I am on fire tonight after not blogging decently for weeks. (n.b. this post was drafted approximately 2 weeks ago. I’ve just been metering them out.)

I’ve been traveling every week for work. It’s been ages and ages that I’ve said ‘Hello, Darlings!’ and really meant it. I miss you all.

Let’s recap a few things:
1. I started a new job in April.
2. I have to travel almost every single week for work.
3. I have a lot of work expenses I have to cover on my corporate credit card, whether or not I have the cash.

So where am I now?
1. I wrote this in Alabama. I am publishing it while I’m on my way California.
2. I have been to 2 new states I have never been to before. We even have a kitchen magnet to prove it. (Boyfriend went to Alabama years ago and forgot to collect a magent for his fridge collection. He asked me to get one.)
3. I have Marriott Gold, Hilton Blue, Delta Silver stati (<-Lat. pl. m. status) and I am starting to enjoy First Class legroom.
4. I have already made enough points to cash out a free plane ticket to Santa Barbara for my cousin’s wedding, thus enabling me afford a second family wedding in San Francisco. (Yes it helps that my company will also subsidize/pay for my ticket not to go home that weekend.)
5. I am making money on per diem, though it’s still not entirely clear how much I am getting every week.
6. I am discovering the joy of polyester. My two dresses are getting a lot of wear because they don’t wrinkle at all!
7. I have a crazy number of AMEX points coming my way each month. (Thousands.)

Along with all those things I also have sleepless nights, eye strain, headaches, lots of caffeine consumption, and high caloric intake. (Though I did make a point of losing 5 lbs and will try to lose more before the end of the year.) My home life is suffering because I am not home to keep house very well. (I come home, trash the place and leave on the 6am bus every Monday.) I am homesick. I miss my garden. I miss my pets. I miss my knitting club.

Is there an upside to all this? Yes. There is. I’m slogging the hours because I have a very good chance to climb the ranks and do well here.

Generalized Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Six years ago, I closed on my condo. It’s been an interesting ride.

Let’s recap some highlights:
1. Flooded kitchen due to dishwasher problem in unit above mine. (Drain flooded and poured down into my dishwasher and spilled out onto the floor.)
2. Water damage from the exterior windows due to poor maintenance by HOA.
3. Collapsed bathroom ceiling due to a cracked wax ring in the unit above mine & resulting renovation.
4. Closet remodel.
5. Tenant going bonkers and suing me after I didn’t want to renew the lease. (Reminder: This blog is for entertainment. Take it with a grain of salt. In fact, be skeptical of *anything* you read on the internet.)
6. Buying a fancy couch for the place.
7. Getting furniture as a Christmas present from my parents.
8. Moving out of the place.

Some stats after 6 years of homeownership:
I’ve paid $47,215.07 in interest.
I’ve paid ~$8684.00 in renovation costs. ($5684.00 for the bathroom, $2000.00 for closet, ~$400.00 for a dishwasher, ~$600.00 for paint/fixtures/prep for renting.)
And $1843.65 in legal costs.

I’m totally underwater on the place and I will probably keep my condo for at least another 3 years, in which time the DC real estate market should rebound enough for me to sell the unit for a profit. (According to Zillow, I’m not underwater, but it’s still not enough to refinance favorably.)

Who knows what next year will bring when my 7/1 ARM resets?

Happy Anniversary, Condo o’Mine! is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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My boyfriend is the best. He knows about this blog. He knows that money gives me anxiety even when I am flush with it in my fat little fists. He is always supportive of me no matter what I decide to do. He only shows his exasperation with me 10% of the time. I am lucky.

Recently I decided we should have a talk about some long-term financial goals. I want to save some money for fun. And by fun, I mean pretty much anything. Like a boat. Like a summer property in the woods. Like buying a house in the neighborhood we really want to live in. Like taking his mom for a cruise on the QE2 or some other such fantastical trip she’d like for her next milestone birthday.

