The Hustle of Sistah Ant

I really like being able to take care of the lion’s share of my bills with one week’s pay.  I’m really going to miss it when I get a permanent job, at which point I’m all but certain to make less money than I’m making as a contractor, partially because I’ll be getting real benefits.  Even though I haven’t elevated my standard of living significantly, I have elevated my savings expectations.  So I won’t feel the pain of making less money when I’m paying bills or shopping at the grocery store.  Instead, I’m going to feel it when I’m making smaller deposits to my ING account.  I’m not looking forward to it.

It’s got me thinking about Moneymonk constantly saying that if you’re not happy with your financial situation, you need to figure out a way to make more money.  

Honestly, I am not interested in working a second job or starting a small business.  I want the time that I’m not spending in an office to be all mine.  Not only that, but I have never really had a viable business idea in mind.  Just today, I was thinking that if someone gave me $50,000 tomorrow with the stipulation that I start a business, I have no idea what I would do.  I’m going to have to make career choices that give me what I want, like how Single Ma has been doing.  Multiple income streams are great, but ultimately, I’m going to have to chart another course.

The more I look at houses and mortgage calculators, the more I realize that the amount I had in mind for a down payment and closing costs and emergency fund is too low, if I want to have the kind of security I want to have going into the mortage.  I could press forward with what I have, but I would feel better if I had more money to work with.  I’d rather overestimate than underestimate.

I am talking myself out of being disappointed.  

Actually this is cause for joy.  It’s better to know this now than later.  

On another note, I’m looking forward to further career development.   I’m working on a volunteer project that will: 1) help someone in need, 2) give me valuable experience, 3) help me network with other like minded colleagues.  I’m still waiting to hear back on the interview I had, but I can expect to wait a little longer before hearing back.  I’m consistently looking at the market, but it’s tight right now - all the more reason for me to believe that this job I’m waiting to hear from has my name written on it.  Often, the good things come with a little patience.

The last time I had a big money goal, it was to pay off the last of my old credit card debt.  I worked on it for many months.  Sacrificed for it, planned for it… scribbled on the backs of countless envelopes…  I came so very, very close.  I had even started to save a little bit of money from each paycheck towards My Own Home.  And then I was laid off from my job. 

I didn’t panic, even though part of me wanted to do exactly that.  Instead, I took my entire severance pay and put it into the My Own Home account, but I didn’t do it with a lot of enthusiasm.  I figured that since I wasn’t employed, there wasn’t any point in getting too attached to the money, because financial need might make me have to raid the account.  In case you were wondering, that’s why I put the word "tentative" next to this blog’s My Own Home progress bar.

Here I am, seven months later, making more money as a temporary employee than I’ve ever made before, and saving at a faster rate than I ever anticipated before I was laid off.  I am blessed.  Today, I am 94% of the way towards my down payment goal, and given my prospects at work, I can reasonably anticipate that I will meet my goal by the end of this month, enabling me to move on to beefing up my Emergency Fund.  I am in awe - I’m on the cusp!

But I did have these fleeting thoughts:  What if my project ends earlier than I think it will?   What if I have to dip into my savings?  Last time I got soooo close without actually finishing - what if it happens again?  Maybe I shouldn’t get my hopes up too high, too fast.

Guess what?  I can’t afford to do this to myself.  I have to stay positive and not get pushed around by fear.  When I was laid off, I wasn’t able to pay off the last of that debt for another two months, but that wait didn’t kill me!  When it was all said and done, I did eventually reach my goal.  If for some reason I’m not able to save any more for a while, I’m still 94% of the way there.  And even if I wind up having to dip into the account, it can be replenished when (not if) I’m able.  What’s to fear?  Only a negative attitude.

I’m just going to continue to push and push enthusiastically until that progress bar gets all the way over to 100%!  That’s where my head is at.  And that’s where I’m going to keep it.

There’s this little song that plays in my head on Wednesdays, the day before my direct deposit wire hits my checking account.  It has the same melody as the 12 days of Christmas: "On the last day of brokeness my true love said to me…"  That’s it. There are no more lyrics to the song.  That part just plays on a loop.  Yes, it’s annoying, but I can’t help the songs that play in my imagination.

