The Return

So, I have obviously been MIA for the past few months. With my final year of school about to begin, I have decided that I would like to continue the blog again, if for no other reason than I'd like to have my PF thoughts documented somewhere for my own good.

The past few months have been very busy, and I will comment on them over the next few posts. But, in brief, I finished my seasonal income tax preparer job and the Spring semester at school (3.9 GPA :), started and just completed my internship at one of the Big 4 accounting firms, where I just landed a full-time offer for after graduation next May.

I have been able to save quite a bit of $$ through the summer by living at home, and making a very nice salary through my internship.

I've updated my goals for graduation, and plan on posting about those and all of the other details of the past few months over the next few days.

February Review

My goals for February were pretty simple: put $100 towards my IRA, pay off the credit card, buy a $50 savings bond, and save up some cash.

IRA: Yes! I contributed $240 in February.
Credit Card: Paid in full
Cash: Opened a 6-month CD today for $500 saved this month. This will come due right around the time school starts next Fall to help pay for those fun expenses.
Was also able to save $240 towards my graduation cash fund, which I am trying to build up to pay for expenses after graduation (new apartment, work clothes, furniture, yadda yadda)

All in all, a great month - I had the extra bonus of receiving my normal pay plus my training pay, along with both my state and federal tax refunds, and spent very little money.

March Goals:
Save $200 cash for month
$100 to IRA
Hopefully bid and win on hotels for trips to Detroit and Chicago in September and October through Priceline

Friday Thoughts

I received my federal refund in my account today, $197, of which I am going to put about half into my IRA and keep the other half in savings. I am watching as the stock market hovers just above 7000 yet again, and see that my IRA fund has hit yet another new low

It seems things are just getting worse - it appears that GM and/or Chrysler will have to file bankruptcy afterall, which will set off a horrible chain of actions, as thousands of supplier will immediately fold up. I have family near the top of a supplier, who employs over 30,000 people, whom are on the brink as it is, and will file bankruptcy literally minutes after any of the Big 3 go down. I don't see it getting better anytime soon, and I wonder what effect this will have on my job prospects post-graduation. My advisors and those I talk to at career fairs state that I will have great opportunities if I continue on my current path, and the place where I am interning at this summer offers full-time positions to over 90% of interns, but of course that is before the economic collapse, and this branch of the office deals almost entirely with automotive related companies. Scary.

Wild Week

It's been a pretty interesting week in the financial world, with the market plummeting to 6 year lows, and down yet again today. The dollar is at it's highest mark in some time (of course when I was traveling in Europe last summer the dollar was at an all-time low), and oil continues to stay in the 30's. The reaction to the much anticipated stimulus plan hasn't been great, at least from the financial sector. Personally, I think the infrastructure portion of the bill is great - we need it, but the rest seems to be a hodge-podge of spending that no one is really sure about yet.

Work has slowed down drastically, as I am only going to end up with about 15 hours this week- not good news. I survived the first round of exams and did quite well which was a relief, and this morning my state refund was deposited in my account - yay!

Organization

I've been thinking quite a bit about privacy, security, and safety regarding the internet ever since my friend had his identity compromised last week. I realized that I access essentially everything via the internet: bank accounts, retirement accounts, credit cards, email, etc. What would happen if someone got a hold of my information? What will happen in the future re: the internet?

As a result, I have been trying to organize myself financially and otherwise. I am working on creating a filing system, and will be looking to store as much data as I can there - including printing out certain statements that are currently sent to me via email, any trade confirmations for my stocks, funds, or savings bonds, etc, so that if something does happen I will have some paperwork to make sure that I fully account for everything, and have some sort of evidence to support my claims.

If nothing else, this will at least ease my mind a bit, and force me to be a bit more organized - something I could surely use.

Money Moves

Deposited my check today, along with another $25 check that my parents gave me for Valentine's Day - nice surprise, as my mom came up to school and took me out to dinner yesterday on her way to our home up north for the weekend.

