Ceejay74's Personal Finance Blog

Spent some money on prepaid stuff: I bought another 1000 minutes, and AS's phone is nearly dead, so I bought her a new one Our spending so far:

CJ 1000 minutes late-March T-Mobile fillup: $107.78
NT 300 minutes late-March Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 300 minutes late-May Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 500 minutes + new phone late June: $21.56
AS 1000 minutes late-August fillup: $107.78
CJ 1000 minutes late-September fillup: $107.78
AS new phone + $25 phone card (200 min?): $32.32

Total cost for the year: $442.86

We're nearing the end of the sixth month of our cellphone "fiscal year," so our average monthly cost for this year is $73.81. Still better than the average $85 we would spend on a family plan!

RECAP: I switched to prepaid in late March 2009. We have 2 phones on T-Mobile prepaid and 1 on Net10 prepaid. AS and I refill in 1000-minute increments and only need to refill when we run out or when it's been a year since our last fillup to stay active. NT needs to buy 300 more minutes every 60 days to keep his phone activated.

Our cellphone bill, for three phones on a family plan, used to range from $80-$95, depending on texts, calls to 411, etc. Usually it was close to $85. My goal for this year is to get my average cost to $50 per month, but any average number below $85 will be a savings.

First off, thanks so much for celebrating my $100K milestone with me!

We had a nice weekend all to ourselves, which was perfect after my awful week at work. We were talking today about when AS hopefully has a baby; how we're going to try and take some parental leave with her. NT is fairly sure his job will let him take leave; they're a smaller place and all very supportive of our family, so I think it's possible, though not guaranteed. My job? I think it'd be a harder sell, since I'm not going to be biologically involved or anything. But I'm thinking I could take sick leave for the first week or two. Wondering how I could approach my HR or supervisor about it. Most people know, sort of, about my relationship, but we're part of a much bigger company that's owned by an even bigger holding company, and lately they've been into trying to squeeze us for every drop of work they can get out of us...anyway, I still think I should be able to take sick leave, which I never use, as family health time or something. And as I told NT and AS, if they won't work with me, they might have a date with Mr. Letter of Resignation. They're really not offering me much these days, so it wouldn't take much to push me over the line...

Whoops, didn't mean to do that. Just changed the post title a bit to warn you. ;-) All I was going to write about was that we've been making AA's food from scratch. We're doing it mainly because it seems like the optimal healthy choice, but it also seems to be much cheaper. $2 worth of organic veggies can make nearly a week's worth of food, versus the prepared baby food that's like 60 cents for a tiny jar (more if you go organic).

It's pretty easy and kind of fun. I just cook the veggies or fruit in water until soft, puree with some of the cooking liquid in our Vitamix blender, and strain it through a sieve into a Tupperware. I did keep it for up to a week at first, but then I read that you should only keep baby food for up to 3 days. So now, if I think it's going to last more than that, I spoon it into an ice cube tray, pry the cubes out the next day, and store them in plastic baggies, pulling out a few cubes the night before for the next day's food.

We found out the daycare lady's been giving her regular baby food, which is fine except you're supposed to introduce new ingredients 4 days apart, and now I have no idea if that was happening. LOL, oh well. Someone else warned me that these experienced older daycare providers sometimes "go rogue" so I wasn't exactly surprised or upset. It made me feel better, actually, because sometimes I'd only go a couple days before introducing a new food and I'd feel all guilty, but I won't worry anymore. Anyway, we told her we'd bring homemade food for AA most days. It's gonna be a bigger deal when she's old enough for meat, because we want to keep her vegetarian except for fish! But we'll cross that bridge later.

It's been really fun introducing new foods. AA likes most of it; so far she's been iffy on green beans and potato (though it may have been the texture); rejected banana, avocado and butternut squash; and really liked sweet potato, peas and carrots. Oh, and she LOVES pears, apples and plums!

Tonight I made carrot puree (with a small potato blended in) and added some powdered ginger (her first spice!) to take to daycare. Should last her 3 days. She's got veggie medley (pea-carrot-sweet potato-potato) and plums defrosting for dinner.

If you have a good blender already, it's a really cost-conscious choice, and pretty healthy too!

My records aren't perfect from 2007, when we started straightening our financial life out. I'm not sure how much debt we began with at our lowest point. One of the calculations I've made estimates that our biggest total debt number sometime back in 2007 was $460,698.

You may notice that our balance under the September Debt Repayment Goal headline is now $360,635.

I've been waiting for this moment for a long time.

Ugh, ugh, ugh. Work hell continues. I made this payment days ago but haven't had the time or energy to blog about it.

I paid some extra toward my credit card debt. $350 straight to principal, making it $1241 down, $1259 to go. Almost halfway there on the September debt goal!

Total credit card debt is down to $3310!

Yesterday was a furlough for my company; well, I had to work part of it because our biggest client doesn't know we had furloughs. But I worked 4 hours at home and kept AA home from daycare, then dropped by AS's job so her co-workers could see the baby. So it was kind of fun. And I get another half-day (also unpaid) next week since I am required to take 8 hours off unpaid.