Basically he told me he could save $1000 a month soon and he’s thinking of bumping up his retirement contributions because he can. For me, I should probably get out of debt first but that yes, we should probably saving for fun stuff we’d like to do. Ok, so he’s onboard. YAY.

Who knows what we will do, and yes, secretly this is my way of making sure we aren’t cash poor again and have an emergency fund of some kind. (I don’t think he has a dedicated Emergency Basket of Cash, but yet somehow he has cash when he needs it.) It’s separate from my Save-O-Meter, but I definitely am glad we had this talk.

I want some fun dammit!

Strategic Planning? is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Read this article first.

Ok, I am confused. What kind of bonds are being held by Buffett? Is he holding just US Treasuries? Is he holding intermediate-term corporate bonds? Inquiring minds want to know because Inquiring minds bought a mix of TIPS, intermediate-term government bonds, general US Treasuries (in a sweep account for my IRA) and high-yield corporate bonds.

Yes, I went overboard buying bonds in 2008 and 2009 because a 40% drop in the market taught me a lesson. I’m still holding only 30% in bonds in my old 401k plan and about 15% bonds overall in my entire retirement/investment portfolio. However, I am spread across three major bond categories and I’m wondering after reading that article if I should be pushing all my intermediate-term bonds into TIPS in light of the inflationary pressure that Buffett thinks is on its way.

Or do I just hold and do nothing for now?

Is the most conservative strategy simply to do nothing? Oh probably. Do I think I could do better? Possibly. How confident am I that I can beat the market if I follow the Oracle? Not too confident.

Why am I willing to hand over a huge chunk of my money to the Oracle of Omaha in the way of Berkshire B shares, and yet unwilling to take his market outlook advice and reallocate into TIPS? No idea here. But that *is* what he’s saying to do right?

Confused About Buffett and Bonds is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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I’m rebounding with the market. My retirement accounts are up a lot mainly because of my old 401k performing a lot better. It’s also up (like 25% of the rise) is due to new contributions of about $700. I’m happy to be back contributing to retirement.

I also made a double payment to my car in July. Earlier I was having a hard time managing the paycheck cycle with my new job. I was paying my car loan at the end of the monthly cycle instead of at the beginning, which I prefer since it lowers your balance across the cycle. But after building up some savings and understanding when I will have cash on hand each month, I now understand that I can change my payment to earlier in the cycle. July was just the lucky month when it happened.

I hope that things will improve so that by December, I’ll be able to return to a net worth of $70K. That would be nice.

July 2010 Net Worth Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – I paid the minimum in July as I said I would. I do know that in August, I am going to pay more than than the minimum, but not much. I am still on target to pay off one card at the end of this year, but there wasn’t enough movement to change my Debt-O-Meter.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

PASS – Filling back up for now.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

PASS – Because I switched jobs and registered late for my 401k plan, I thought I wouldn’t be able to save $10K this year. But if combine what I am planning on saving with what I did add earlier in my old job’s 401k, I think $10K is still realistic. I’m currently putting away about $700 a month in the plan, which is more than enough for the match.

July 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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So my company has me on pins and needles about my next assignment. It means I will be paying a premium to fly into Santa Barbara for my cousin’s wedding as well as the wedding after that. If I am lucky, I’ll be able to cash out some airline miles. I’ve already forked out $1500 for my parents’ tickets.

The hotel situation in Santa Barbara is working out in an annoying way since we’re staying at a hotel where I don’t have elite status. I get the feeling my cousin has the entire hotel booked. I have no idea if he’s paying for the room or if I am paying for it. It makes budgeting a serious mystery.

This cousin is much younger than I am (not quite the youngest of my cousins, but definitely one of the bottom 5) and I am disappointed by his registry selections. I think they downscaled their choices to accommodate family budgets. To that end, I am going to buy him some Reidel stemware instead of the selection on their registry. I got a set of Reidel Magnum glasses as a gift from one of my cousins before she moved back to Korea a few months ago. Boyfriend and I love them. Eight glasses with shipping is about $100. I’d rather give him fine stemware now so that they don’t have to spend their own money to replace their cheap set in the future. As they say, the ‘Future is Now.’

