The Hustle of Sistah Ant

November was good to me.  I hit my My Own Home savings goal (it seems like that took forever).  My IRA recovered a little bit.  I also escaped November credit card debt free (only to put Cyber Monday Christmas presents on my credit card on December 1st, but I digress).  It’s nice to see the line in my NetWorthIQ bar graph definitively pointing upward!  Last month was so discouraging in comparison.  One cool thing I noticed this month - I am at the point where the total of my assets is greater than my net worth deficit.  This doesn’t mean much, but psychologically it tells me that I’m closer to the light at the end of the tunnel than to the darkness at its beginning.  I have amassed assets worth more than my net worth hole.  I’m thankful for that.

I am bent on getting to my $15,000 My Own Home Fund goal by the end of the month.  That means that between yesterday’s paycheck and next week’s paycheck, I’ve got to get it together.  It’s taking longer to get this money together than I thought it would, because of IRA contributions I’ve been making and because of stuff I don’t usually have to pay for each month, like car maintenance, car registration, annual parking permit fee…  This car keeps coming up.  I could count up the full tally, including next month’s state inspection, but I don’t want to piss myself off too much.  I’m just going to do what I have to do to meet my goal and keep it moving.  Although I’ll admit, my car is not my favorite possession right now.  It’s five years old now.  It doesn’t give me any problems, but it’s not fully paid for (I bought it used).  You know when I get into the house, my first priority after strengthening my emergency fund will be getting rid of debt, right?  You know that includes my car loan, right?  Can’t wait to kill that debt.  That way, all I’m paying for will be maintenance, insurance, and miscellaneous fees, not all that PLUS the stupid car payment.

I was trying to be proactive and take advantage of as many things as I can over the weekend.  I finally got my purse and wallet straightened out.  Then I checked on my bills, which was good, because although I took care of all existing charges last week, there was an automatic charge for my EZPass on my AMEX that I had to pay, which I did.  I reconciled my check register balance with my receipts.  Then the easy part was over.

My priorities started fighting with each other.  I have to get the engine light fixed on my car before I get it inspected next month, and I want to make sure that I have the money to pay for it without using a credit card.  My car insurance premium is also due next month, and I am considering paying the entire balance instead of splitting it up over the next six months.  Since I know there’s a chance I won’t be working, this is a way to get my future monthly expenses lowered.  In addition, I have to chip in on the household expenses for the month and next month’s rent.  But the goals that meant the most to me emotionally were contributing to my IRA and to my My Own Home fund.  Oh yeah, and getting holiday gifts and affording holiday road trips.

After some consideration, I decided to take care of household and car expenses on my next paycheck because of the limited amount of money I had to work with this week.  I’m still undecided about my car insurance premium.  I will have the opportunity to pay it in full for at least the next several weeks either way, so I didn’t put a high priority on making my decision right now.  That left two priorities, my IRA and my savings.  I made the minimum allowable contribution to the IRA and then after leaving myself $100.00 for random day-to-day expenses in my checking account, I deposited the remainder in the My Own Home fund.  But I know I left some plans undone, so I’ll have to make some difficult decisions with my next check, even though my bills are paid through the middle of next month.

All the birthdays, holiday travel, and holiday gift giving are hovering over my wallet.  I just paid all of this month’s bills.  I also bought a belated birthday present for one loved one, and set aside $50 to give as a cash gift to another.  I bought two birthday cards for two others yesterday afternoon.  I’m thinking about Christmas presents for Mister Ant, my Grandma, my parents, my friends…  I’m also thinking about how I don’t have a new job lined up yet.  You know what I want for Christmas?  A steady income.  A signed contract for a home.  To be honest, and I know how selfish this sounds, I ain’t thinking about actually buying Christmas presents right now, even though I love to give them.  I just get frustrated with this wait sometimes.  It’s discouraging.  And the last thing I need, on top of everything, is to feel torn between saving money and spending it on gifts.  Funny thing is, I know myself.  I won’t be able to resist giving for the holidays.  I am so rolling my eyes at myself right now.

Well, according to this month’s net worth chart, I made less than $1,000 improvement this month, despite my saving over $1,500 and getting rid of over $500 of debt. My car is getting old. I mainly track its net worth because I want to keep track of how much I owe on it compared to its value. This month, car depreciation, combined with stock and IRA value losses, really dragged down my progress on paper. I’ll just think about it this way: look how much worse it would have been if I hadn’t paid off so much debt and saved so much money.  My IRA balance would also be worse if I hadn’t made a "rescue" contribution late this month to pull it up from being down by 30%.  I knew my progress this month would not have been as good as other months, because of some of the car maintenance and other expenses I wanted to face before getting laid off again.  Hey, I did what I had to do - what I was supposed to do.  I invested.  I saved.  I paid off debt.  And even though my car depreciated, it’s running very well, it’s in excellent condition, it’s as beautiful as the day I picked it off the lot, and perhaps most importantly, it’ll take me to any interview I need to get to with no problem.  The last thing you want when facing unemployment is an unreliable car - been there, done that - it wasn’t cool at all.  So goes the month of October 2008.

One more thing.  This is the two year anniversary of my wake up call to get my finances in order.  Since October 2006:

• I have improved my net worth by $36,415.  That’s a 51% improvement.
• I have totally eliminated my credit card debt.
• I have credit scores that are consistently near 800.
• I have saved over three months’ living expenses in an emergency fund.
• I have saved almost $14,000 for my dream of home ownership.
• I pulled my car loan balance down to less than the worth of my car.
• I finally started investing in stocks and retirement mutual funds.
• I changed my earning potential by getting certified in my profession.
• I have prioritized charitable giving on a regular basis.
• I finally got my student loan balances down into the principal amount borrowed.