I put $100 to my IRA, bought a $50 savings bond (5.64% interest), stashed away $230 in a separate account as cash savings towards graduation, and the remaining $75 is in my account to hold me over until my next paycheck on the 23rd.

I am also in the process of documenting all of my passwords, account numbers, etc. to put on a flash disk - I've been inspired to do this, as a friend of mine fell victim to an identity theft and he has had to reorganize all of his accounts, changing passwords, login ID's pin numbers, and the list goes on.

As for the rest of the week, I am working all day Friday, most of Saturday, and then heading to the Boat Show with a friend Saturday night (no Valentine's for me with the gf in Africa until May!)

Finally a check

Apparently my employer has switched to having payday on Monday's so I finally received my first paycheck, for about $400. My $320 in training won't arrive until the next paycheck, as the pay period ended one day before my eligibility for payment.

No direct deposit available here, so I need to run to the bank tomorrow and deposit it - I will put $100 towards my IRA, and keep the rest as cash savings.

This week has not been fun, as I am not cramming for two huge exams which are both tomorrow - and as you can see here I am having trouble focusing on that!

Another week gone by

This past week was a bit of a dull one: school, work, and the flu. The first couple days of the week I felt extremely sick - which is something very rare for me. In fact, I slept for 18 straight hours Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon which interesting. Terrible headache, dizziness, stomach ache and a sore throat = no fun.

Work slowed down about this week, and I ended up with about 20 hours. Payday is Monday, finally. Expecting near $700 which will be put mostly towards general cash savings, as that number has dwindled, credit card, and an IRA contribution. Other than that, not a whole lot has happened this week financially, spending or saving. I threw another $40 into my IRA, and ended up spending very little this week - under $20 in fact.

I am also hoping that my tax refund will show up in my account towards the end of the week, if not, then it should be early the following week. With that money, and my paycheck I will finally be out of the January financial glut that I was in - switching jobs (therefore missing a paycheck), paying for books, paying off credit card (Christmas gifts, trip to New York), and can continue focusing on meeting my financial savings goals.

This week will also be a killer in school - 2 exams, a paper, and a lab - followed by 2 exams, a paper, and a lab the following week. Yikes!

January Review

January was a busy month, and it flew by quickly. I began the month training at my new job, and then starting back at school for Spring Semester.

My January financial accomplishments include:
- Signed apartment lease for next year at school
- Paid off the credit card bill which was quite hefty, as it included Christmas, a trip to New York, and other expenditures.
- Finished training and have been working a full schedule as a tax preparer
- Filed 2008 taxes - due a refund of about $250
- Made a contribution to IRA (only $60, but it counts - was also paid nearly $60 in year-end dividends)
- Checked credit report through one of the bureaus
- Paid deposit on August cruise

Now, I had hoped to make more contributions to my IRA, put some money towards savings bonds, and begin saving cash for my August vacation - but the cost of heading back to school (read expensive books) and a credit card bill that was much higher than normal, I wasn't able to completely meet all of my goals. That said, when summed up, January was a solid month for meeting my financial goals.

February's goals will include: $100 to IRA, $50 Savings Bonds, pay off this month's CC, begin building up cash reserves for travel and to meet savings goals for graduation next May.

Busy week

Hard to believe an entire week has passed since I last posted, but it was a very busy one. Work is really starting to pick up, so I was there for over 25 hours this week, plus the 19 credits of school - where the work has definitely begun to pick up.

In personal finance news, I finished my taxes yesterday, and will be receiving about a $240 refund, which will be split in three ways: cruise money, IRA/Savings Bonds, and cash savings. I've signed up for it to be directly deposited into my account.

Given the amount of work I have been doing the past week and a half or so, and the fact that my training payment will be included in my upcoming paycheck, I am looking at a pretty large check Friday - which should be near $700. Not bad for a part-time job while in college. From here on out my paychecks should be right around $350-400 through the end of tax season.