AA's been doing great. Our daycare lady says we don't really know what it's like to have an infant, she's so good and easy. She hardly sleeps at all during the day, which is weird, and she sleeps about 10 hours a night, straight through, which is equally strange.

Today we went yardsaling with a friend who was kind enough to drive us all around. AA had a great time! She spent a lot of the time in the car with one person keeping her company, but we brought her out with us a couple of times and she was very excited, grinning at everything and everyone.

I didn't keep track of everyone's spending since we used our own cash. I spent $10 on 4 DVDs, $4 on 6 books, $3 on a framed picture for AA's room, $3 on a beautiful big wooden abacus for her, 50 cents on a magnetic board with numbers and letters for her, $1 for a shirt for me, 25 cents for a stuffed toy, 50 cents for a sundress that's way too big for her (but it was so cute! maybe next summer...), and I think that's all. Oh, and I got a free book and a free cheesy framed picture of a pegasus with a ballerina for my friend who loves kitsch and unicorns. So less than $25. NT got some LPs that he thinks he can sell on eBay for a profit (got them from a collector/dealer, so we don't feel guilty about trying to "flip" them )

NT listed a bunch of his own plus the new records on eBay, so it reminded me to list some vintage dresses I've had hanging in my closet for 20 years. I listed them for really low, so either a bidding war will bring the price up or someone will get a fantastic bargain on some pretty clothes. Either way it's a win. I ended up only listing 2 of the 3, because AS said she could adjust the other one to fit me better. It's pretty cute and I could always use another dress.

Now we're watching one of the DVDs I bought: Beowulf & Grendel with Gerard Butler. So far cheezy and enjoyable. But I'd better go so I don't lose track of the plot!

So we once again took out a bit too much in loans for NT's college semester, so they sent us a $1869 refund. I'm putting it toward one of AS's student loans that has a very similar interest rate and is already in repayment, so that'll go a long way toward paying it off faster and getting that payment off our budget before NT's start coming due in a couple years.

Now AS's loan becomes another one of my big-picture goals that will have an asterisk next to it in the record books. Because I'm anal that way. Her loan, which I want to pay off by 12/2011, is suddenly going from $11,358 to $9,489! But NT's loans are going up by the same amount, so it doesn't change our overall debt picture. I think it's a smart (or at least not stupid) move though.

Today I did a bunch of bill-paying and housecleaning. One of the letters I opened was from my mortgage company, I presumed to tell me my ARM was going up. I was pleasantly surprised to see it's dropping for the second year in a row. New rate beginning 11/1: 3.5%! Our payment will be going down by $34.33 and we'll be paying a bit more in principal each month.

Anyway, now a bit of bad news: I missed my August debt-repayment goal. First one yet! I wanted to pay off $2000 but only paid $1872, so I was $128 short.

That's OK, I'm just setting my September goal even higher. This month I want to pay off at least $2500 of debt.

And, I've already made some progress:
AS student loan $59
My CC $80
US mortgage $384
UK mtg #1 $257
UK mtg #2 $54
UK mtg #3 $57

All told, that's $891 down, $1609 to go on my September goal.

Oh noes! I think I got my credit card bill too late to pay it in the month of August. This may be the first month that I don't reach my debt-repayment goal since I started this journey.

I blame my job; it's so hectic and overwhelming that I haven't been able to sit down with my payment schedule and really see that I'd need to make an extra payment early in order to meet my goal. I mean, little AA does take some time and energy, but she's such an easy baby that I don't think I'd be having any trouble if my job were normal again. She's in bed by 9:30 and sleeps through the night, but I'm equally exhausted and seldom get anything done, and then at work I don't even get breaks of more than 5 minutes to heat up some food or vent my frustration on Facebook! LOL. I even proofread while I'm pumping, and I've had to start supplementing with formula because I seldom get to pump as frequently as I should, so my milk supply is decreasing.

Ugh. Whatever. Anyway, one of AS's student loan payments hit; $119 to principal, so that's $1872 down, $128 to go on the August goal. I may have one more student loan payment to record on Monday, but my CC payment will be going out Monday, so it won't hit until Tuesday or Wednesday. I checked to see if I could make some sort of instant payment, but I couldn't figure it out. Darn.

I feel like I'm in the same boat with a few of you who seem to be leaking more money than usual this summer.

We had a party a couple weeks ago. It actually wasn't that expensive. We made our own food (tons of it) and bought some wine and beer, but other people brought wine and beer too, as we knew they would. We probably spent about $30 or $40 for alcohol and $20 or $30 for food ingredients (total guess).

We've also had a couple of babysitters this summer, at $40 a pop. I was just kind of cashflowing it in the budget, but we can't keep doing that, so the next one we're going to have to pay for with our spending money.

We rented a car and spent last weekend at some friends' vacation. With gas and insurance, less than $200.