I am STILL looking for full-time direct employment with benefits almost 11 months after I was laid off from my real-estate based company.

Recession 1, Sistah Ant 0

At its worst, my IRA lost at least 30% of its dollar value within a few months of buying into my current long-term mutual fund.

Recession 2, Sistah Ant 0

I bought some more shares of my IRA at a cheaper price.

Recession 2, Sistah Ant 1

I can afford to move into the house I’ve been dreaming about owning, because my increased temporary income has helped me save.

Recession 2, Sistah Ant 2

It’s not a great time for me to take advantage of today’s interest rates because my employment is unstable.

Recession 3, Sistah Ant 2

Things are getting hard for people with lots of debt, but I paid off my credit card debt back in February.

Recession 3, Sistah Ant 3

This thing ain’t over.  I’m still fighting.   Just wait ’til I get a job.  I’m gonna kick this recession’s ass.

Funny how a picture of a pretty house can change your whole perspective on your readiness to buy, regardless of your financial circumstances.

I gave in to temptation and looked at my balance over the weekend.  My IRA is down 27% because of the bear market.  That’s over a quarter.  That’s almost a third.  My initial reaction was anger.

And then, surprisingly, I was calm.

I just finished increasing my Emergency Fund to another landmark.  So now that that task its done, I am inspired by my IRA balance to start contributing again.  I had stopped contributing because I had met the minimum amount necessary to get the money out of a money market fund and into a mutual fund.  I then turned my attention to working on the Emergency Fund, but now I’m done with that for now.  I need to get back to building my IRA.  I am nowhere near this year’s contribution limit, anyway.  Now I haven’t given up the idea of continuing to increase the My Own Home fund. But with my Emergency Fund task completed for now, I feel more comfortable with splitting up my non-expense money between both goals of savings and retirement.  The thought of buying more shares while I still can and the getting is cheaper has been nagging me for at least a week now.  I’m going to do it!

It’s gonna be alright.  I’m going to own more shares.  I’m going to have more savings.  I’m going to get a job.  I’m going to get a home of my own, which is a retirement goal in and of itself.  And Everything Is Going To Be Alright.

I think that the interview went well.  I always think my interviews went well, though.  LOL!  But I’ll say this: near the end, the two people who were interviewing me exchanged glances and smiled.  That can’t be bad, can it?

But here’s the rub: not long before that, the interviewer who would be my boss apologized for not telling me sooner, but they will most likely NOT be able to meet my salary requirement.  I played it well, I think - I have a decent poker face.  But inwardly I was a little taken aback.  Why didn’t they tell me this before?

I saw the position in an email from a listserve I belong to.  I sent in my resume, which I tailored to the position, a good cover letter, and my salary requirement.  Now actually, I don’t have a set salary requirement.  In most cases, I don’t send a salary requirement, I wait for an offer as a starting point for negotiations.  In this case, however, a salary requirement was explicitly required with the submission of your resume.  I did research to come up with a fair salary range.  The amount of money I asked for was specifically tailored to the position, my strengths and shortcomings, and the average of what people in my area in similar positions with similar companies are making.  When submitting my range, I told the employer that I consider the entire package, including benefits, the work environment, and other aspects of the position.  I was pleased to be called in for an interview!

When they told me that they couldn’t meet my salary requirement during the interview, I didn’t have a temper tantrum.  I am still genuinely interested in the job.  The interviewer told me to take a few days to think about whether or not I am willing to make less than my requirement, and I said that it would depend on how far apart their offer might be from my range.  Their offer would be in one $10,000 range less than my $10,000 range.  I told the interviewers what I really want out of my next position - I believe that I can get it from the position I was interviewing for - and that I would still consider an offer from them.  The interview ended well, but I left feeling deflated.

I’ve been mulling it over all weekend.  The job market for people with my level of experience is so dry, it’s like the Grapes of Wrath out there.  I really need to stop temping, and get a steady job with some benefits. I’d get great professional visibility and experience with this position, which makes it a great stepping stone to a better, more lucrative position in a few years.  And I’d love the work.  But the lower end of my suggested range really was as low as I was emotionally prepared to go.  I have so many goals - homeownership, catching up on retirement contributions, motherhood, travel… All of that would be so much harder on the salary they would offer me.  The reason I took the bar exam was to finally make more money than I did as a paralegal.  If I take this job, I will have gotten nowhere on that front.  I’m torn.

Of course, none of this matters if they don’t give me an offer.  In the meantime, I’m sending out those unsolicited resumes and cover letters.  I don’t know who’d want to hire in this economy, but I’ve got to do something.  I’m facing an unemployed holiday season.

See how close I am to meeting my Emergency Fund goal?  I am only $179.49 away from having the $5,000 starter amount I’ll be comfortable with! 

But you know what I’m not comfortable with?  Not having a goal.  Feeling too satisfied.

Therefore, as I’d already planned to do before, I’m going to change my target for the My Own Home fund.  This accomplishes a few things at once.  First, it gives me more incentive to save, because I like the quest of reaching goals.  Secondly, it keeps me from saying, "Oh, well, I’ve hit my goals, guess there’s nothing left to do now but aimlessly spend the money I make."  And finally, most usefully, it gives me more money to work with regarding closing costs.  

Between now and when I’m employed full-time and ready to buy a house, I will continually push my My Own Home savings goal farther and farther.  The more we have going for us at the closing table, the better!