Give Me Back My Five Bucks

I spent last night and some of this evening researching apartment prices in the area of Vancouver that I want to live in. Luckily, this area is a lot cheaper than most, but it's still pretty expensive considering I've been paying $150 rent for the past two years. The average 1 bedroom basement suite is going to run me around $650 including all utilities. Pretty cheap if I do say so myself ... so I'm kind of glad that this job isn't located in downtown Vancouver, otherwise that rent would easily double. And yes, I could save more money and have a roommate, but at this point in my life (I'm already 25 and have done the roommate thing many times before), I think I want to have my own space. If I find it's too much of a burden on my budget, then I will definitely try to find a cheaper place with a roommate. But for now, the plan is to live on my own.

This evening, I also constructed a loose budget based on my projected $40,000 income from the FT job for 2008. Provided I pass the probationary period, my salary will be bumped up (it's written in my offer letter) to the low-mid $40's. But I'm not going to count on that, so I've based my goals on what I'll be making at the present time.

• Projected monthly income (after taxes) from FT job: $2,200

• Rent & all utilities: $700 (added in some wiggle room in case some places don't come with internet/cable, or if there aren't laundry facilities.)
  
• Cell phone: $40 (usually around $30, but added in a bit for LD charges, since I'll be calling home every so often to chat.)
  
• Gas & public transportation: $50 (I would anticipate about $5/week for gas, and the rest would be bus/Skytrain expenses. Ideally, I would like to live close enough to work so that I could walk there ... but Vancouver is such a huge city, I doubt that will happen.)
  
• Groceries: $150
  
• Entertainment: $100 (I have a feeling this might be too low, since Vancouver is one expensive city ... but I'll try it out and see what happens.)
  
• Miscellaneous: $80
• Travel: $80
  

Have I missed anything?

If I haven't, that means I would be able to save $1,000 per month. Plus, I do plan on getting a second PT job - and if I only work 8-12 hrs/week (could be less, depending on wage), I could bring home an extra $400-500 per month, which I would save. If I find I can work more than that, then so be it ... but if it at all interferes with my FT job or I'm finding it too stressful, I'll scale back the hours. There is no way I'm going back to working as much as I was working last summer. That was just crazy. And I'm living in a new city! I want to have fun and take time out for myself. It's important to lead a balanced lifestyle.

So that means, potentially, I could save $12,000 (FT job) + $5,000 (PT job) + $4,500 (2007 tax refund) = $21,500 ... and if I end up saving $21k+, that would exceed the amount of $18k I set for myself when I made up my 2008 Annual Goals a few weeks ago based on an annual salary of $50k.

I must be missing something out of the budget.

Well, I hope everyone had a safe and wonderful Christmas. :) I'm off to Vancouver from December 28-January 1 to visit J, so I won't be able to update my blog while I'm away. I'm really excited for this coming long weekend.

In the meantime, I've thought long and hard about my 2008 PF goals, and I think I've finally settled on appropriate ones for the lifestyle I hope to lead, and the goals I hope to accomplish in the next 365 days.

2008 PF Goals:

• Grow my Retirement Portfolio to $22k invested (current: $16k invested)
  
• $3-5k in Emergency Fund (current: approx $2k and declining)
• $3k in Travel Fund (current: approx $600 and declining)
• $10k in Condo Down Payment Fund (current: not enough to even mention)

These goals are all based on me making around $50k (FT job plus a PT job), plus about a $4k tax return (I plan on putting the entire tax return towards my Condo Down Payment Fund). That means in 2008, if all goes according to plan and I hit my targets, I will be saving around $18k (depending on how much I need to put back into the EF and Travel Fund), which would be 36% of my gross income. Is that unrealistic?

This is all based on the fact that I actually get a job somewhere soon ... if not, and I end up unemployed for another month or two, then these goals will have to be revisited and probably revised. Also, chances are that I will be moving to Vancouver, so the cost of living is slightly higher than this city ... and since this will be my first time post-college that I will have to pay "real" rent and everything (I've been living in my parents' basement suite for the past 1.5 years, paying minimal rent), this year is definitely going to test everything that I've learned about personal finance, budget management, and how to stretch my dollar.

So, bring in 2008!!!

Wow, 2007 - what a year! So much change has happened in my life, and I feel like a completely different person going into 2008. It's a good feeling, and even though my life isn't exactly perfect at the moment, I'm optimistic that 2008 is going to be a really positive year.

During the holidays, I really like to reflect on the past year ... what went right, and what I could have done better. Since this is my first holiday season with a blog, I figured I'd reflect on my personal finance goals, milestones and setbacks.