I've got a bunch of schoolwork to do now, before the SUPER BOWL. Go Steelers!!

Lease Signed

Just got back from signing my apartment lease for my final year at school. I was hoping for a 9 month lease, as I know that I will not be staying in the apartment past graduation, but no luck. Hopefully I will be able to sublease over the summer.

My share of the rent will be close to $600 once we include everything (utilities, internet, cable, parking, rent, etc.) A bit cheaper than where I am at now, but here I am only locked in for the school year as the complex is owned by the university.

Finally received my W2 from my former employer, so I'd like to get my taxes taken care of pretty soon.

Today I've got to clean my room - it is a DISASTER. I've also got some school work to take care of. Other than that, I'll just be sitting around and relaxing. Friday I went to the Detroit Auto Show which was great fun, and yesterday I was stuck at work.

Needing a paycheck

It's been a few weeks since I was last paid, as I left my previous job to train at my current tax services company. Company policy states that training payment, which took place over the course of 2 weeks, is not paid until the end of the first month of work. I guess they don't want people to complete the training and then walk off and use it for themselves or elsewhere.

So that was 2 weeks without pay, and the new company pays on the opposite week as the old place, pushing back my first paycheck by a week. Needless to say, I am looking forward to my first paycheck on Friday, as I need to pay down that growing credit card bill which needs to be paid off before the 1st of February. January 31st I will receive the $320 training payment, and then things will be running consistently.

I've got some cash ($240) I've been meaning to deposit for quite awhile now, and I will use that to pay some of the credit card and also throw some into my IRA.

Still waiting on my W-2, as I'd like to file my taxes soon. I'm expecting a couple hundred dollar refund based on that last couple of year's results, and depending on when that comes, I will likely throw that into my Cruise fund.

Work has been going well, as I've begun to get the hang of everything, and I really like it so far. Business is really starting to pick up, so I expect to be pretty busy in the coming weeks.

A New Day

Whatever your political leanings, no one can deny today's historical impact as Barack Obama becomes America's 44th President. A breath of fresh air and a change of scenery can't hurt, and we can hope that everyone answers the President's call to service, kindness, and hard work. I've gotta do my part - and so do you. Let's get started...

Busy, Long Week

This first week of school was quite busy, as I started classes and started working. For the past 2 days I've been meeting with clients and preparing their taxes, and what we are finding is that many, many places of employment are behind on sending out their W-2's - which is frustrating many. I was a bit nervous sitting down with a client by myself for the first time, and I did make a couple of dumb, but easily corrected mistakes, but since then everything has run smoothly.

In other news, I checked one of my credit reports using annualcreditreport.com. Everything checked out smoothly there, and I will check on the other 2 bureaus throughout the year. At some point, I would like to pay for my credit score as well, just to see where I am.

Also, I am signing a lease for the next (and final) school year tomorrow, and the total cost comes out to: $925 for rent, $86 internet/cable, and about $100 in other utilities/fees. This will be split 2 ways, and is for a 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment. It will be nice to have my own private bathroom next year, and the living, dining, and kitchen area are quite large. My share will be about $550 a month or so, which is less than I am paying now, but I have to sign a 1-year lease at this complex, and I know that I will not be spending next summer here after graduating, so I am hoping that I will find a subleaser in due time.

For the rest of the long weekend, I've got to get going on some homework already, watching some hockey, and relaxing!

2008 Expense Wrap-up

So, today I took a few minutes to analyze my spending in 2008. Luckily, my credit union gives me very detailed expense reports, from which I can review over a year's worth of transactions. Unfortunately, my major bank does not do this. In fact, I can only retrieve 3 months of transactions, none of which are organized. For this quick analysis, it's ok, as I only use my major bank for my necessities (school related costs, gas, groceries, etc.), so there isn't much I can do about those expenses anyway, and that account is sometimes supplemented by my parents to help me through school. (I have started using an export tool so I can track this information better in 2009 and beyond)

My credit union is where my credit card is run through, and it includes all of my personal spending: travel, gifts, restaurants, entertainment, miscellaneous expenses, etc.

