Drop, Drop, Drop...

My interest rates at Ally keep on dropping since I transferred a majority of my money there this summer. It started at 1.29%, then 1.25%, now 1.24%.  Oh well, its still among the highest in the nation, and I love the user-friendly interface that comes with it.

Tentative Budget

Based on a calculation from paycheckcity.com, my net pay will be approximately $2,950 a month for the first two months until I am eligible to participate in my company's 401k plan, at which my net pay will decrease to approximately $2,550 per month assuming I contribute 13% of my salary to the plan as I intend - which would mean a contribution of just over $500 per month to the 401k.

I've created a tentative budget assuming $2,550 in income. The first two months I will use the same budget, hoping to save most of that $400 extra each month, but realizing my costs might exceed the budget a bit as I will still have some initial purchases that go along with a new job.

Rent                   $775 - inclusive of garbage/water/electricity/gas/parking
Cable/Internet    $80  
Parking              $75  ** see below
Grocery             $120
Entertainment     $200
Gas/Auto           $80 
Household         $60
Other                $50
TOTAL         $1470

*I live a couple miles from my office, but because of harsh winters and many late nights walking/biking is not a good option. I hate to leave my parking garage and drive further downtown to another parking garage and pay $75 a month, but I may have to - I am looking at the bus as an option as well, a monthly pass is a bit under $50.

SAVINGS BUDGET
IRA                $400
401k       - aiming for 13% contribution after 2 month probationary period
General          $100
Emergency     $125
House            $130
Car                $145
Early Retire    $100

Savings goal - $1000 a month + 401k
Spending  -     $1470
Total              $2470

As you can see, the total of $2470 does not equal the net pay of $2550 - the additional money is what I'll consider flex spending/saving, and allow me to make some adjustments as the first couple of months pass.

I plan to deposit the total amount of spending money into a separate checking account at the beginning of the month  - which will have a few hundred bucks to start with, whatever is left of the money I set aside to get me from graduation to the start of my job (quickly dwindling - good thing work is just two weeks away). At the end of the month, if I have not spent all of the money I plan to throw half the remainder into savings, and leave the other half for buffer spending and to allow for a small cushion to build up for unexpted expenses, gifts, splurges, etc.

October will be the first true test of the budget, though I dont start working until the second week of the month, so I'll be monitoring everything closely for awhile.

I PASSED

Finally, after hundreds of hours and much worry, I got my final score for the last part of the CPA exam and passed. This brings much, much relief - but also some nice reward :)   My firm will reimburse my examination costs - nearly $1,000, and pay a $5k bonus for passing. I start in a couple of weeks, and am not sure exactly how long it takes to receive the payment once I submit my paperwork, so when I know a bit more I will figure out what to do with the money, but the plan will be to save a vast majority of it for now and take a little bit for a night out :)

So relieved to have this done before I start - I cannot imagine having to study all those hours AFTER having worked a long day at the office.

Waiting Game

Supposedly my final score for the CPA exam was released today, which has lead to me constantly refreshing the score page, waiting in agony.   Typically, scores are uploaded around 10pm, but that hasnt stopped my from compulsively checking.....

5.5 more hours.... I hope.

September Stock Surge

Well, even after a wobbly day today, the DOW was up a few points, and it appears that this September is on track to be the best in decades. Is there solid ground for this increase? Unemployment remains steady, everyone still says the economy sucks - whats going on?   Perhaps surprising to the average American who is facing continuing economic troubles, companies are posting record profits and holding onto record amounts of cash.   Somehow, we've got to get these companies to begin spending some of this money - we need some stability, and perhaps that will come once the silly season ends with the November elections, and things can keep moving.