopping and family activities.  Every party seems to demand a new dress.  Every gift for the people I love seems inadequate, so what solution can there be but to spend more?  Since everyone is coming closer to home, there are more outings – and of course, those always cost money.

Here are some expenses I’ve already incurred, and just the ones I foresee i the future.

 

October

$200 for paintball and assorted Halloween activities, for 2.

You guys, they charge $0.04 per paintball.  I did not know this! I probably shot around $40 worth of paintballs.  So. worth. it.

 

November

We’re going to THE football game of the year for Penn State.  Unfortunately, THE game means we paid out the ass for tickets, and overnight accomodations weren’t cheap.  We got a great price for everything (sharing a house with like 14 people does cut down on costs), but still, the total is a bit high.  I can’t not go, though, and if we win, it will all be worth it.

$260 for 2 tickets and a parking pass

$300 for 2 people at the house for 2 nights.

$200 for miscellaneous things, like drinking (but I recall being able to get a pitcher of Long Island Iced tea for $5, so maybe not), food, and the near-certain purchase of some PSU paraphranalia during our visit.

Then, of course, we get to Thanksgiving, which shouldn’t be too bad.  Tolls up to NY are still like $20, and there’s gas and everything.  Still cheaper than flying in from Los Angeles!

Chad’s sister is having her baby shower, and I’m excited to have my first niece.  I kind of want to go crazy with the gift – I’m bad at remembering gift giving, so I figure if I can get something good up front, that will cover me up until the first birthday.

$300 for the baby shower gift, maybe?  I really don’t know what’s appropriate.  Anyone who knows these things, let me know!

 

December

$600 for gifts.  I always set this amount, and I always go over a little bit, but this is because my parents & my sister have their birthdays around this time too.  Please refer to where I said that my gifts just never seem like enough.

$100 for a dress for my comapny holiday party.  This I can probably skip.  I have a red dress that is just about perfect for this kind of thing, and I’ve only worn it like… twice, ever.

$200 for holiday events, like the Hershey Park Christmas Candy Lane.  Also for anything else that might come up.

 

January

$250 for New Year’s.  TBH, most of this will probably be spent on a new dress.  (I CAN’T STOP MYSELF!)

 

I’ve never really bothered to set up a budget for stuff this time of year.  It’s the only time my whole family gets together, so it seems silly to miss those experiences just to save a couple of bucks.  I’m good almost all year, and that means I can afford to loosen the old purse strings for stuff like this.

October Wrap-Up

1. Track spending again. Done!
More or less.  I’m still trying to find that pesky difference, but all expenses are accounted for.  At least it’s close to the end of the year, so I can get back to obsessively making sure all of my numbers line up once 2010 rolls around.

2. Spend less than $100 on clothes. Kind of?
I returned 2 things this month, and with those deducted from the balance, I made it well under budget.  It’s a lot like cheating, but I’m going to say it counts.

3. Save $3000. Done!
I finally got reimbursed for all of my relocation expenses, so I got a huge extra check.  I’m playing around a little bit with some of my numbers, and will probably pretend the third check will be paid in November or (if I’m good enough that my budgeted November savings are what I actually save) possibly December.  $6K saved this month, mostly due to $4500 reimbursement.

4. Get name changed with all my major financial institutions.  Fail.
Um. No, I did not do this, which is bad because now my driver’s license says one name and all of my credit cards say another.

5. Go running 2x per week.  Fail.
Oh, I failed this so hard.  I completely forgot I even made this goal, that’s how much I failed.

6. Send out thank you cards.  Fail.
Yeah, we didn’t even start them yet because we suck.

I spend more when I’m happy

I was reading QLGirl’s post where she mentions how she tends to shop more when she’s feeling sad. (Uh, it’s kind of buried in there, but it stuck out to me!) 

I’m currently on travel for work near the second largest mall in the country (or so my coworkers tell me).  I’m feeling pretty burnt out on work because just a week ago I was working the graveyard shift (11pm – 7am) through the weekend, and I feel as though I have not had a day off in far too long.  There were also some problems with my travel plans – my hotel was overbooked last night, and they almost put me into a room with no bed, just a pull-out sofa!  They eventually put me up in another hotel, but the stress of it all and the amount of time it took means I got very little sleep last night.  I’ve felt generally icky all day, which I suspect has to do with the lack of sleep, lack of relaxation, and the loneliness of sleeping by myself in a hotel bed.

