Update time

Well, in some ways being laid-off was a good thing. It gave me some time to figure out what I really want to do & how I want to structure my life. I'm very happy with my decision to work for myself. However, needing things to get off the ground very quickly caused a great deal of stress. It was hard to figure out what was going to pay off first.

I've been on unemployment all summer, also working here & there. I sold some items and have gone through much of my savings. I've made strides in developing other income streams, but the stress of the instability has made me less efficient than I'd like.

I've decided to pursue a regular part-time position to introduce some stability & structure to my plans. I don't know why it took me so long to come back to this; it was part of my plan to transition out my full-time job at the beginning of the year anyway.

Ahem

Soon after my last post I got laid-off. Ironically, while this gave me lots of things to blog about (and theoretically more time), it also ensured I had too much on my plate to actually write any blog posts.

I''ll write a longer post later to catch up. It'll cover such topics as unemployment benefits, job hunting, consulting work, part-time jobs, crisis budgeting and re-planning my financial future.

My biggest budget-buster

Food. It's always food. I'm pretty good at delaying gratification in just about every other area. But when it comes to food, I can't seem to curb my cravings. I eat out too much because, "Oh look, there's a sushi place on the way home!" or "I haven't had Chipotle in a month!" And I spend too much at the grocery store too. If I could get this one thing under control, my budget would be completely managed. It's really frustrating.

New Year's Resolutions (mine & other people's)

According to this article from Fitness.com ...

"Many people tend to make unrealistic goals when it comes to creating a New Year’s Resolution based on health and fitness. Many rush immediately to a gym to sign up, go for a few weeks, and then decide to give up. Instead of making these unreachable goals for yourself, why not start with something simpler. Here are some suggestions to creating a more manageable and achievable New Year’s Resolution."

This year (next year?), instead of doing traditional resolutions, I'm doing a 101 Things in 1001 Days list. I'll be tracking that list in a separate blog, here.

The finance related goals are:
1. Have emergency fund of $1,500
2. Get 1 full paycheck ahead in checking overdraft account
3. Consolidate credit card debt & reduce by 75%
4. Open a CD Ladder with a minimum of $500*
5. Develop a consistent fourth stream of income.

If this is for real...

I got an offer in the mail yesterday for a loan from Bank of America (holder of one of my credit cards, btw). It seems strange to me that they would offer me a loan when I aleady owe them money, but my credit union wouldn't loan me money & I don't owe them anything.

Anyway, I was thinking, I'm going to check it out. Because if it's for real, then I could consolidate my credit cards, plus get the work done one my car that it's going to take me entirely too long to save for otherwise. I could also buy a light box for the SAD, and a few simple additions to my work wardrobe. I still would rather be doing it through my credit union... or even through Wachovia. ING doesn't do loans other than mortgages, so that's out. But Bank of America? I just feel really unsure about that.

I can't believe I forgot clothes!

So the past few days I've been reviewing my budget. I've decided I don't need any major changes. But I did realize that among all my savings accounts, I'd forgotten to set money aside for clothes. Which is silly, because I've been saying I need to boost my work wardrobe for weeks, if not months. I've started it with a small bi-monthly transfer, but I'll review it more closely in a couple months.

On a related note, I just discovered www.shopittome.com thanks to this article in I Will Teach You to be Rich. So I'm hoping I can keep my clothing budget down.

I bought a couple pieces at Target this weekend, just to help stretch the days between laundry.

CD Laddering...

... or reason #92 why I love ING Direct.

http://www.mrsmicah.com/2008/09/02/how-to-easily-open-a-cd-ladder-at-ing-direct/

I just found out about this awesome concept of CD Laddering.  I won't go into a detailed explanation, because the link does a great job of that, but it's basically a way to average  the security of CDs vs. the liquidity.  

Well, I also just found out that ING Direct helps you do this automatically.  Add to that the fact that ING has no minimums for CDs and the fact that they offer more duration options than most banks, and this becomes an absolutely fantastic savings vehicle.  I'm making this my next priority after my move.