Getting Crafty

I am not historically known as being good at crafts. I remember doing art projects in elementary school and getting super frustrated. I would imagine an amazing picture, and then start to work. My actual picture would look very little like what I had in my mind. I would get super upset that it wasn't perfect/good, and either cry or just quit. 

It's called gifted child syndrome. If I can't make it perfect, I won't do it at all.

This extended to crafts in high school, college, and beyond. If the example looked a certain way, mine had to look that way too. It's a character flaw of mine. I am a terrible learner if I don't catch on right away. This also applies to all athletic endeavors.

Last weekend, my friends Alyssa and Shelby invited me to a crafts fair. I went to go check things out, knowing I wouldn't buy anything. Alyssa and I got to talking, and I mentioned I knew how to make one of the simple crafts (which is now a Christmas present for my family, so I can't disclose what it is.) She got excited, so off we went to Michael's to buy the supplies. We made the craft, and as we worked I apologized for the little mistakes I made. Her response: "It doesn't have to be perfect, that's part of the fun of making it yourself. People will know it's homemade."

Duh. It doesn't have to be perfect. I actually had fun making a craft. The end product was pretty decent, and they came out good enough that it inspired me to try another project this weekend. This one was also pretty simple, but I am finding it satisfying to make something myself. I am choosing simple enough ideas that I can't get too frustrated, but I'm also okay with a little imperfection. 

I'm growing here, people. And I've decided to make my family's gifts for Christmas (four women). Depending on who I get for bloggy Secret Santa, they may get something homemade as well. It's a new step for me, I think they'll actually like what I make, and it's pretty frugal as well. :) I am taking lots of pictures, so after Christmas I can post my creations.

Do you do crafts? Have you ever had a DIY Christmas?

Can't Pull the Trigger

I just went to my various accounts, trying to make myself transfer the money from my savings into my checking so that I could make a $2,500 payment to my student loan. I had both screens pulled up and ready to go.

I couldn't pull the trigger.

Maybe because I've flip-flopped on what to do. Maybe because seeing over $6,000 in my savings is so satisfying I don't want to move it. Maybe because my student loan has never bothered me all that much.

I just can't do it.

Here's a crazy idea. What if I just leave that money in my savings and build my E-fund now. As in, six month E-fund goal? Check! I have it now. I could pay my $300 payment to my loan to accelerate it a little, but put the rest of my money toward my savings. Once it's funded, I can start my house fund. Yes, I'd still have a student loan. A low-interest loan, which right now is an $81 per month commitment. Even if I got laid off, I could make that amount with unemployment benefits.

This does confirm that I need to set up my Roth payment to be automatic, or I won't want to send it all at once. That's for sure. I emailed my financial manager guy about how to do that.

So right now, that's the new plan. On a scale of 1 to 10, how annoying is my flip-flopping? Actually, don't answer that. I don't want to know.

No Spend Days in November: Week 1

Here's the update on no spend days for my first week of November.

Tuesday, November 1: No spend!
Wednesday, November 2: Met BF for a quick dinner since we hadn't seen each other all week. He closed a bunch of days in a row, so we had sushi during his half hour dinner break and we each paid for half. Spent $13
Thursday, November 3: Dinner and $5 parking at King's game. BF paid for tickets so I got dinner for both of us.
Friday, November 4: No spend! Went to happy hour, but BF paid. :) Then I came home and went to bed at 7:45. I kid you not.
Saturday, November 5: Ha! Gas ($48), groceries ($43), night out at our favorite dive bar ($46).
Sunday, November 6: Almost no spend. I made cider at home to take to an outdoor craft festival and resisted buying anything there. But then my friend and I got inspired and we went to Michael's to get craft stuff. I spent $18, but that should make a bunch of Christmas presents, so I'm okay with it. I did eat all my meals at home though!
Monday, November 7: No spend! Ate BF's pumpkin cake for breakfast, threw together a sandwich for work, BF made chili in the crock pot for dinner. Yay!

For those of you keeping score at home, that's three days so far. My goal is eleven days, so I'm on track. I definitely think this will help me save money. It stops me from spending on the little things, which is great. And even on days like yesterday, where I ended up spending, I saved money by eating at home and making my own apple cider to keep me warm at the craft fair, instead of stopping at Starbucks.

I'm also realizing that this is definitely a team effort with BF. He doesn't know about the goal...I think he won't get it and will think I'm being weird and cheap. Which sometimes I am. But, part of why I'm successful is because he cooks too. On days when I come home and don't feel like cooking, it's AWESOME to have something ready to go. He also makes a killer breakfast. I appreciate him. Even if he does want to use the heater when I think we should both just use two blankets, wear hooded sweatshirts, thick socks, and drink hot beverages (hence, he thinks I'm weird and cheap).

Crunching the Numbers

When I posted my WWDRD? post, If I Were A Wealthy Girl commented, challenging me to figure out what my payoff/savings goal dates would be if I actually applied Dave's baby steps to the letter. Meaning no extra retirement until my E-fund is taken care of, paying my student debts first, etc. I realized I didn't know. So I thought I'd do some calculating.

One caveat: I have $3,000 of loan forgiveness coming my way at the end of this school year. So if I went gazelle intense, I could pay off my student loan before that, but obviously I don't want to. So, I need to leave enough that my regular payments go through and I still have $3,000 that I owe.