Then AS needed money put aside for her dreadlock maintenance: $120. She only gets it about once a year, so it's not that big a deal. Besides, we're paying for it with freelance income of hers, which she typically just donates to the common good. She deserves to use some of it for herself once in a while. I also bought 3 dresses for her with part of the money, because I knew she needed dresses and would never get around to getting them for herself: about $80 total.

NT also wanted us to donate to Pakistan flood relief, so we sent $100 to UNICEF.

On the other side of the equation, I have a furlough day coming up, but NT's job has started paying OT because they can't afford to give him comp time anymore (plus I think it's illegal for an hourly employee...though he didn't mind getting time off instead of money). And AS has been getting some freelance work as well. So we're doing OK on the income side despite my stupid job. (I'm kind of over my job right now, because since my boss left I have twice the work with absolutely no reward. Add in the furloughs, the fact I haven't had a raise in three years, and the ever-rising cost of my health insurance plans, and I'm really getting diminishing returns for harder and more intense work. Bleh.)

I think that's about it...we're pretty behind in our grocery budget (meaning I keep taking money from the next month's line item to pay for this month's) but I think that'll be pretty easy to rectify this winter. We've been buying tons of fresh greens and fruits and lots of ice cream; winter comfort-food meals are actually a lot cheaper than summery cooking for us.

Assets:
NT's UK pensions:
#1: 12,663 pounds ($25,326)
#2: 14,721 pounds ($29,442)
#3: 3,709 pounds ($7,418)
NT's 401(k): $9,397
AS's 403(b): $3,300
AS's IRA: $1,682
AS's 401(k): $741
CJ's 401(k): $31,772
NT's flat: 130,000 pounds ($260,000)
CJ & AS's condo: $160,000
Baby/emergency fund (shared asset): $8,532
---
Total Assets: $537,610

Total Debt: $361,995

Current Estimated Net Worth: $175,615

July 2010 estimate: $173,902

Change in net worth: +$1,713

Summary: My 401(k) lost a few hundred bucks, but we paid off enough debt to still see a small gain in net worth. Nothing like when NT discovers forgotten pension plans, though!

AS and I hit an exciting milestone: positive combined net worth. Our finances have been tied together since she was 18 and I was 23, so I kind of consider them to still be combined. Well, my net worth hit $24,612 and hers is negative $24,547, so together we're at positive $65! Woo hoo, we're not dragging NT's down anymore. It's all uphill from here, I hope!

I will update my "Individual Net Worth" page shortly so you can see how it breaks out.

Notes on the numbers above: House value estimates are fairly conservative. I don't have a way to check NT's UK pensions or flat value, so their values stay static for the purpose of this update (unless I happen to get some info by chance). UK asset values and debt amounts are calculated figuring $2 for every British pound, which was the exchange rate when I started keeping track. I maintain that ratio for the purpose of tracking progress, even though the exchange rate is now closer to $1.60 per British pound.

I did manage to make an extra principal payment to my credit card: $925 to principal. So $1753 down, $247 to go on the August goal. It also brings my credit card balance (and thus our total credit-card debt) down to $3740! We seem to be on track to pay this off by the end of the year as planned.

It's already time to calculate net worth again, which I'll try to do tomorrow. This payment will give that a nice boost.

Work and social life are still crazy, so I've barely had time to do the bare minimum for both my financial planning and this blog. Hopefully things will calm down in the fall!

Time for an ever-exciting prepaid cost update! I just bought AS 1000 more minutes. Our spending so far:

CJ 1000 minutes late-March T-Mobile fillup: $107.78
NT 300 minutes late-March Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 300 minutes late-May Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 500 minutes + new phone late June: $21.56
AS 1000 minutes late-August fillup: $107.78
Total cost for the year: $302.76

This is the end of the fifth month of our cellphone "fiscal year," so our average monthly cost for this year is $60.55. Not too shabby so far!

RECAP: I switched to prepaid in late March 2009. We have 2 phones on T-Mobile prepaid and 1 on Net10 prepaid. AS and I refill in 1000-minute increments and only need to refill when we run out or when it's been a year since our last fillup to stay active. NT needs to buy 300 more minutes every 60 days to keep his phone activated.

Our cellphone bill, for three phones on a family plan, used to range from $80-$95, depending on texts, calls to 411, etc. Usually it was close to $85. My goal for this year is to get my average cost to $50 per month, but any average number below $85 will be a savings.

One of AS's student loan payments hit, with $79 going to principal. That's $828 down, $1172 to go.

I'm hoping I'm at a good place to put a large extra payment to my credit card debt soon, but I've been so busy at work -- and so drained once I get home -- that I haven't been able to pay much attention to my finances. NT got some overtime pay, so I think it'll be OK, but I'll have to sit down and really take a look at the next couple weeks.

Overall, I need to make sure I'm on track to pay off my last credit card by the end of the year. It's been a fun summer, and there's more spendy fun to come, but I can't lose sight of my big goals for the year!

