(no subject)
FYI - I'm going to start doing most of my budget stuff as 'public' posts. So all of you stalkers can see what kind of money I'm saving and such, because it's so freaking exciting, I know.
In late December, I became a member of Bank of America's Privacy Assist. I called last night because my credit score hadn't changed in the almost 2 months of the service (one month in which I actually paid the $5.99 for). Well, apparently, you only get your credit score every 90 days and mine isn't due till around the end of March. This means my credit score (simply from Equifax) comes out to $18 a hit. I think I'm going to cancel my service with them and just buy them seperately from the local bureas. Thankfully, I only paid $5.99 so far for my credit score when I signed up (because the first month is free).
My credit score as of 12/31/07 is 649.
I'd like to get it up to at least 700 by the end of the year (totally doable I think).
I have not been saving as much as I'd like because, well, because I suck.
From March 2007, I've saved $4,500 in my ING accounts, saved $400 in my credit union savings account and put $2500 into my retirement account. Considering I make just around 35k a year (gross), I don't think it's too bad, though I don't have rent and food to pay for yet.
I have accumulated no interest on any of my credit cards (I have 2) and pay them off every month (and I few times in the middle to keep my used/total debt available ratio low).
In June, my secured visa with Bank of America gets transfered to a regular one (hooray!), and in March/April, my capital one credit line gets increased to $750.
The plan is to move in with my boyfriend in June. The expected rent for both of us will be around $1400, or $700 each. I'll have much more expenses a month than I usually do since at the present time, I do not pay rent (live with parents). I'd like to save an additional $3000 before June (at the present time, I save $500 a month out of my take home $1600 - after 403B, health insurance, flexible spending, etc)
So, that involves saving an extra $250 a month. I think that's doable.
My goals for 2008:
- Raise credit score to over 700
- Have 10,000 in ING savings (almost halfway there!)
- Maintain credit union account as emergency funds (by the end of the year, there will be $2600 in there - I put $100 in a pay and we get paid every other week)
Anticipated expenses include:
- Graduate school - I want to take a 6 credit class this summer and 6 credits in the fall (that's $4000 - my work covers $3000 a year after the class ends - thankfully they have a payment plan)
- Dental surgery to remove wisdom teeth (I don't have a quote yet or how much insurance will cover)
- Medication/doctor's visits (should be mostly covered by flexible spending, I elected $600 for 2008 - though I've used $300 already, mostly for dental work)
- cell phone ($50-60 a month), insurance ($110 a month), gas (way too much, nearly $100 a month), moving expenses, food (will probably be $50-$100 a month split), entertainment (hopefully not too much!), our vacation in May to Georgia is already covered, cable/internet, electricity in new apt, gas is covered in new apt, security deposit
Bah, just a rough estimate puts me at $1816 out of $1600 a month w/o dental work/medical expenses. Let's hope I get the raise I asked for!
In late December, I became a member of Bank of America's Privacy Assist. I called last night because my credit score hadn't changed in the almost 2 months of the service (one month in which I actually paid the $5.99 for). Well, apparently, you only get your credit score every 90 days and mine isn't due till around the end of March. This means my credit score (simply from Equifax) comes out to $18 a hit. I think I'm going to cancel my service with them and just buy them seperately from the local bureas. Thankfully, I only paid $5.99 so far for my credit score when I signed up (because the first month is free).
My credit score as of 12/31/07 is 649.
I'd like to get it up to at least 700 by the end of the year (totally doable I think).
I have not been saving as much as I'd like because, well, because I suck.
From March 2007, I've saved $4,500 in my ING accounts, saved $400 in my credit union savings account and put $2500 into my retirement account. Considering I make just around 35k a year (gross), I don't think it's too bad, though I don't have rent and food to pay for yet.
I have accumulated no interest on any of my credit cards (I have 2) and pay them off every month (and I few times in the middle to keep my used/total debt available ratio low).
In June, my secured visa with Bank of America gets transfered to a regular one (hooray!), and in March/April, my capital one credit line gets increased to $750.
The plan is to move in with my boyfriend in June. The expected rent for both of us will be around $1400, or $700 each. I'll have much more expenses a month than I usually do since at the present time, I do not pay rent (live with parents). I'd like to save an additional $3000 before June (at the present time, I save $500 a month out of my take home $1600 - after 403B, health insurance, flexible spending, etc)
So, that involves saving an extra $250 a month. I think that's doable.
My goals for 2008:
- Raise credit score to over 700
- Have 10,000 in ING savings (almost halfway there!)
- Maintain credit union account as emergency funds (by the end of the year, there will be $2600 in there - I put $100 in a pay and we get paid every other week)
Anticipated expenses include:
- Graduate school - I want to take a 6 credit class this summer and 6 credits in the fall (that's $4000 - my work covers $3000 a year after the class ends - thankfully they have a payment plan)
- Dental surgery to remove wisdom teeth (I don't have a quote yet or how much insurance will cover)
- Medication/doctor's visits (should be mostly covered by flexible spending, I elected $600 for 2008 - though I've used $300 already, mostly for dental work)
- cell phone ($50-60 a month), insurance ($110 a month), gas (way too much, nearly $100 a month), moving expenses, food (will probably be $50-$100 a month split), entertainment (hopefully not too much!), our vacation in May to Georgia is already covered, cable/internet, electricity in new apt, gas is covered in new apt, security deposit
Bah, just a rough estimate puts me at $1816 out of $1600 a month w/o dental work/medical expenses. Let's hope I get the raise I asked for!