This week, the last day of brokeness has come not a moment too soon.  I’ve got a credit card to pay off, retirement savings to do, New-Orleans-trip-spending-money-savings to save, bus tokens to buy - oh and most importantly, household expenses to kick in on.  Whew!

I’m still thinking about buying some new clothes before the New Orleans trip, and maybe getting a pedicure before I go.  I’m not too sure about these things, but I’ll see if I can fit ‘em in.

So, I am one day from spending* my paycheck into oblivion.  I like Wednesdays!  I should really flesh out the lyrics of that payday carol, though… hey, if you guys have any suggestions, help a sistah out.

*I know, I know, there’s something that seems un-frugal about spending your whole check before you even get your hands on it, but let’s remember, I am saving Herculean percentages of every check, so even though my checking account will be lean when I get finished with it, my savings account will get fatter by the time I’m done sending money from my paycheck to fly off in several directions.

Few days ago, I said this about my stimulus payment:

"The government wasted paper to send me a notice that my check is on its way, as if I didn’t know. (I promptly recycled it.) "

Then I went online to see if they’ve sent my stimulus payment, and you know what they said?  That you’re supposed to hold on to the paper that tells you how much you’re going to be paid because you’re going to need it when you file your 2008 tax return.  So uh, don’t just recycle it.  And uh, I’m glad I only recycled the envelope and not the letter itself.   (I intended to get rid of the letter once I got my check… guess I won’t be doing that now.)

I’ve posted about my indecision about my stimulus payment a few times.  I first reacted in January.  Then I got a little creative in March, daydreaming about fun stuff, examining the suggestion to spend well for the country’s sake, and thinking about how Single Ma’s daughter inadvertently gave me a good idea.  After months of knowing that it’s coming, I still haven’t decided exactly what I’m going to do with it.  So let’s have a little fun - what do you think I should do?

I got a question from Ben yesterday in the comments that I wanted to discuss today - here goes:

"…[I]f I CAN do without, because clearly I can when I am broke, shouldn’t I ALWAYS be living like I am broke? And how do you make a budget around being broke?"

I think the answer is going to be different, depending on who you ask and who you are.  If you ask Moneymonk, she’d probably remind you that you can do income-producing things so that you can make more money to afford the things you want.  That way you don’t have to live like you’re broke.  If you ask Single Ma, she might remind you about how important discipline is (and how important it is to learn from and move on from your mistakes when your discipline slips).

I’m pretty good with the discipline.  I’ve been going without all kinds of little perks, trying to cut corners here and there, and it has helped me a lot because reducing the amount of spending always gives a budget more wiggle room.  I guess in that sense, I do live like I’m broke.  I decided which sacrifices I’m most comfortable with and committed to them:  I still don’t pay for cable, daily take-out lunches, clothes-on-a-whim, and other non-essentials.  But that works for me.  I guess some folks won’t do without cable, but they can deal with bagging lunch.  I think the key is to stay committed even after your means increases.  In my case, I’m netting about $1,600 a month more now than I did at this time last year. (This is where Moneymonk’s advice to increase your income comes in.) My approach to the increase wasn’t, "Oh - that’s $1,600 more that I can spend a month," but instead it was, "Oh! That’s at least $1,500 more that I should be able to SAVE a month."  Because I KNOW something is going to happen that’s going to make me want some money - an emergency, a layoff, a thing I’m going to really, really really want.  And when that time comes, I want to be prepared.  That means more to me than eating take-out for lunch everyday, or having MTV.  So I kind of think you answered your own question - just in words that frame it in a more negative perspective.  I usually don’t think about it as living like I’m broke - I usually think about it as living like I want to have some money in my pocket.  It feels so good to be facing unemployment knowing that if I need it, there’s a cash cushion in the bank with my name on it that will get me by for months.  I’m not a baller… but I feel like one.