Wowee, it's never been this long past the first of the month before I was able to post our mortgage payments! Work is still crazy and I never seem to have the time or energy at home. I still read most people's entries but rarely comment, because I'm always trying to catch up on old ones.

Anyway, luckily my bills are all on autopilot. I even figured out a way to automate my checks to the daycare lady. So my mortgage payments hit, of course:
US: $383
UK#1: $256
UK#2: $54
UK#3: $56

So all told, $749 down, $1251 to go on the August debt goal.

I also put $100 into the medical fund (which is sort of like my emergency fund, except it's more likely to be spent someday) and saved some more UK money for the England trip (which is coming up -- just nine weeks away!)

I know it will probably disappear in a couple hours, but I'm posting some baby pics anyway. Maybe I'll try BA's technique if the old way doesn't work...

I surpassed my July debt repayment goal of $1100, putting $1,352 toward principal. I got our total debt down to $363,748.

For August, I'm going to go out on a limb and try to pay off $2,000 of debt. We'll pay nearly $1100 with just our minimum payments. I have what looks like a $1250 surplus in the August budget, so I'm going to try and put at least $900 of that toward my credit-card debt. It feels a little risky to say that, since we keep having unexpected expenses. But there's also a chance AS will get some freelance money in August, so on the other hand I might be able to pay even more than $2,000 this month.

My credit card payment and another of AS's student loan payments hit: $79 and $59 to principal, respectively, bringing July debt repayment to $1352.

Our $1800 balcony screen was installed yesterday. We did it mainly for little AA and her eventual friends, so we'd feel better about kids being on the 18th-floor balcony. (There's a railing, but psychologically...it's still a little nerve-wracking to take AA out there.) But it's also for our cat Noodles, because he likes being on the balcony but I've always been terrified he would forget where he was and leap for a bird or bug, and fall off the balcony. Also, when he was out there we had to keep either the screen or the door closed to keep bugs out, and he hates closed doors. Now, when it's nice enough to have the AC off, we can keep the door open, so he can come and go freely.

I was afraid it would make our small balcony seem cramped, but instead it's made it seem like another little room, rather than a small ledge. Very cozy and not cramped at all! AS and NT love it too. So, money well spent.

I've hardly gotten a chance to post all month, and suddenly, twice in one day! Work is a bit more manageable today than it has been since my boss left and I took over many of her responsibilities (in addition to keeping my own).

One of AS's student loan payments went through: $119 to principal, which means we exceeded our $1100 goal by $114! Our new balance is $363,886. We may have one or two more payments come in just under the wire to qualify as July progress, too.

Another blow to our budget surplus: NT's student loan semiannual interest payment, which I expected to be $400 or so, was $622. I keep forgetting to factor in the additional loan money we take out each semester! It's OK, but too many more hits and I may be regretting the fast and loose spending of this summer. Not yet though!

It's been a while since I posted a baby pic. This was taken last night; we have a rooftop pool on our condo and this is the second time we've taken AA into the water. We take her there after sunset so there's no danger of burning; the pool water is slightly heated so it's not too cool. She quite likes it, I think! Very quiet and observant, but she kicks her feet and seems very comfortable. She even smiled a bit this time.



Hmmm...Let me try again, but I don't know how to crop photos on my home computer!

NT's Net10 phone broke, so we were able to get him a new one, plus 300 minutes and a phone card with 200 more minutes for $21.56! (That's cheaper than the usual $32.82 for 300 minutes with no phone or extra phone card. So why won't we take advantage by just getting him a new phone every time and saving $11+ plus getting nearly twice as many minutes? Terrible tech support. He went phoneless for a week while they got their s#%* together.) Since the second year began in late March, here's what we've paid:

CJ 1000 minutes late-March T-Mobile fillup: $107.78
NT 300 minutes late-March Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 300 minutes late-May Net10 fillup: $32.82
NT 500 minutes + new phone late June: $21.56
Total cost for the year: $194.98

It happened in late June, but I forgot to record it in the post-vacation madness. Now it's late July already! This is the end of the fourth month of our cellphone "fiscal year," so our average monthly cost for this year is $48.75. I expect that average to go up again soon when AS needs new minutes, but still, awesome that three people have had cellphone service for less than $50 per month so far!

RECAP: I switched to prepaid in late March 2009. We have 2 phones on T-Mobile prepaid and 1 on Net10 prepaid. AS and I refill in 1000-minute increments and only need to refill when we run out or when it's been a year since our last fillup to stay active. NT needs to buy 300 more minutes every 60 days to keep his phone activated.

Our cellphone bill, for three phones on a family plan, used to range from $80-$95, depending on texts, calls to 411, etc. Usually it was close to $85. My goal for this year is to get my average cost to $50 per month, but any average number below $85 will be a savings.

