Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts
Showing posts with label saving money. Show all posts

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Goal 3: Travel Fund

Actually, I have already started my travel fund through ING Direct, but there's only about $50 in there. I would like to have enough money to take a trip abroad once my boyfriend finishes grad school next summer. He does travel a decent amount for his job (he's in Brazil right now), but we would like to go to Australia or South Africa on our own schedule. The goal for this fund is $3000 by next summer. In the meantime, we will take different weekend trips to tide us over. Living in Central PA, we are within driving distance of NYC, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Pittsburgh. Taking little trips is probably counter-productive to my financial goals, but I think it will help maintain my sanity. I also travel a few times a year to see my family in Houston (where I moved from), but my dad takes care of that. I would like to start buying my own plane tickets for those trips as well.

Goal 1: Get Out of Debt

I make approximately 33k per year at a job I don't really care for. But I am trying to finish grad school, and they work with my schedule, and there is a lot of time off. Even though I know I can find a better paying job that I'm not completely bored at, I haven't made the time to look for other opportunities. I am very lucky, because my parents are paying for grad school. Thanks to them I have a car that's paid for, as well as car insurance (though that may be changing soon). Also, I recently moved in with my boyfriend, and no longer have a large rent expense. With my parents and boyfriend helping me out in the major areas, there really is no reason for me to be broke, but somehow I can't seem to get out of the red and into the black. Here is a breakdown of my financial state:

I make : ~$930/paycheck every two weeks= $1860 a month after taxes

My regular expenses:
Rent: $200 - paid to my boyfriend
Cell phone: $100/month for my bf and myself (I will be changing the plan in Sept. and Dec. to lower costs).
Netflix: ~$10/month

I owe:
My Mom: $1900 @ 0% interest. She lent me $2,600, but I still owe this much. She is going on vacation at the end of November, so I'd like to have at least half of this paid to her by then.
My Credit Card: ~$3000 @ 19% interest. I can't even remember what I bought! Alot of it is from expenses I had when I moved here two years ago!

Upcoming Expenses:
Dad's Birthday Gift
Dental Work
Christmas Presents
Car Maintenance

I realize with such a high interest rate, it would be wise to pay off the credit card first. But since my mom did lend me the money more than a year ago, I think it is important to get at least $900 of that paid before she goes on vacation in November, and have the balance paid off by the end of January. I need to automatically set aside $300 a paycheck to send to her. I also need to look into additional sources of income or into getting a better paying job.