2007

• February 25 - this blog was born!

• April 13 - killed the student loan debt, exactly 1 year after graduating college.

• May 11 - I BECAME DEBT-FREE!!! :)

• May 31 - created my own look and feel for GMBMFB (including the new header and important tab linking at the top) - do you still like it? Does it need updating?
  

• July 16 - gained full-time permanent employment with a salary of $50,500. This would mark the beginning of the 3-months of 2007 where I worked 2 full time jobs at the same time (I was already working through a 1-year contract set to end in November).

• July 29 - Ryan Adams concert in Vancouver. Greatest.Concert.EVER.

• August (basically the entire month) - saw my investments plummet and started to re-think my strategy. I re-adjusted my portfolio, took my money out of the risky funds I was investing in, and slapped them into Money Market and T-Bill accounts since I planned on using the money in the short-term to help pay for a down payment.

• September 21 - the Canadian $ goes above-par! Canucks everywhere stampede across the border to shop. Including me. :)

• October 3 - I got let go from the new job I started on July 16th. At first, I was under the impression it was because I wasn't a good employee. But as I found out more and more, I was shocked to realize I was one of the highest-paid people in the entire company, and I was let go due to internal restructuring and the need for 2 employees to do my job ... they couldn't afford to keep me and my high salary as well as hire someone else ... so they got rid of me in order to hire 2 people for essentially a little more than I was making. It was a really hard time in my life, because I've never been let go before ... but I understand that it was a business move that would affect their bottom-dollar. I would have fired myself too if I realized I could hire 2 people for practically the same salary that I was making. Still, since I was within my 3-month probation period, I didn't get any warning ... and I'm still feeling the effects of that job loss today because I'm still on the job hunt. Thankfully, I was still working FT hours at my other job, which didn't end until late November.

• October (there wasn't an actual date) - I broke up with the ex-BF. Like I've said before, it was a long time coming ... and it's been hard because I know he still reads this blog, and he still writes in his own blog. But I told myself that if I were to let anyone in my real life read this blog, I wasn't going to let it affect what I write about (so far, the ex-BF is the only one who I know is reading it). So I'm still writing as if nobody I know is reading it, and that's how it's going to stay.
  

• November 23 - fully funded the EF in anticipation for unemployment

• December 1 - started dating J. He's not from this city, so unfortunately I really only get to see him during the weekends. Travel to the mainland (and getting around by transit/Grayline) costs about $50 for each weekend, so it's not bad ... but I can't really be more frugal about my travel costs unless I just don't see him. Which really isn't an option. He doesn't live too far from Vancouver, so if I end up getting a job on the mainland, my transit costs will go down significantly. :) Not that that's a reason why I'd get a job in Vancouver. I would never make a life decision like that based on someone I've just met.
  

And that basically brings me to where I am today. I'm really excited for 2008. There are so many things to look forward to, and I know this whole job situation will work itself out. I'm feeling really good about my 2nd interview with the job in Vancouver that will happen in early January, and I've put my resume out there to a lot of really cool organizations. I'm not worried at all.

I AM DEBT-FREE!!!

My hands are shaking right now as I type this. I can't believe I've finally rid myself of the financial baggage and stress I've carried for so long!!! Goodbye student loans! Goodbye stupid line of credit! You're all dead to me now!

Starting this blog was one of the best decisions I've ever made, because it made me accountable for my spending habits. So thank you all for your support! :) You might notice that I've updated the sidebar today as well. I rolled my LOC and Student Loans into one category called "My Debt" to save space. I also put July 14th, 2006 as the starting date, because that's when I made my first payment towards my debt. I put $100 into my EF, $100 into the condo down payment fund, and $50 towards my RRSPs.

Ahhhh!! I'm practically bouncing off the walls with excitement. Time to get out of the house and celebrate! Well, seeing as it isn't even 8am yet, maybe I should wait. :)

Well, I updated my NetworthIQ to reflect the true value of my scooter. It's kind of depressing that such an insignificant drop in value can affect my overall networth so much. Oh well. I've been updating my NetworthIQ bi-weekly whenever I update the sidebars on this blog, just so everything stays the same, and there aren't any discrepancies. I'm also really happy that I've got a positive networth! It was one of my goals for 2007. I really like how NetworthIQ works. It's so user-friendly, and it's cool to be able to track my progress. I also like snooping around and checking to see how much money everyone else has too. :)

That little bit of student loan debt has been driving me INSANE. So to stop me from going crazy, here's what I propose to do over the next 2 weeks:

I currently owe approximately $2,700.

• This Friday is pay day, so I'll pay $1,000.
  