Assets:
NT's UK pensions:
#1: 12,663 pounds ($25,326)
#2: 14,721 pounds ($29,442)
#3: 3,709 pounds ($7,418)
NT's 401(k): $9,308
AS's 403(b): $3,300
AS's IRA: $1,682
AS's 401(k): $634
CJ's 401(k): $32,315
NT's flat: 130,000 pounds ($260,000)
CJ & AS's condo: $160,000
Baby/emergency fund (shared asset): $8,482
---
Total Assets: $537,907

Total Debt: $364,005

Current Estimated Net Worth: $173,902

June 2010 estimate: $163,573

Change in net worth: +$10,329

Summary: All our retirement accounts and the EF showed modest gains (NT's 401k did especially well because his company dumped a $700 bonus in there). We also paid off over $1K of debt. But there was another huge leap this month, nearly as big as last month's, due to my finally confirming there was a third pension account in the UK that NT had forgotten he had.

I will update my "Individual Net Worth" page shortly so you can see how it breaks out.

Notes on the numbers above: House value estimates are fairly conservative. I don't have a way to check NT's UK pensions or flat value, so their values stay static for the purpose of this update (unless I happen to get some info by chance). UK asset values and debt amounts are calculated figuring $2 for every British pound, which was the exchange rate when I started keeping track. I maintain that ratio for the purpose of tracking progress, even though the exchange rate is now closer to $1.60 per British pound.

Wow, I can't believe I've only posted once this month! It's been so crazy since we got back from our trip; AA went into daycare, NT and I went back to work full time, my boss's last week was the week I came back from the trip. AS has had a bunch of freelance and work she's brought home from the office, so I'm too busy at work to post, and the computer is usually taken at home (plus I'm exhausted, and spending all the time I can with AA since I don't get to see her during the day). I actually missed recording a credit card payment earlier this month, which is totally unheard of for me!

That CC payment put $81 to principal, and one of AS's student loans just had $86 put toward principal. That makes $167 total, so $1095 down, just $5 to go on my July debt-repayment goal. Both of those payments made dents in my 2010 and big-picture goals as well, because these are the next two debts on my hit list.

Well, it's been a crazy couple of months in terms of money; there's been a lot of extra money coming in from all sides, and at the same time lots of money going right back out! Some of it definitely spent on "wants"; I've loosened up a lot to give us a break from my normal tightwaddery, since we can definitely afford it.

The money in included (let's see if I can remember it all): AS freelancing, NT work bonus, AS raise (much bigger than expected), my parents paying for some of our plane fare, me discovering another pension NT had forgotten about (3709 pounds--or US$7418 in my set ratio! Jeez! LOL), NT's job putting another bonus into his 401(k), refund for a medical overpayment, NT working a bunch of overtime so most of his parental leave was paid...I think that's all. Whew!

The money out: There was that weekend trip we had to celebrate AS's raise, on which we spent about $700 including rental car, hotel, dinners, shopping and touring a historical house. We went about $300 over budget on our family trip, because we took a bunch of younger family members to a 3-D movie, got room service for ourselves on the last night, and went on a bus tour of D.C. that was $35 per person. I signed up for one of those charities where you do regular payments; we pay $15 a month to buy food for poor children in other countries. We paid a friend to do one day of daycare because I ran out of time 1 day early because of AA's slightly early arrival: $100. We also paid that friend $40 to cat-sit while we were out of town. I had a $475 dental bill and AS bought several refills of contacts, that ran us a couple hundred. AS and I got bikes! Used, but still, with helmets and locks, about $500 total. We're getting the balcony screened in so kids and cats will be safe there: $1800.

We're also planning on spending some more before it's all over! We're planning some nights out that will require babysitting (from friends, but I still feel we should pay them), we're going to develop some nice photos to send back to family from the trip (and we might send thank-you gift certificates for hosting us). We've given in and decided to go with diaper cleaning service for the foreseeable future, which will run $19.50 per week (though we get 3 more weeks free if we commit to 24). We're going to paint AA's room and also one wall in our living room (so it matches our new couch better). We're probably going to get a new garbage disposal, and those seem to run about $100-$250. And we're going to rent another car in August to go visit our friends' vacation house for a weekend. Oh, and I had to go get an ultrasound for some lumps in my breast (harmless, it turns out, but the tests will cost me). And my doctor reminded me that I need to speak to a family law expert to try and solidify our parental rights despite our unusual family structure. (Which also reminded me that I want some financial advice from a professional, too.)

Phew! Money in, money out. I'm keeping track and it's all paid for, but it's still a bit overwhelming. But, I feel it's all deliberate, well-planned, appreciated spending. We're not just blowing it on things we don't notice or enjoy. That said, I really want to get back to paying down debt! It's hard to start pulling in the reins, especially telling NT or AS that we have to start being frugal again. It's easy to get used to a more free-flowing way of life. But I haven't forgotten that we're still in a lot of debt and somewhat behind in retirement. And have a baby, as well as an international move and another baby probably sometime in our future.

At least I don't feel alone. Thiftorama, North Georgia Gal and some others have mentioned a need to retighten belts. So, I'm going to go ahead with the spending we already have planned, but my desire after that is to start hitting the debt hard again. And just get our spending settle down to a more predictable pattern.