The breakdown is as follows:

Major Category Summary	Purchases	Amount	% of Total
Travel	14	592.90	12.72%
Restaurant	64	1,430.86	30.69%
Merchandise	23	687.43	14.75%
Automotive	20	404.31	8.67%
Education	9	604.00	12.96%
Other	34	942.17	20.21%
Totals	164	4,661.67	100.00%

Obviously, my restaurant spending makes up a huge portion of my spending. This is something I am trying to control, and I know that 2009 will be better as my girlfriend is out of the country for 5 months, and a vast majority of this spending comes from dinners with her. We both enjoy going out to eat for the food and the atmosphere, and it is tough for us to cook for each other, as she is a vegetarian and I am a meat lover. I pay for most of these meals, as evident by my spending. With her gone for awhile my restaurant spending will consist of some stops at Subway or takeout pizza with friends - which will reduce this total drastically.

Other: What does all this stuff mean? Well, it appears to be mostly entertainment. I love sports, and go to lots of games (buying the cheapest tickets and sitting in the nosebleeds of course). My girlfriend and I also enjoy going to movies (we've cut down on that quite a bit in favor of cheaper rentals), plays, musicals, concerts, etc. so those also make up a chunk of this total. For 2009, this category will remain mostly the same, although about $100 of 2008's totals include a new cell phone which shouldn't be necessary in 09, which will help this area.

The next largest category is Merchandise, which isn't the best description for these purchases, but they amount to: some groceries, some merchandise (clothes and other miscellaneous items), some iTunes charges, and a number of gifts. There isn't a ton of wiggle room in this category.

Education: Includes a few of my books, a few tickets to football/basketball/hockey games through the university (misleading of course, but hey, I'll count em as education expenses), a couple of parking tickets :( , and some standard student fees. In 2009, this should drop a bit as I likely wont have as much time for sporting events, have hopefully solved my parking issues on campus, and have been working to cut down on my book costs.

Travel: I love to travel, and hope to see all corners of this Earth before my time is up. I know that this will always be a large expense for me, and I am okay with it. My experiences, limited as they are now, are my greatest memories and I firmly believe in spending money on experiences rather than material 'things.' This total only includes hotel stays and a few bus tickets here and there from our stays in Canada, Chicago, and Mackinac Island. Travel spending amounts to much more of this, as we eat out, visit museums/touristy things, gas, etc., which helps explain higher restaurant, automotive, and entertainment expenses. This year will be more expensive, because of the cruise, and we will also try to fit in a couple of other weekend trips.

Automotive: gas, oil changes, a new window. Real fun stuff. $400 and this isn't anywhere near my total for gas, as I almost always use my other card from my major bank for my gas costs. I am held hostage to the gas prices on this one! $4 a gallon was killing me, hopefully lower gas prices are here to stay for awhile (although I generally support a high gas tax to encourage the growth of mass transit in my area). But, for the time being, there are no feasible transit options besides driving, and I do a lot of it. I drive home often, roadtrips, and my girlfriend's school is 60 miles away, so for now, it is what it is. Upon graduation next year, I intend to live and work downtown, which should massively cut this time and money consuming habit.

So, there it is, most of my spending for 2008. I will make a lot more money in 2009, and should still be able to cut some of these costs, although I imagine my total will increase a bit for the year - which is ok. I am happy as long as my saving % increases, and I am able to meet my savings goals (IRA, savings bonds, CD, stocks, and cash) which I briefly outlined in a previous post.

Wow, long post - can you tell I am ALREADY procrastinating on my school work?!?

