It’s a mess because of my bathroom remodel. But I soldier onward. Expect a net worth write up later this week.

Goal #1
Specific - Contribute to my 401k plan

While I am tempted to cut my contributions, I am holding steady. It’s kind of hard though. I really, really would like the extra cash right now to throw at the construction project.

Grade: Pass!

Goal #2
Specific - Reduce my credit card debt
Measurable - By 50% or $9,137 (rounded up to $10K)
Achievable - Monthly payments of $762

In April I cashed out a CD that was expiring and putting it towards this goal. But since I have a construction project going on, it’s making this difficult. What I have done is to shift around the interest rate on some of my debt, but in the process I’ve also taken on $5000 more. I am considering moving that to ‘Other Liabilities’ on my balance sheet/net worth like I did with my medical expenses so I can remain focused on my original goal. Not sure yet.

Grade: Fail. Miserable failure.

Goal #3
Specific - Reduce my credit card debt on my highest balance card ~$10K
Measurable - By 50%
Achievable - ~$450 a month

I did end up making a $800 payment in April. I also made an extra $250 payment to try and snowflake my debt. And then the bathroom disaster struck. I took out a $5K BT on this card, so I am no where near achieving this goal. However, I think it’s fair to say this goal needs a mid-year revision.

New Goal #3:
Specific - Reduce my credit card debt on my highest balance card ~$13K
Measurable - By 50%
Achievable - ~$825 a month

Grade: Fair - Neither a Pass, nor a Fail as the goal has to be altered.

I am a yarn junkie. I can admit this. I can also admit that I have restraint. It’s become abundantly clear to me that I have too much yarn. Showing my apartment to a new friend always makes me hesitate, not because I’m a mess, but because they will see my plastic storage tubs. The see-through ones have crafty supplies, i.e. lots and lots of yarn. Heck the opaque ones do too, crammed in with some rock climbing gear.

This year I made a promise to a new friend of mine (the girlfriend of an old friend) that I would take her to shop for special yarn for some projects. She had never been to the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival before. It’s the largest in the US. Most of the hardcore yarn junkies I know attend on Saturday, but I had a prior commitment. Sunday was the best day for me. It would be less crazy and most of the good stuff will have been gone, thus limiting temptation. (Oh but there is always something, isn’t there?) It was a pretty great day for bringing us closer as friends.

As a multi-year attendee, I’m much more selective about what I buy and what intrigues me. I like to catch up a bit on yarn news and gossip. I was sad, yet glad, to hear that Jolene is the new proprietess at Cloverhill Yarns in Baltimore. It was one of the first places to pique my interest in handspinning. The previous owner was an older woman and I was glad to hear she sold to Jolene so she could retire. Good for her! Isn’t retirement what we’re all about?

The thing that tempted me most was a hand-carved ebony distaff for $45. A long-time vendor was going out of business for retirement and selling off all his wares. I was mighty, mighty tempted, but I hardly need such a lovely item. Gorgeous though it was. I simply do not use a drop spindle very much anymore so the distaff would basically be a really pretty stick, too valuable to use to bop someone on the head.

The last thing notable about this year was noticing a new yarn called 1855 Yarn from New Jersey. It came in pretty colors and handspun. I like to keep my eye out for new stuff, otherwise, I could go to MDSW every other year while I cut back on my craft spending.

And that was that. No really. I didn’t buy any yarn or fiber material whatsoever.

I spent nothing but money for gas and for lunch. I make a point of getting pit lamb BBQ at sheep and wool events because I don’t cook lamb at home. Round trip was about 1/4 tank and lunch was $10. I packed my own can of Coke for my morning caffeine kick.

I just wanted to add a post since I’ve been blogging about my yarn festival trips since I started this blog. I wouldn’t have wanted to skip it.

Get over it. If you don’t like it, don’t drive. I mean it. Gas was 99 cents back in the day. It’s pushing 4 bucks now. Ride public transport. Make different choices on work. I don’t blithely say this either. I mean it because it’s what I’m doing right now.

I was sitting on the bench with an opportunity to work near BWI airport north of DC staring me in the face. That’s a 90-minute drive from the far side of DC where I live. It’s also a crap-load of gas. Unfortunately I’m going to have to decline working this job. It’s a year long commitment and man, is it going to get old after a few months.

I’ll pass.

But these are the choices you make with work. I can’t afford to be too choosy, else I’ll end up flying to Indiana every week instead. But I think I can do better than the airport across town and find something closer. I had my fingers on a gig south of DC. It’s not metro accessible, and I would still be driving to suburban hell, but I suck up the ~$4/gal charge on gas since the job is close to my friend having a baby. I hope we can have lunch together all summer with her new bundle of joy.

The way I figure things, my car has at most a 15-gallon tank.

$3.65 per gallon
15 gallon tank
————-
$54.75 per tank
1 tank weekly for 50 weeks = $2737.50
Divide by 12 = $228.13 per month

That should be my budget for gas for May. Later in the summer, when gas goes up to $3.90, I should budget $243.75. At exactly $4.00 a gallon, I should budget $250.00 even.

In 2006, when my dad was ill and I was going home all the time, I spent $1416.03 on gas. I was able to tank up for free at my parents’ gas station. A year later I spent LESS, $1410.39. That’s about $117.50-118.00 per month for the last two years. During the first 3 months of 2008, I spent $107.00 a month on gas. Not that much less. My alternatives to driving still cost me quite a bit of money. Metrorail in DC cost me about ~$41.00 a month.

It stinks to have to budget an extra $100-135 a month on gas, but realistically, it’s not that much for my fuel-efficient Altima. There’s a reason why those gas guzzling SUV’s are being handed back in. $350/mo for a lease payment, on top of $60-80 bucks per tank of gas, that has got to suck.

I’m holding onto a lot of cash at the end of April. My net worth is going to look screwy I think.

For the most part, it’s totally artificial because I took out a $5K balance transfer on one my credit cards to cover the bathroom remodel. I wonder if I should hold back some of the cash reported because it’s in reserve for the construction.

At any rate, I’m still gathering numbers for net worth valuation for April. I always have to guess my mortgage numbers since one of the statements doesn’t come until after the month closes. (But usually the guess I make is pretty good, +/- $200)

Here’s to you Ben Bernanke for yet another Fed rate cut. I don’t think it’s really going to do anything for me at the moment. It’s likely working against me since I won’t be able to find a better paying interest rate on my emergency fund CD’s this summer. pooh.