So glad to be back from my trip! Parts were fun, but staying with family can be exhausting. More details on it later, if I feel like it. Lots of interesting tidbits about money came up during the trip, actually.

Anyway, finally got a chance to check some accounts and the following payments were processed:
US mortgage $381
UK mortgage #1 $258
UK mortgage #2 $54
UK mortgage #3 $58
AS student loan: $118
AS student loan: $59

All told, $928 went to principal. So, just $172 to go on the July debt-repayment goal.

June was a success (just barely), with $1006 going to debt, just tipping the $1000 goal.

I'm sleepy because we've been getting ready for our week-long trip to Virginia tomorrow, so I'm not sure if I'm correctly predicting how many payments are going to hit between now and July 31. But I'm going to set the July debt-repayment goal at $1100; that seems conservative, and if I'm miscalculating in the wrong direction, I can always make a snowflake payment to the credit card to make sure I hit it.

Anyway, I've got to get a bit more done before we go to sleep, so I'm going to have to sign off, probably until July. Happy early Independence Day!

Assets:
NT's UK pensions: 12,663 pounds ($25,326)
14,721 pounds ($29,442)
NT's 401(k): $8,241
AS's 403(b): $3,300
AS's IRA: $1,682
AS's 401(k): $507
CJ's 401(k): $31,744
NT's flat: 130,000 pounds ($260,000)
CJ & AS's condo: $160,000
Baby/emergency fund (shared asset): $8,431
---
Total Assets: $528,673

Total Debt: $365,100

Current Estimated Net Worth: $163,573

May 2010 estimate: $151,034

Change in net worth: +$12,539

Summary: My 401(k) lost $1 in value (which means it lost more like $300 since I also made contributions). What an annoying figure! LOL.

You may notice a kind of huge leap in net worth. Well, for one of NT's UK retirement plans that I hadn't updated in years, I finally looked at a statement and tried to ascertain the current value. It was about US $10,000 higher. We also paid off some debt and made small gains in other areas, i.e., the EF and some of the U.S. retirement accounts.

I will update my "Individual Net Worth" page shortly so you can see how it breaks out.

Notes on the numbers above: House value estimates are fairly conservative. I don't have a way to check NT's UK pensions or flat value, so their values stay static for the purpose of this update (unless I happen to get some info by chance). UK asset values and debt amounts are calculated figuring $2 for every British pound, which was the exchange rate when I started keeping track. I maintain that ratio for the purpose of tracking progress, even though the exchange rate is now closer to $1.60 per British pound.

Just a quick entry before I go downtown to apply for AA's passport. AS's student loan payment hit: $83 to principal. So we passed our $1000 goal with $1006 going toward debt this month! I paid some extra to the credit card early because I'm going to have to close out this month's blogging early, before our trip to Virginia. Not yet, but the next 10 days or so are going to fly by as we get prepared--and as NT and I enjoy our last days of parental leave with AA.

I took some cute smiley pics today, but I haven't uploaded them yet. So here are some from previous days:

My extra principal payment of $175 to the credit card hit. $923 down, $77 to go on the June goal. Yay!

Tonight we just got back from our first date since the baby came. NT's co-worker babysat and said AA was cute and fun. Double yay! I hardly freaked out at all; sometimes I even didn't think about her while we were at the restaurant.

This date had been planned for a while. What we didn't plan was renting a car; we just decided that recently since AS and NT are getting so much extra money. Then, AS got some great news about her job. I'll elaborate when it's official! But anyway, we decided to go ahead and use some more of that extra income and book a hotel in a nearby town for Saturday night, to celebrate. We're going to take AA on her first vacation, which will be good practice for the longer, much farther away family visit to Va. at the end of June. So, triple yay! AS keeps asking "Who are you?" because I hardly ever "authorize" big impulsive spends; if we're going to spend a lot of money, typically I plan it for ages in advance. But recently I've been thinking a lot about enjoying life in the moment, I mean as long as it doesn't mess with any of my financial goals. This wasn't planned money at all, so I feel good about loosening the purse strings and having some fun that we can totally afford.

So yesterday I got two teeth filled that didn't have cavities but failed this new density test. My crappy new dental insurance will probably leave me with $300-$400 of the bill, but I definitely don't want to lose the teeth if they can be saved.

Then I walked all over downtown Minneapolis with AA in the Baby Bjorn, looking for a simple, lightweight rattle or other toy that she could easily grasp. She's getting very interested in touching things but she doesn't have any good toys for holding in her hand. Target and Marshall's didn't have any rattles that I saw (though AS and NT said I should have checked the baby-supplies section of Target rather than the toy section, so I might go back today).