The other wedding is for one of my oldest cousins. (Ok, he is the 2nd oldest of my American cousins.) He’s got some really cute stuff on his registry, but the $1500 couch was what caught my eye. I have a Crate and Barrel couch and I love it. I also used American Express Rewards points to buy it. I sussed out his younger sister and found out that gift cards are welcome. So I’ll be cashing out $150 worth of points for gift cards. (I’d send them a nice round $200 but I won’t have enough points in time.)

His wedding is turning out to be cheaper since my parents won’t be coming and Boyfriend and I will be able to stay with some other cousins at their home nearby.

I’ve budgeted about $2K for my trips, about $700 twice to fly to California, $300 for a hotel, $200 for a rental car (in SB, my local cousins will ferry me around.) $100-150 for wedding presents. $200 for meals and incidentals. (invariably I will be buying somebody something unexpectedly, like juice boxes for the kids, or an ice cream splurge.) We’ll see what the final damage looks like in September. It’s going to make my credit card balances go crazy I am sure.

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I suppose it’s good that I’m flat compared with last month. I’m down only $65. The main thing is that I’ve trued up the mortgage numbers so they are much more accurate than they usually are. (This update is late and my mortgage statement came in during that delay.)

Debts are down. Assets are largely also down. The stock market really got pummeled this spring. Without regular 401k contributions that number is going to stay down. The good thing is that I did finally get my 401k sign up squared away with work so that number should begin to rise.

June 2010 Net Worth Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – I am still on target to pay off one card at the end of this year. I am moving my Debt-O-Meter to 35% because I’ve been at that figure for the last month. I’m going to pay the minimum for the next two months while I figure out what I am doing for this summer’s weddings. I am on hold with travel plans for work and so I could end up paying a ridiculous amount of money for plane tickets till I know what is going on with work. (Work is sending me around the country to project sites and the timing is such that I may not be able to go for a reasonable price. They like to jerk people around schedule-wise. I wouldn’t normally care but the timing is starting to be an issue.)

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I need to fill this back up. I dipped into it for covering work expenses till a reimbursement check came in, however, the balance on my Save-O-Meter fluctuates over the course of the month.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

FAIL – I finally got my 401k sign up completed last month. I lost the little password card that was sent to me but I found it and made a point of calling and getting all of it done. My first paycheck deduction will come mid-July. If I can save $5K before the rest of the year, I will be satisfied with this goal.

June 2010 Goals Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Not me. But someone I know. Not really surprised. It’s on a property in suburban DC where the taxes have tripled in the past year. My friend can afford the payments but due to some unfortunate vandalism after a renter moved out, it’s starting to become an albatross around his neck.

After doing some calculations, my friend decided it would take 7 years to break even and he doesn’t want to hold the property that long. I guess it’s not a big deal since he’s got a car and a primary residence already and he won’t need to buy anything big on credit ever again really. (If he buys his next car with cash that he’s saved from increased cash flow, then there are few downsides. I will have to mention the tax consequence though. But if he has increased cash flow, can’t he save up to pay those taxes?)

I counseled against it, but after getting an inkling of the numbers, I’m convinced it’s the right move to make. I wouldn’t typically think it’s a good idea but since it’s not his primary home like it is for most people in foreclosure, he’s not risking a lot by having a huge black mark on his credit report. The reason foreclosure is bad for most people is that they continue to need credit after a foreclosure happens. But the fact of the matter is, if you don’t need credit then what is the downside of foreclosure?

I realize there is a Tragedy of Commons issue going on with the wave of foreclosures, but to the individual who can afford the mortgage, the benefit of a strategic foreclosure is pretty high. Let me rephrase it: Why keep throwing good money after bad? In truth, I don’t see if this was a stock, why anyone would keep it if it continues to cost them money (in maintenance) and money invested in it could be used to make money someplace else.