Winter Blues Roundup

Today's high was 9 degrees, and that was before the 20 mph winds were factored in, on top of a constant, though light, snowfall. It made for a freezing 8 am walk across campus to class this morning, which I wasn't too happy about. The class routine is starting to settle in, though I still don't like the 830 am classes every day of the week :( I usually get a couple days to sleep in, though I suppose this will get me in a routine for my internship this summer, where I will have early mornings AND a long commute.

I have completed my work training, and begin doing the actual work on Friday. I am going to be busy: I received my finalized work schedule today and it means that 2 days a week I will be heading straight from class to work until 9pm, working 10 hours on Friday, and 8 on Saturday, for a total of around 30. I'm excited though, as I enjoy the work, though I am a bit nervous to meet with the first client completely on my own. I also know this work will help me prepare for my future potential career in the tax field, allow me to save a decent amount of $$ this semester, and give me something productive to do since my girlfriend is studying abroad in Africa for the next 5 months.

As for the apartment search, I am looking at one more place tomorrow, but believe that I will choose the one I looked at a couple of days ago, and may sign for it tomorrow evening, pending the final walk-through in the afternoon.

I'm looking forward to getting that first paycheck, and the training payment of $320 at the end of the month, as I have my credit card to pay off (which is high due to Christmas, books, and cruise deposit), and would like to make some contributions to my IRA now that my fund is back near it's all-time low after this week's massive stock sell-off :( Good thing I won't need this money for about 39 1/2 years, at which point I will gratefully reap the rewards of my early investing. I'd like to pump in another $500 into the IRA by April 15th, so that I can count it towards the 2008 limitations.

Classes Begin

Class began today for me, and I can tell already that it is going to be a tough semester: 6 classes and 19 credits, all upper-level courses. One of the classes concerns me, as I don't have much interest in it at all and it is a pretty difficult topic - but it is required for one of my degrees. I'll have to work hard to get through it, but I am sure I will be able to.

I also finished my training today at work, and will begin working in the next couple of days.

Still haven't bought my books yet, though I will need to tomorrow for a couple of the classes. I am waiting to see if the international edition can be used for one of my classes ($32 versus $198 for the new US version - word for word the same).

It's going to be a busy next few months...

Cruise Details

So, I paid the $200 deposit for the cruise my girlfriend and I will be taking in August. It is a four night cruise in the Bahamas making stops as 3 islands, leaving from Miami. I found what seems to be a pretty good deal through Norwegian Cruise Lines, as we are paying under $700 including taxes, for the cruise - of course I'll need a few hundred more for a couple of excursions, drinks on-board, anything we may buy on one of the islands, and the typical tipping and service fees which will be added each day. I have only been on one cruise before, a 7-day through Royal Caribbean, so I am looking forward to this.

I will owe the final payment, just under $500, at the end of June, so from here on out I will be saving money from each paycheck towards that and the extra expenditures.

We will be driving down (I've already found credible off-site parking for 1/2 the cost the cruise port charges), as the flights cost more than the cruise itself, and plan to make a couple of stops along the way and visiting some family - which will make the very long drive much more bearable, and give us a few extra days of fun. Exciting!

Apartment Search

For the past couple days a friend and I have been looking for an apartment for next school year, and because we have waited quite awhile to do so, most apartments real close to campus are taken - meaning a very long walk or bus ride to campus. We enjoyed one of the town homes we looked at, but there is a short waiting list on it, and we are required to put down $300 to be on the list - with no time line as to when we would receive notice of availability, and if we opt out, we lose the $300. It's a shame, because we really liked the place. I am going to try and see if we can negotiate the wait list fee, and will continue looking elsewhere.

I have essentially completed my training and should begin working with clients next week. Training payment is a set $320, paid if we remain with the company until the end of the month, and considering our training has only lasted about 20 hours, with a couple more hours to go, this $320 will be a better rate than the normal $10 an hour I'll be making when I start the actual work. That was pretty exciting to hear.