So then I hit up the boutique baby store Pacifier. Kind of a mistake--I let the cashier talk me into buying a toy for $22! I thought about taking it back but it is a really good toy--a lightweight rubber giraffe that squeaks, with high-contrast spots and face, with long neck and legs for easy grasping, also good for teething. And it's utterly adorable. Still, remind me not to go to any beautiful boutique-y baby stores ever again! It was my own spending money, so not detrimental to the budget, but hilarious that it cost more than the average price of the new clothes I just bought. This is gonna look out of place on my baby-expenses worksheet!

On the up side: AS earned $15 for mending some pants, $10 for doing an elderly woman's laundry (she also made her bed for free), and $575 for proofreading a manuscript. Since we've been doing so well financially, we all get to keep small amounts of side-hustle money for ourselves if we choose, so AS will keep the $25 and donate the $575 to put toward our goals. Similarly, NT is giving his week's-pay bonus for the communal good but keeping all profits from some recent eBay selling (he's getting rid of some records, CDs, DVDs and toys). I have some vintage dresses that I'm getting rid of, so I thought I'd list them on eBay and see if I can get a couple bucks for them. I'll probably list them this weekend.

We got a great offer of half price to go back on the diaper-cleaning service, and so we did. The reasons? AS's diapers didn't hold up well in the wash--she would need to sew extra seams down the middle to keep the toweling in, and her current sewing-machine needles aren't really designed for that kind of heavy-duty sewing. Also, the diaper covers we were given aren't very watertight, so that doesn't really work for us. So we went back on the cleaning service--just $12 a week through mid-August--while we hunt for better supplies. I inquired on Freecycle and already got one response about covers, so if I can find a ride out to where the person lives, that part might be sorted.

We decided to Freecycle some good-quality moving boxes that we'd been hanging onto, and they'll probably be picked up today.

I've been Facebooking back and forth with my sister about sleeping solutions for AA while we're in Virginia. My parents have a crib she can use while at their house, but the portable bassinet they have is pretty decrepit. So my sister's going to find a playpen (now known as pack-n-plays) on Craigslist that we can use at her place and also at AS's mom's. Once we're done with it, my sister is going to donate it to charity. This is a great solution because it means that big expense won't be for just a temporary travel use; it will go to the greater good. My sister practices a lot of philanthropy by volunteering through her church but doesn't have a lot of money to give, so I think this will make her very happy too.

Now that I think of it, this would probably be a good idea for our England trip, too. We must figure out who's going to take us in first, and see if they can get us a compact pack-n-play that we'll be able to take around with us (we're staying in two different cities for that trip). Then we can donate to charity or see if any of NT's friends or relatives need one.

This Friday NT and I are taking AA to the government center to apply for her passport. I'm excited for our little future world traveler!

Speaking of AA, she woke me up early for a feeding this morning, so I brought her back to bed and fed her there. Then I let her fall back asleep next to me and I dozed lightly, waking every couple minutes to make sure she was OK. We all woke up together (the cat Noodles had come in and fallen asleep on the bed too) about an hour later. I don't think I'd do co-sleeping full time, but it sure was nice to wake up with a cute smily baby next to us!

I've just spent a couple hours straightening out all my spreadsheets after a weekend of spending. Amazing how long it takes me if I don't check in every day or so!

This weekend we bought a new TV cabinet and shelving for the DVDs, closet systems (rods, drawers, shelves), and curtain materials for AA's nursery, as well as some other assorted household items. About $1000 total. We also sold our old entertainment center for $200, though, so that offset it somewhat.

I took the leap and went on a bit of a clothing-shopping spree while we were out at the mall. I spent just over $200 and got 5 dresses, 1 skirt, 1 romper and 3 tops. An average of $20 per piece, not bad! I didn't mean to spend that much in one go, but they were all good or at least interesting pieces, and I really have been hoarding my spending money during the past few months, so I don't feel too bad about it.

Some of the clothing is really simple; two of the dresses are plain black jersey material, so I want to go out soon and shop for accessories. I think I have one hat, one pashmina, one belt, one wrap, two necklaces, two bracelets, five purses and about 15 pairs of shoes. I don't need any more shoes, but I'd like to expand my other collections a bit more, so I can wear the clothes that I have in different ways, create several different looks from each piece.

I'm already feeling better just by having clothes that fit and flatter the body I have right now!

NOTE: If you haven't heard the made-up word "spendy," you haven't been to Minnesota.

OK, so I've been having a long rambly thought process going on in my head for the past few hours. Thought I'd try to get some of it written down.

It started when I saw a link on the MSN home page to some photos of everyday people on the street in fashionable clothes. Reminded me to go to

The Sartorialist, an excellent photoblog of on-the-street fashion that I find so beautiful and inspiring. Like home cooking, the wearing of fashion by non-models is one of those ephemeral art forms that is mainly experienced in the moment of wearing/observing (or preparing/eating in the case of cooking). This blog, however, succeeds in capturing something of that moment.

Scrolling through the photos awakened a desire in myself to really dig into fashion and discover my own taste and ideal looks, maybe become a bit more adventurous or just try for a more classic, elegant look than the tops-and-jeans, sundresses-and-flipflops combos that I typically wear.