I needed to go to the mall to return some bras I’d attempted to buy without trying them on (so stupid!).  I wandered around for a while and bought some properly fitting bras (well… almost properly) and a cardigan at Nordstrom since I had some gift cards from work.  Mostly, though, I wandered around listlessly, trying clothes on, but not feeling anything in particular, not spending any Real Money.

The thing is, I just got my reimbursement from the move (FINALLY), and it was much larger than I expected so I am feeling flush with cash. With my current inability to stop my shopaholic tendencies, it seems even weirder that I wouldn’t want to spend some of my hard-earned cash on a treat for myself. Except I didn’t.

Once arriving back at the hotel, I ate some dinner, and now I feel much better and sort of want to go shopping. I can only conclude that shopping is only really fun when I am happy. This may also explain why I have been unable to control my impulses lately – I am often happy now that my job doesn’t suck. I am constantly twirling in a freaking bubble of contentment, and it makes me feel like everything is going to be OK and I can let go every once in a while day.

 

How about you?  Do you prefer to shop when you’re happy or do you use retail therapy as a pick-me-up?

Combining finances

As soon as Chad and I moved in together 4 years ago, I insisted we open a joint account to handle joint bills.  We paid for rent, groceries/eating out, utilities, and other miscellaneous house spending out of this account, and Chad and I just put a set amount into the account each month.  This way, our other accounts were totally separate. If we had broken up, it wouldn’t have been too difficult to disentangle ourselves financially.

That was a perfect solution at the time.  There was no judgement on how the other person spent his/her money.  I didn’t even know how much Chad had in his savings!

Now that we’re married, keeping things separate doesn’t make much sense.  We theoretically will want to buy a house in a few years, so it makes sense to save together for that.  Most of our expenses are joint, so it makes sense to pay for tem together.  And of course, now that we’re on one income, I think it’s important not to delineate any money as “mine” and “his.”

And although it makes sense to combine most of our finances, I also want to preserve that feeling that our spending is our own.  I don’t want to track Chad’s spending (“You spent HOW MUCH on a baseball glove?”), and I don’t want him to be checking mine (“You already spent your October clothing budget, why are you on eBay again?”).

We’re holding off on making a decision for now, until I get my name changed (theoretically, that should happen soon), but that means we’re leaving savings in limbo until we make a decision.

Anyone have any advice?

To Accomplish, October 2009

Oh right, this is a finance blog.  Weird, I forgot all about that!

To Accomplish, October 2009

1. Track spending again.
My account balance and my budget are off by about $15, and I can’t for the life of me figure out where. I’m hoping to figure it out, but mainly, this means I need to be better about recording things real-time.

2. Spend less than $100 on clothes.
There’s a sheath dress I want at The Loft that just went on sale, but I’m really going to try to restrain myself. I have some gift cards, too, so I may just cheat.

3. Save $3000.
It’s a 3-paycheck month! Exactly the thing to get me re-motivated.

4. Get name changed with all my major financial institutions.
This is going to be ANNOYING. I keep hearing horror stories from my married friends about how they keep finding various departments where their name hasn’t been changed.

5. Go running 2x per week.
I can tell that I haven’t been to the gym in 3 months. It’s not really noticeable unless I’m in my underwear, but still. Don’t want to let it get too far.

6. Send out thank you cards.
Yeah, we didn’t even start them yet because we suck.

OMG, I’m actually posting what I said I would!

What I wore to work on Monday, inspired by Carine Roitfeld:

And yesterday, inspired by no one in particular, but if I had to attribute it to something, I guess it would be Burberry Prorsum Resort ‘09 Collection. I suspect I will create and recreate this look over and over this fall. Really, I just wanted an excuse to pull out this sweater, and with the weather in DC finally starting to cool down, I took my chance!

Sorry about the no face shots. I’m still trying to decide how anonymous I want to stay with this stuff.

Uh, what do you guys think? I had an attack of self-consciousness posting these photos, to be honest, so if you think I’m chubby, well, I am, but keep it to yourself. If you think my fashion sense sucks, fair enough, and you can tell me that.

Trying to find inspiration for my work wardrobe.

In an attempt to curb my shopping problem, I’ve recently been trying to put together pieces I already have in my closet in ways that makes them feel new.  Though there are some things I really, really want to buy myself – ankle boots like these are high on the list! – but I have too many clothes as it is.

I’m planning to post pictures of my creations eventually, but until then, here are some blogs/pictures that I will be using as my style inspiration.

Financial Services Is Not Fashion. I love this blog because I can get behind EVERYTHING she wears. Although recently she has been buying higher-end clothing (a place I cannot follow), it’s still all very wearable. She is good inspiration for work and weekends, and I covet pretty much every one of her handbags.

