I just returned from a business trip to the East Coast and earned another 9,944 Delta SkyMiles. My Gold Medallion status provides me doubles the miles for each trip, so they add up quickly. I now have a whopping total of 127,083 SkyMiles. My wife and I plan to use the frequent flyer miles for a trip to Hawaii, but my wife needs to get settled into her new job first (see starts on Monday).
All posts by 1MansMoney
Safe & Sound
We’ve wanted a safe for some time, but couldn’t justify spending $300-$500 for a new one. So, I checked craigslist and found a number of home safes in the $150-$250 range. After some research, we decided on a Sentry Fire Safe that was listed for $200 (it costs $312 new). I was able to talk the guy down to $175.
We put our cash, passports, social security cards, marriage license, insurance paperwork, and our external hard drive (important digital files and photos). When we have kids in the house, we can also lock up our handgun in the safe.
Here are some of the features of the model (KSW3632) that we bought:
* LCD electronic lock with backlit keypad
* 4 live-locking bolts
* 2-hour fire protection
* Water-resistant
* Multi-Position drawer
* Multi-position tray
* Key rack and compartment for small items
* Door pocket
* May be bolted to floor
My Wife Just Called. . .
I rarely post twice in one day, but today is an exception.
My wife called to let me know that she just received and accepted a new job. Since being laid off a month ago, she has been working hard to get back into the same industry. All of that work really paid off today.
The package is even better than her last job:
* Annual salary is $55,500
* Annual bonuses of approximately $16,500
* 2,500 shares of company stock
* 401(k) plan
* 2 weeks vacation a year, 10 sick days a year, numerous holidays off (including Christmas to New Years week)
* Company car
* Laptop computer
* Cell phone reimbursement
That is a huge blessing and something I know my wife will enjoy and excel at. She already gets along really well with the managers that she has met at the new company and is excited to get started. Her first day is the 23rd.
My Company Laid Off 4 More People
My company laid off four more employees this week, including my boss. That drops us down to 28 total employees. Thankfully, my old boss has come back over from our sister company to act as our new General Manager. I really enjoy working with him and am convinced that if anyone can help see our company through these challenging economic times, he can. Plus, I’ve stayed in touch with him since we last worked together and have been playing cards with him and some other friends every Wednesday night for the last few months.
These additional layoffs helped minimize the salary reductions that the rest of us have to take. I found out today that my salary will be reduced 10% (from $70,460 to $63,423), beginning with my 2/25 paycheck. I expected a salary reduction of up to 25%, so needless to say, hearing it will only be 10% was a blessing.
January 2009 Income statement
January was a surprisingly good income month (click on spreadsheet below) considering it was the first month of my wife’s laid off. We also had an equally good month for keeping our expenses low.
In addition to my two paychecks, my wife received a final $2,150.26 paycheck for 13 days of work and 3 days of vacation, a $60 reimbursement, $190 for babysitting, and her first unemployment check for $405 (with taxes deducted). We also received a $51.30 Citi credit card reward, $25 from selling a few items on craigslist.org, and earned interest income on our savings account of $16.71.
For the first time in a long time, our expenses came in well below budget; we only spent $5,379.39 in January. It’s great to see our belt tightening paid off. Every month we keep from touching our savings buys us more time.
Next month we have another new challenge. My company will be implementing a 20-25% reduction in pay beginning the 2nd half of the month. We also have ~$800 in medical bills for my wife that may come due. It will be more important than every for us to conserve cash.
January 2009 Net Worth Update (-$70.00)
January was a somewhat neutral month for us. Our net worth was reduced $70.00 from last month to $42,013.69 (click on spreadsheet below).
What worked:
We contributed $771.00 total to our retirement accounts (401k and Roth IRAs), although they only increased over last month by $385.61. We also deposited $900 in our savings account.
What did not work:
We pulled $1,169.14 out of savings for our 2nd property tax payment (this was a planned expense). We also pulled $1,484 out of savings to purchase 106 shares of BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION stock for $14/share. Unfortunately, the stock is currently selling at ~$7/share.
Next month:
February should be a tough month. My company will be implementing a 20-25% reduction in pay that will hit my 2nd paycheck in February. If our business continues on its current trend, there may be layoffs in March. So, we’ll likely not invest much, forcing us to fall a bit further behind pace to hit our net worth goal for 2009. Let’s keep praying things get better..bmp)
We Love Free Stuff
My wife’s old company gave “perk” points for special achievements and she received enough of them to order us blender/food processor and automatic can opener.
We received them a couple of days ago and they are pretty nice. We even sold our old blender for $20.00 yesterday on craigslist. Now if we can just sell our old, half functioning, can opener. . . $5.00 anyone?
Watching Our BofA Stock Fall Gives Me Something To Do
. . .but it’s expensive entertainment.
We purchased 106 shares of Bank of America stock (symbol: BAC) on January 7 for $14/share. It is currently worth about 1/2 of what we paid for it. Opps. Apparently, the drop in share price is the response to Bank of America seeking additional government aid to absorb credit losses at Merrill Lynch, which they bought on January 1.
We didn’t expect the stock to go up immediately, but we also didn’t expect it to plummet either. We will wait and watch.
Carnival of Personal Finance
The Carnival of Personal Finance was hosted by the The Writer’s Coin this month and I’m happy to say that my post We Don’t Bank With Them, But We Bought Their Stock made the cut. Please check it out. Thanks Writer’s Coin!
Didn’t We Just Sell A Truck?
One of the drawbacks of my wife getting laid off is that she no longer has a company car. Initially, we thought we could get away with one vehicle until my wife finds another job. It’s turning out that that is not the case, and there’s no guarantee that when she finds a job it will include a company car. So, we decided that we’re going to buy a cheap used truck. You might be thinking the same thing as me, didn’t we just sell a truck?
We can get a small truck with just under 100K miles for ~$3,000-$4,000. At that price, we can pay cash for it and avoid car payments. We decided on a truck rather than a car because we wanted something a bit more functional. If my wife gets another job with a company car, our plan would be to keep the truck as a back-up vehicle in case, A) We’re put into the same position again down the road. B) Our main vehicle has to go in the shop for some reason. C) We have to move anything/carry a large load.
I hate to see our savings drop $3K-$4K, but am glad we have the cash to make this happen. We’ll probably start looking at trucks next week.