Now, about making a budget around being broke.  As I get started, I pretty much think about the worst-case scenario: what is the least amount of money I expect to have in my hands?  Assuming that it will be all that I’ll get, then I look at my obligations and responsibilities and figure out when and how to take care of those things with (which means subtract those amounts from) my worst-case scenario amount of money, based on my priorities.  Like I did in yesterday’s post.  My priorities are shelter, food, maintaining my credit score, savings, then everything else.  That’s going to be different for everyone - back when I was a student it was shelter, food, everything else.  When I become a homeowner, it’ll probably be shelter, food, savings, everything else.  Either way, if you’re working with a limited amount of money, you don’t have to figure out how to make a budget around it - if you prioritize your needs, they will do your budgeting for you because your money will be spoken for when you get your paycheck anyway.  The only difference I find between budgeting when broke and budgeting otherwise is that the latter gives you more wiggle room (I eat lunch out more often now).  When your wiggle room is gone, it’s just gone.  You can’t spend money you don’t have if you’re not relying on credit.   There’s no budgeting required there, either.  Whatever’s left over after you pay Peter and Paul is your allowance, and when it runs out, it’s gone, so anticipate your needs, your spending triggers, and figure out economical ways to get around them so that you can make it to your next paycheck, which is the name of the game…  at least until you can take Moneymonk’s advice and get some more income.

I borrowed this word, "strategery" from our current Commander-in-chief, who’s really got a way with language.  I’m not sure if I’ll find this word in a dictionary, but I am sure that it describes my game plan for today’s paycheck.

Here’s the situation:  I’m losing my current contracting position, imminently, but I don’t know exactly when.  For all I know, the last time I KNOW I will get paid will be next Thursday.  The name of the game is to be able to take care of my monthly obligations without dipping into the fund I’ve been saving for My Own Home.  I usually budget each week’s check to cover the bills which are due in the following week, so that every week, I have money to deposit into my savings account to gain interest.  Since it’s getting harder with each passing day to anticipate when my income will end, I’ve decided to take care of as much of the month’s expenses as I can, while I can. 

Enter my strategery: I’m paying all of June’s bills with today’s paycheck, with the exception of my contribution to the household expenses and my July 1st car note.  This way, if my position ends this month, no matter when it ends this month, my bills for this month will be paid.  I will take care of my household expenses and car note with next Thursday’s check.  If I have any money left over after that, I can save it.  If next Friday is my last day (as I currently suspect it will be, though I have been wrong before), I’ll get paid one more time, have a one week waiting period, and begin to collect unemployment shortly thereafter while I continue to look for a new gig.  If next Friday is not my last day, then I’ll just save the remainder of this month’s checks in my expense checking account, ‘cause whenever I am finally laid off, I’ll need the money.

Yay strategery!  It got me through college.  It’ll get me through "real life," too. 

While away for the weekend, my lil’ cousin’s mom, my aunt, handed me a check for $25 for gas money.  Who knew?  That check is being deposited into the bank account that I’ll use for spending on my New Orleans trip next month.  So far, that account has over $200 in it, made up of an insurance refund, survey participation checks, and money from the bank that I received for recommending that Sistah Beginner start an account there.  Those amounts, ranging from $50 to $3, have added up.

When I walked through the door on Sunday evening after a very fulfilling trip, I received another survey participation check in the mail.  I’ll deposit it into the same account.  It’s going to be nice to be able to spend it in New Orleans guilt and debt free.

Guess what else?  My dad gave handed me two crisp bills for "gas money".  He just slipped it into my palm.  And when I looked at my hand, I was holding $200.  He just bought himself a sponsorship brick in the garden of my new home.  OK, maybe not quite, but I promptly deposited the cash this afternoon, and it is on its way to the My Own Home account.

My point?  Multiple streams of income are good.  Sometimes when you’re not anticipating getting a financial benefit out of doing something, you wind up benefitting anyway.  And, thinking of creative ways to use the money that comes into your hands makes more sense than mindlessly spending it. 

This project I’m on was supposed to finish a week and a half ago.  It’s still going.

But the project is over on Friday.  My co-workers are finding new projects and/or finding out about unemployment.  But I’m not.

I am coming back on Monday.  The project is not over for me.  My employer wants to keep me on a while longer.

Thank God for small blessings.  And big ones, too.