Michelle Obama. Not a fashion blog, but she is so very awesome.

Fab Finds Under 50. In January, I lamented the lack of fashion blogs focusing on retail clothes. This blog is the answer to that, kind of. Although she has some wonderful vintage finds and some higher-end items (like a pair of Prada pumps, OMG), most of her stuff is purchased at regular stores.

I’m so excited for October because a.) it’s going to be the first month where I won’t be on vacation for part of it or doing insane wedding spending, and b.) it’s a 3-paycheck month! I’ve also volunteered to do some shift work and work overtime, so that will also pad things. I’m hoping that the success will get me back into tracking my finances and thinking about savings.

I also haven’t forgotten about my promise to post wedding pictures, but since the professional shots should be back pretty soon, I figured I’d wait a little longer. I will, however, leave you with a picture of my cake because it was exactly what I wanted! Inspired by this cake at Martha Stewart Weddings because deep down, I was that kind of bride.

Hahahahaha.

Because I know many of you ladies love Twilight.

Figuring out my spending triggers

You guys, I have been spending a lot of money lately.  Not just on wedding and honeymoon stuff, either. 

Some of it is justifiable – I’m trying to build a warddrobe for an entirely new climate.  I only needed one pair of shorts in CA because it only rarely got hot enough for that, but when it’s 95 degrees out, I changed into shorts every day.  Now I’m trying to get ready for fall and winter, and I just don’t have anything that warm.

Another factor is probably just that I haven’t been tracking finances all that well.  We had a big influx of cash from wedding gifts, so that makes me feel flush with money.  I still haven’t been reimbursed for all of our travel and temporary living, so I expect my savings rate to be low.

  However, the shopping doesn’t seem to show any signs of slowing, and not everything has been practical or needed.  I think I might know why.

My old boss – the one from California – died about a month ago.  And while it hasn’t impacted me much since I don’t work there anymore, it’s still upsetting.  She died without any family, and some of her work friends were the only people there with her in the hospital when she passed.

She and I had talked about finances sometimes, and she even arranged for her financial advisor to come and give a talk about finances to a group of the 20-somethings that worked for her.  We checked the company out later – they say they prefer to work with people who have net worths over $1M.

But she wore ratty clothes that didn’t fit.  She complained a lot about work, and was only enthusiastic about the one vacation she took every year: a weeklong trip to Hawaii.  I don’t think her simple life made her unhappy, but 30 years at a job you don’t love isn’t exactly the American dream. 

She was only 56 and she had millions in the bank and then she died and barely enjoyed any of it.

 

So I think maybe that’s why, for the first time in a long time, I’m having trouble worrying about saving.  And I know this probably sounds like I’m being a bitch and blaming my overspending on some poor dead woman, but I don’t want miss out on things now just so I can die with a million dollars in the bank.

To Do List for September

Since I’ve been out of the country, I’m returning to reality a little late to have monthly goals for September. Instead, there are a lot of things that need to be done now that we’ll officially be settling down in our new apartment and into married life. (Also, I have not forgotten about wedding pr0n, it will be coming!)

1. Get new auto insurance – our CA policy expires on Tuesday!
2. Submit my name change paperwork to SSA.
3. Get our VA licenses.
4. Register the car in VA.
5. Notify our new insurance company of these changes.
6. Fully unpack all boxes and make the apartment like a place where people live.
7. Determine what new things we need/want for the apartment – we have soooooooo many BBB gift cards, it’s not even funny.
8. Complete our spreadsheet of wedding gifts. We’re trying to keep track of who gave of what for which part (engagement, shower, wedding), and we started putting together an excel file for this. Gotta finish it, I think it will make the thank you writing much easier!
9. Start on thank you cards – Chad says if we write 3 per day each we can finish before his birthday.
10. Get our Wii fixed. I so wish I had no ethics and could submit a claim to the movers for this, but I know it was broken before and I’m just going to have to shell out the $75 so we can play Wiitar Hero again.
11. Figure out what we can/should submit claim expenses for. These were the worst movers ever, for serious.
12. Submit marriage license to our healthcare department so Chad maintains his coverage.
13. Figure out how to take care of our finances - which accounts to keep, which to close, and if we need any additional joint accounts.
14. Reconcile account balances. You guys, I haven’t tracked finances in a month. I would cry if I wasn’t so excited – this means spreadsheets!
15. Make scans of important documents. Passport, SS card, driver’s license, marriage certificate, etc.
16. Find the local library & get a library card.

Ugh, to be continued…