• I'll throw in my entire tax refund of $1,300.
• April 13th pay day, I'll pay the balance off of around $400!!!

So that means it will have taken me one year to get rid of that dumb student loan debt. One year on the dot, as a matter of fact. The seemingly unbelievable goal will be obtained! I can't believe it! WAHOO!!!

I will now be completely debt-free by the end of May! :)

I decided to start this blog for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I want to clearly outline my financial goals, and write about my failures and (hopefully) my successes along the way. I got really inspired by reading other financial blogs (listed on the sidebar of this blog), and seeing that I'm not the only one who's made mistakes in the past. For me, it's good to have my financial profile out in the public - no more secrets. It makes me feel good that I'm actively working to change my way of life.

Investing is very important to me. It is something that I can directly control, and at my age, it's about time I start to look towards the future. The funny thing is, this time last year, I never even thought about retirement, but now that I know better, I don't want to be scrambling at 40 to try and save for retirement when I can start building my nest egg now, and earn interest on my investments. A big key for me to achieve financial independence is to buy property, which is my next big step in life. I would like to achieve this goal before I'm 26.

My financial profile:

• I have approximately $3,600 in student loan debt (original SL debt was just over $14,000 when I graduated in April 2006)
• I have no credit card debt (just finished paying off my maxed out Visa)
• I have $3,152 owing on my personal line of credit (and worth every penny)
• I have approximately $1,000 in a registered RSP Mutual Fund
• I have approximately $125 in a non-registered Mutual Fund
• I have approximately $335 in a high-interest savings account
• I have limited-moderate investment knowledge

Read my financial goals for 2007

Short-Term Goals (1-2 years):

• Get out of debt - achieved as of May 11th, 2007! I'm officially debt free for the first time in over 5 years. It's a great feeling. It's my life goal to never be in debt again, aside from carrying a mortgage. I know it probably won't be attainable because I do want to purchase a new car in the next 2 or 3 years (once I get a suitable down payment ready), and I also want to go back to school. Tuition will run me $13,000.

• Find full-time permanent employment - achieved as of January 21st, 2008! I moved from the island to Vancouver to take on an amazing job with a not-for-profit organization. I had to take about a $8k pay decrease, but I know in time I'll be back up to where I want to be salary-wise.
  

• Establish self-employed graphic design business for a return of $5,000-$10,000 annually - Well, I think this goal was a bit optimistic for my first year of my side business. So far, I have earned zero in revenue, but I have prospective clients established. I have also finished designing my company website, and when my position is up at my full-time job, my boss is looking to hire me on as a contractor to do a lot of the graphic design work.

• Create a positive net worth - achieved as of April 2007! You can check out my networth here.

• See an 8-10% return on my investments - so far, my mutual funds are returning around 9%, but because of the MER, I'm actually only seeing about 7%. Just recently, I took control of my non-registered account and will be managing it myself. Since taking over the account, I've seen a better rate of return than before ... but I'm not sure if that's due to my savvy investment skills, or just because the market is hot right now. :)

Mid-Term Goals (2-5 years)

• Save money for a down payment for a condo/townhouse - Ideally I'd like to have $40,000 (plus closing costs) saved up ... which would probably amount to the 20% down payment needed, but I'm willing to pay the mortgage insurance if I found the right place.

• Get my B.A. in Communication Studies from Athabasca University - I know how important it is to have a degree, so I'm going to try and achieve this before I'm 30. This will all be done through distance education courses so I can continue to work full-time and further my career.

• Have $30,000 in my RRSP by the time I'm 30 - As of right now, I have just over $16k in my RRSPs and I'm 25.
  

• Set up an Emergency Fund of $3,000-5,000 - Barring any major disasters, I believe I can have this funded to at least $3k by the fall of 2008.

• Set up five 5-year escalator GICs - I would love to invest $1,000/year for five years in Outlook Financial's 5-year GICs, so that a GIC would mature every year. The rate of return is great for their GICs, with the first year starting at 4.30% and going up to 7% for the 5th year. That would only mean I'd need to save $1,000 every year, so this goal is definitely attainable. My investments don't necessarily need to be at Outlook Financial, it's just that their rates are the best available at the moment.

Long-Term Goals (5+ years)

• Set up an Emergency fund of $15,000 - This would equal 6-8 months of expenses, depending on the amount of my mortgage, if I have car payments, where I'm living, etc.

• Have $100,000 in my investment portfolio by the time I'm 40 - I have yet to really figure out how I'm going to do this, but one of my life goals is to retire before I'm 60. Ideally at 57. Maybe I should make it a goal to win the lottery.