Money in the Mail

Checked my mail today where I received 2 checks totaling just over $200 in reimbursements for 2 interviews I attended in November. And, given the fact that the IRS nearly doubled the mileage rates in response to $4 a gallon gas, I profit quite a bit from the deal, as gas was about $1.65 here when I drove to those interviews. Was previously reimbursed for hotels, meals, and parking. Good deal!

First Day of Work

Just finished my first day of training at the tax prep place - and so far so good. I really enjoy everyone at the office, and the work seems interesting. Still a couple more days of training before I begin meeting with clients.

Dividends

Looks like I was credited $58 in dividends for my IRA mutual fund (automatically reinvested to purchase more shares). I have one of the target-date retirement funds, which means at this point the fund is quite aggressive - but surprisingly I am only down 25% in the fund. I know many others who are staring at a 50%+ loss in their retirement holdings after this colossal meltdown.

Also renewed my CD earlier this week for 13 months, at an interest rate of 2.7%, nearly half of what I had for the previous go around. Still, it looks a bit above the average for CD yields in my area based on a few internet searches.

New Beginning

Monday morning I begin training for the job I will hold throughout next semester, helping a local firm during tax season. I should be able to work about 25 hours a week, making a whopping $10 an hour. Hopefully, I will be able to sock away most of the money I make, as I don't see, at this time, too many expenses in the coming semester that won't be covered with my dedicated savings.

I see this position as a great experience and learning opportunity before heading into my summer internship, with the prospect of a full-time career offer upon completion. An added bonus is the cash I'll be able to earn. Win-win for me.

Busy semester ahead: 19 credits and 25+ work hours. Looking forward to May already :)

Books

Ugh. Just added up the total cost for my books this semester: over $700.

Looks like I need to do some searching online and see if I can find something cheaper...

2009 Goals

2009 is shaping up to be an extremely important year for me, as I will be one year from graduation, have landed my first internship with a large accounting firm, have a full plate lined up at school, and will continue working part-time throughout.

2008 was my first year truly digging into the personal finance world, and in creating a plan to follow through on.

This will be my first year with a "real" job, and the money that comes with it, at least during the summer months.

My goals for 2009 are as follows:
- IRA contributions: I plan to contribute at least $1,500 to the IRA that I started last year. Certainly nowhere near what most PF bloggers are contributing, but not a bad goal for a college kid with limited cash.
- Add $500 to my savings bonds portfolios: most people seem to be a bit averse towards regular ole savings bonds, but I have recently been purchasing a few which are currently earning over 6% interest - not bad at all in this market. I have been lucky enough to receive savings bonds from my parents and grandparents as gifts over the years, and have amassed a couple thousand dollars worth of bonds thus far.
- Save $2500 cash to add towards my graduation nest-egg, which will allow me to make the necessary initial purchases after graduation (ie settling into a new apartment, furniture, updating work wardrobe, first bills out fully on my own)
- $1500 for the cruise my girlfriend and I are planning in August. This will include the cruise and all associated costs for both of us, with a bit of wiggle room.

I would also like to be able to save a chunk of the money I make working this semester, and from my internship next semester towards next fall's semester when I plan to go back to my volunteer position I held last spring.

These sum up most of my tangible financial goals: of course I plan to continue to add to my PF knowledge, and prepare a more complete plan for post-graduation life.

The Introduction

Hello,

After many months of reading various personal finance blogs across the internet, I have decided to take the plunge and begin blogging about my money journey as well. There are some basics that you may like to know in order to understand where my thoughts and opinions are coming from: I am currently a student at a large public university in the midwest, and with graduation approaching in May 2010, I am trying to prepare myself for the beginning of my career and post-education life.

I plan to blog about my journey and will create an About Me page where you can read a few more facts about me, which may also help in understanding my posts.

I am looking forward to this journey - and hope that you find my writing entertaining and useful, and hopefully I will learn a thing or two from you as well