Plan 1: Dave's Way

I wouldn't put the money I have set aside into my Roth or 3 month E-fund, I'd apply that to my student loan. Then, because of my loan forgiveness I would switch to E-fun until the $3,000 posts. Whenever it posts, I'd pull the money out of my 3 month E-fund to pay the balance off.
Loan Payoff: Approximately June 2012
3 Month E-fund: March 2012
6 Month E-fund: August 2012
House Fund: January 2015

Pros: I am debt-free sooner in this plan. I also have my fully-funded E-fund by the end of the school year, in case I get laid off. This is definitely the fastest plan.
Cons: No Roth contribution for 2011, or for the first half of 2012. Wipes out savings over $1,000, so if a bigger emergency comes up, that's it.

Scenario 2: My Plan

Pay $300 extra toward student loan per month. Put tax return (up to $2,300) toward student loan. Save $400 per month, with $300 going toward E-fund and $100 going toward house fund. Put $420 per month toward my Roth, starting in January. Put current savings toward 2011 Roth to max that out as well.

Student Loan: Paid off October 2012 (just in time for my 30th birthday)
3 Month E-fund: October 2012
6 Month E-fund: June 2013
House: March 2016

Pros: I invest in my Roth starting this year, and it's funded fully for 2012 as well. I get to see something going on in my house down payment fund now rather than later.
Cons: WAY Later house fund (is that even correct?!). Later on pretty much everything.

Scenario 2: My plan modified...

I don't do the 2011 Roth Contribution. I split that money between my student loan and my E-fund. I still pay $300 per month toward my loan. I save my tax return for the beginning of a wedding fund. I save $400 per month in my E-fund, until loan is paid off. When that's done put $800 toward E-fund, and when that's funded switch the money to a house down payment.

Student Loan: August 2012
3 Month E-fund: May 2012
6 Month E-fund: November 2012
House Fund: October 2015

Pros: Still get to do Roth for 2012, get three month E-fund done by the end of this school year. House fund is earlier than my original plan. I have some savings now, and can use my tax returns as the need arises.
Cons: No Roth for 2011. Later house fund than Dave's plan, but sooner than my original.

I think I'm going to go with Scenario 3. It allows for meeting some goals faster and doesn't depend on my tax return to meet my debt payoff goal. Considering BF told me, "Just get me a small Christmas present and put the money towards a wedding" (!!!) I have a feeling I'll be needing a wedding fund sooner rather than later. I also want to get my Roth going for 2012, and this plan allows for that. But, I think I'm going to sleep on it before I move any money around.

Halloween!

Every year I come up with two Halloween costumes. One for a party I go to at my friend's house, and another for work. So, without further ado, here is Halloween 2011!

For the party, I went as Marcia Brady when she got hit in the nose with a football. Freddie went as Alice, the maid. I found both our dresses at the thrift store for $5 each. I borrowed my football and used eyeshadow to make my bruised nose. I also spend $5 on nylons, since the party was outside and I didn't want to freeze in my dress. Freddie's wig was the most expensive part of his costume, but overall we got out a lot cheaper than if we had bought the pre-made costume online.

At school, I was Minnie Mouse. Freddie got me the ears and apron for my birthday at Disneyland, I bought the red shirt for $6 at Target, and I bought black face makeup to do my nose. Everything else I already had, so that was easy. The kids loved it, and it was fun to wear. This picture is at the end of the day when my nose paint had worn off, but you still get the idea.

What did you do for Halloween?

WWDRD?

That's "What Would Dave Ramsey Do?"

No, I do not follow Dave's advice to the letter. I slowly built my $1,000 emergency fund while paying off my credit card debt. I have upped my retirement and savings goals while I still have student loan debt. His definition of "gazelle-like" probably does not include getting his hair done every 8 weeks.

But I do generally follow his "Baby Steps"philosophy. And I've run into a problem.

There's no, "Save for a down payment on a house and then get a mortgage" baby step. When is that supposed to happen? Most of his stuff seems to assume people already have mortgages, and are paying them off vigourously. And I know the Davester isn't a fan of any debt, so maybe he thinks I should save for a house and pay it in cash?

Not. Going. To. Happen.

I will be debt free by this October. I'll be maxing out my Roth IRA by putting $419ish per month aside. And that should leave me with about $300 per month to put into my savings.

So, do I put all of that towards Baby Step Three: 3-6 month emergency fund? Or should some of it go toward a house down payment fund? I know it wouldn't be smart to buy a house without a fully-funded emergency fund, but I also don't want to put off buying a house until I'm a million years old.

Here's my tentative plan: with my $300 per month that I am planning to save, I am going to put $200 toward my e-fund and $100 toward my house down payment fund. Even though I'll probably leave all of it in my Summer Saver to earn interest money. But, I am going to start a spreadsheet to note what the amount in there should be split towards. That way when it dumps into my checking account in August of 2012 the decisions on what to do with it will be made.

Any other Dave Ramsey fans run into this question? Does he have an official answer on this?

November No Spend Challenge

No, I am not doing a No Spend November. That's just not happening. BUT, I am going to set a goal to have some no spend days this month.

I've always thought no spend days were a little silly. It doesn't matter when you spend the money, so your overall budget is more important. However, I noticed that I spend money on little things a lot.

A coffee from McDonalds here.

Breakfast in the school cafeteria instead of making toast and bringing yogurt.

Grabbing little supplies for my classroom here and there (folders and more pencils just last week).

It all adds up. And if I were trying to have no spend days, then I would be much more likely to forgo these little items, which in the end would add up to some savings.

So, since I am not accustomed to doing the no spend thing, I've decided to pick an arbitrary number and go with it as a goal. Because everyone knows goals should be random and meaningless.

Since November is the eleventh month, I'm going for eleven no spend days in November! I'll keep track of them on the blog, and hopefully this will help me be more disciplined in my discretionary money, and come in under budget in that category.

Anyone want to join me?