Sunday, April 26, 2009

Limit Spending

I am working hard to limit my spending lately. I have wanted to go shopping, but so far I have not let myself. My friends keep talking about how I will have more money to spend once I move since my rent will be decreasing significantly due to having a roommate again. I however, do not intend to spend more money just because my rent will be reduced. I am hoping to save this money. My gas costs will go up a little bit due to having a further drive to work each day. I also plan to give myself a little more for my food budget so I can purchase more fruits and veggies as those are what seem to hurt my budget each month. I am planning to put the rest in savings.

I will also see an increase in my income around the same time as the move, so as of right now I don't know exactly how much more I will be making each month after taxes. I am planning to increase my 401k contributions when my new salary starts.

My hope is to save as much as possible so I can pay my car off early next year. I also want to save to move elsewhere at some point. I am still not set on staying in this area, but I am also not completely sure where I want to move to. I have some ideas, but I don't want to do anything until the economy turns around. It's too big of a risk to take. I am hoping to visit a few more places I am interested in in the next year or two. Moving to a new area would be scary and a challenge, but I don't feel like this area is the ideal place for me. You never know what will happen in the next few years though.

I will post an updated budget once I have a better idea of how much I will be making and what my utility costs will be at the new apartment.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Planning to Move

Even though we found a place to live a few weeks ago, there are still a lot of other things to do prior to moving. I decided on a moving company and put a deposit down to hold my day and time. I am just having them move the large items. I will be moving small items and boxes myself. I hate spending the money on this, but it's just something I have to do. I will recover this cost in less than one month due to having a roommate once I move, so it's not too bad.

We also need to decide on cable. I would like to get that appointment scheduled because I need to have internet as soon as I move in so I can study for my exam. I scheduled an appointment to sign the lease and pick up the keys when we are moving in. It's nice to have some of this done, but what really scares me is thinking about packing. I don't feel like I have that much, but I have more than enough to move. I am hoping to get rid of some things prior to moving.

I have a lot I want to get done over the next few weeks since things will get very busy soon. I will be starting my new job, moving, and studying a ton in the next month. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Switching Positions

I accepted the new position today at work!! I am very excited about this. When they called, I said that I would not accept as I wanted them to see if the could do better. They did. They went up 5% more than the original offer. I was shocked. I am very happy with this though. I might be able to keep my flex time, so that would be great. I am very nervous as this position has a lot more exposure to higher level management than I currently have. I hope it all goes well. It's a complete 180 from what I am doing now.

I also scheduled my next exam part. I am currently in the review course which ends later in May. I was very torn on when to take the exam due to the trip for my cousin's wedding and moving. I am taking the exam June12th, so I have just under two months to get ready.

So much going on right now.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

HELP!!

I need advice from everyone. I received an email today from the hiring manager that I was selected for the position I applied for and HR would be calling soon with the offer. I am currently paid a decent amount less than others with the same position levels in my company and outside of the company. My current department is working to put through my equity increase in the next two months. My current boss informed me of what it would be today since he knows I applied for this position. Based on what I have heard from others who have moved around within the company, I am expecting an offer 2-3% higher than my currently salary. I am looking for something higher than that due to knowing where others are and the equity increase being put through in my current department.

So, my question to everyone is . . . How do I negotiate if I am not happy with the offer? Do I respond with exactly where I want to be? Do I go a bit higher knowing they will come down some? Do I mention the equity adjustment? Any thoughts/opinions would help me greatly. Thanks so much!

Friday, April 10, 2009

Apartment & Job Update

We found an apartment!! We really like the main living space. There is a lot of room. One bedroom has a bigger closet and one a bigger room, so there was no problem deciding who gets which room. I am very excited to have this decided. One less thing to worry about. Now I just have to move all of my stuff. I can't wait to start saving some money.

I applied for a new position at the company I work for. I am very nervous about this, but we'll see what happens. I am not sure when I will hear anything.

I bought groceries today since things will be closed on Sunday. I came in $10 under budget. I also got gas and a car wash. I came in $2 under budget for those things. I have also been trying to get a lot of studying in. I have so much to get through. I don't want to get behind. I would have liked to go home to visit my family this weekend, but I decided against it. I have plans with a friend tomorrow night instead. It's finally nice out here, so I am hoping for a good weekend.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Long Weekend

I had today off from work, so I am hoping to accomplish a lot this weekend. I cleaned my apartment last night. I picked up a few groceries today as well as worked out. I will finish up laundry over the rest of the weekend.

I also need to spend a lot of time studying this weekend. My first review class for my exam was on Tuesday night. I enjoyed the class, but now I have a lot to get done prior to next week's class. I hope to get some studying in tonight and then a lot on Saturday and Sunday.

I am looking at apartments this weekend. I gave my notice on Monday. I will be moving in with a friend. I should be able to save a lot money by doing this. I hate moving though. I decided that buying a house right now wasn't the best option for me. I don't want that commitment right now. I will post more about my new budget once we figure out where we are going to live so I know the exact costs. I do think I won't see a savings until July due to moving costs.

I am also hoping to figure out some more food options this weekend. I really struggle with what to eat because of my food allergies. I eat the same things throughout the week and it gets old!! I need some variety. I also want to eat healthier than I have been. I haven't been eating that bad, but I do eat some sugary foods here and there. I hate myself afterwards because when my blood sugar drops I don't feel so great.

We might get more snow this weekend. I just want spring to come!