That got me thinking about whether this would really be a worthwhile pursuit. I mean, not only is it an ephemeral art form with little accumulated benefit (except maybe better vacation photos LOL), it's potentially expensive and, well, pretty much entirely self-centered. I guess you could argue that other people like to see interestingly dressed people, but other than that it's entirely self-absorbed.

Then I thought about how I'm feeling a bit stagnant physically. I always told myself that I'd start getting into shape as soon as I recovered from giving birth. Well, some things have mostly cleared up--the fatigue, the surgery aftermath, the rollercoaster of postpartum emotions--but I do have one problem still lingering, one that should have cleared up quickly but I fear has become chronic. If it doesn't clear up on its own, pretty much the only alternative is surgery. I'd like to avoid another surgery if possible, so I keep hanging on, trying to follow a home-remedy regimen in the hope that it clears up. I've recently decided if it doesn't clear up by my next doctor's appointment in mid-July, I'll ask her about taking the next step.

But anyway, it's a distracting and demoralizing (though minor) condition that's held me back from exercising, or really trying to look nice in any other way.

Another thing that's stagnating me is breastfeeding. Well, I'm mostly on pumping now because AA hates small, frequent meals and strongly prefers a big bottle meal, but she's still exclusively fed on breastmilk. The good side is that it's helping me lose some of my pregnancy weight without dieting or exercising, and she is thriving and clearly loves the stuff. But the bad part is I'm finding it hard to regard my body as my own again yet. It still feels like a vessel for the care of my baby. I also think it may be sapping my energy a bit, though I'm not sure if my general langorousness (sp?) is due to producing so much milk or to being quite out of shape.

Ever since the birth, I feel like my face and body have aged quite a bit. When I look at pictures from just a year or two ago and then now, I look much older. I'm also heavier than I've ever been (although that seems to be improving) and parts of my body are altered seemingly permanently.

Then I think about how sometimes when you feel bad about yourself, you can actually become MORE self-centered because you spend so much time feeling down about your own situation that you don't have as much time to empathize with others. When you feel like your own situation needs fixing, you're less apt to try and help fix other situations. (I'm not claiming these are absolute truths, just one way that people can be.)

That makes me begin to think that it would not be an unworthy pursuit to get into fashion a little, and try and get myself excited about improving my own appearance. Because there might be a domino effect of feeling more confident and "fixed," which would give me the boost to A) get into shape and get past the minor physical complaints I have since the birth, thus having more energy to B) pursue other things, such as less ephemeral creative hobbies and also philanthropic activities.

I tend to have a nice bit of spending money left over each week, unless we go out to eat more than once or something else expensive comes up. Not enough to start frequenting Macy's or Sak's, but maybe to check out their bargain racks once in a while. Also, while garage-sale and thrift-store shopping for fashionable garments is more time-consuming and hit-or-miss, it certainly is possible. So maybe I can do this and not completely drain my supply of spending money.

Dunno. Still thinking about it. But I'm definitely feeling restless now that my fatigue is lessening. I have that slight bit of creative energy that I get once in a while, and since it doesn't come often I generally try and harness it and do something while it lasts. And if I discover something I'm truly passionate about, as I did with budgeting and debt repayment, then it will last beyond the initial temporary flare-up of ambition.

All four mortgage payments hit their accounts today:

US: $381 to principal
UK1: $256
UK2: $54
UK3: $57

All told, $748 down, $252 to go on the June goal. Now, no more payments until the 14th. Bo-ring!

I'm very pleased with our May debt repayment of $1125, especially since the goal was $900.

I'm setting my June goal at $1000. I won't be able to confirm the last few June payments since I'll be on vacation, so to make sure I get to that amount before I leave, I'll make an extra payment to the credit card. Even though we're concentrating our extra money on getting the house fixed up and a few other luxuries, I can set aside $150 for the credit card and it won't get in the way.

We've been having fun with the budget surplus, planning to get some better-functioning furniture, including organizational tools for the closet. IKEA has some really great storage solutions. It might take some wrangling to get everything we want within the amount of money I've earmarked, but I think we can do it with a little creativity.

Our cloth diaper service ends today. We decided to go it on our own after the trial period. We have more energy and confidence now, so hopefully we can handle cleaning them ourselves.

The service loaned us liners and covers, and they're picking everything up today, so now we have to get our own. Luckily one of NT's co-workers gave us several covers that should suffice. Good cloth diapers are about $2 apiece minimum, and we use about 10-12 per day, so we need 30-40 to have several days' supply. So we were looking at $60-$80. AS suggested that she could make us some, so we went and bought some towels and flannel sheets at thrift stores. She also had some flannel fabric that her mom had given her. She was able to make about 35 diapers this weekend! I'm nervous about taking care of diapers ourselves, but we have a sprayer attachment on the toilet now, so hopefully it won't be too gross. I'm proud of AS for not only saving us money but using reclaimed materials instead of new. Now wish me luck getting through the first day of diaper cleaning on my own!