Heading Towards Strategic Foreclosure is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Without getting into it, I’ve been traveling for work and I get sick of looking at a computer so I’ve been doing very little but vegging out with soccer. (As well as suffering migraines in the office from eyestrain.) So expect posting to remain light.

People have left some interesting comments regarding my odd lot post. Moom thought it might be a scam, but I am certain it isn’t since Fidelity sent me another letter today. (Which is why I thought to post at all.) Revanche asks why bother letting me buy an odd lot in the first place. I don’t really know why, but I can speculate on what’s going on. Kiplinger’s [Link is to WaPo, but it's a Kiplinger's story] had an article I saw this week about Texas Instruments being ripe to raise its dividend. I suspect they are trying to get rid of the small shareholders like me so they can send out fewer checks or something like that. I hold just a few shares and so I get less than $10 per quarter from the company. Must be a pain in the neck to administer.

I’m also reading a new blog by my pal La Bella Vita. Right now I’m loving her food posts. I only wish now that she could ship me some bread starter!

Whirling Around The Work Vortex is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Sounds so very English doesn’t it? As if in some way I was fixing something broken or euphemiscally describing filling up a idiosyncratic gas tank.

But I’m actually talking about odd lots of stock, which are lots of less than 100 shares. I got a funny letter in the mail from my brokerage account last week. For some reason Texas Instruments does not like that I am holding an odd lot. And of course, they are telling me this now while the stock price is down and I’d have to sell it at a loss.

My other option is to top off the odd lot and buy enough to satisfy the requirement. But really, who has that kind of money now while all stocks are down? (I do, but only if I sell off my shares of Coca-Cola first and I’m not sure I want to do that.)

I don’t get what happens to people who do Sharebuilder and end up with letters like these. I almost always buy odd lots of stock, a few shares here and there. This is the first time I’ve received this letter, but I really hope it’s the only one I get. Is anyone holding TXN in Sharebuilder? If so, what will you do?

Expect an update later when I figure out what to do.

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The graph has been updated for a while, but I’m just getting around to doing a write up.

May was not a good month for me. Most of the fall in net worth comes from the weirdness in the market. Almost all of the mutual funds in my retirement account were down, but I still got my Treasury bond dividend at the end of the month. I’m glad I bought some since I look forward to $10 or more every month in dividends.

While I got a lot of quarterly dividends in May, it seems like such a petty amount compared to the market drop.

Fortunately though, I was still able to pay down a chunk of my credit cards. I do foresee that I will have problems later this summer with family wedding travel. I have some problems because I am traveling for work and I cannot book my ticket without taking vacation for a week. (There are some problems with doing that, but I’d rather not delve into that here.)

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2010 Goal #1
Pay down credit card debt by $5000

PASS – There is a specific credit card I have in mind for this goal. I am on target to pay off that card by December 1st. I am on track with this, despite the hard time last month.

2010 Goal #2
Fill the Save-O-Meter to $4K

I considered this completed last month, but I’ve had to dip into savings to cover my corporate credit card and short of buying CD’s to keep this filled up, I am not sure what to do yet. I seem to never have enough reserve.

2010 Goal #3
Save $10K in my 401k plan

FAIL – I haven’t had time to think about the company 401k plan. For some reason it’s not allowing me to sign up automatically due to a previous account I held there. It’s annoying because I cannot call them for help at midnight which is when I think about this kind of stuff. But we’ll adjust.

May Goals 2010 Update is a post from: Mapgirl's Fiscal Challenge

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Anyone have any tips? I’ve got a corporate card for work expenses. I am not sure what to do with Quicken and per diem.

I made a work expense category for when I spend out of my own pocket and transfer payments to that category when I pay the bill. I’ll also be able to see if I have any deductible expenses. However, with per diem I probably won’t.

It’s actually annoying me a lot to have to do this because I am racking up thousands of dollars in expenses but I don’t always get my expense checks in time. So any advice out there is greatly appreciated.

Yes, yes, I know all about gaming the per diem and all that. But for an accounting type like me, I really like everything to reconcile to zero rather than a net credit.

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