Yes, being away from Quicken for the last 60 days has been a very serious problem.
I just found out that I am eligible to participate in the company’s stock purchasing program. This means I can buy company stock for a fixed discount and pay little to no fees for the privilege. I thought I wouldn’t be able to sign up till July 1st, because I wasn’t employed by the company on January 2nd during the last sign up period in 2007. (I didn’t start till a few days later.)
Quick like a bunny, I signed up electronically so I wouldn’t forget. Unfortunately, I signed up for 10% of my gross paycheck in my excitement to sign up without going home and carefully budgeting what I could afford to save. (One of the minor reasons I took this job was because of this juicy opportunity to purchase stock at a discount.) Later on, I realized this means I am now saving 10+% of my pre-tax salary and 10+% of my post-tax salary. AND to top it off, my next paycheck will have an extra $200 taken out for Myanmar and China aid charities. EEK. My take-home pay for my next paycheck will be uncomfortably low.
*GASP* I might not be able to make a ginormous credit card payment of $1000. Boo-effing-hoo, right?
I know. There’s a lot of folks out there sweating bullets over finding a job after graduation, or feeding their kids, or buying gasoline and I’m crying because I won’t be able to pay down my credit card faster.
What I’m really trying to say is that I miss my financial planning software and if I didn’t have some sort of idea of what my monthly expenses were, I’d have NO CLUE that I was saving overzealously and would need to figure something out for short term cash flow issues later this month. (Geez. Is there such a thing as an “impulse saver”? If not, can I take credit for coining the term?)
I think I’ll end up ok since I have a CD expiring soon and I still have some stimulus package money left over, but I’m going to be hoarding cash till after 4th of July when I’ll be able to get a good understanding of what’s happened the last 2 months away from Quicken and a few paycheck cycles buying in on company stock.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
I love the idea of being an “impulse saver.” As a general rule it’s not that bad for your budget, either. Unless the money went somewhere untouchable…
I’d miss being able to check on my spending too. Though I haven’t been as often as I should, lately.