Paper or plastic?

My dad signed me up for my very first credit card when I moved to Atlanta for college in 2005. Since then I have accumulated seven more for a total of eight credit cards and one debit card. In hindsight I shouldn't have opened so many simply because I don't use them all regularly. However, I have never had a balance on any CC that was not paid in full and have never paid a single penalty. That's pretty impressive considering I have used a CC for 98% of my bills and purchases since age 18 to accumulate the points and cashback. I pay off the balance every Sunday when I review my expenses from the past week.

Credit Card Overview

1. Capital One: My oldest card, which I keep for the credit history and because it doesn't charge international transaction fees. I use this card only when I travel out of the country.

2. Southwest Rapid Rewards Plus Visa: My main credit card, which I love for the miles as Southwest is my airline of choice for domestic travel. This is the only credit card I own that has an annual fee ($69), but it more than pays for itself. I get at least one free round trip/year to visit my folks, usually two. Last year I used the miles to score a free round trip flight to Jamaica. 

3. Discover: My second most used card which I like it for its cashback program. It gives me 1% cashback on all purchases and 5% cashback on rotating categories (i.e. from April-June the 5% will be for spending on restaurants and movies). Discover also partners with tons of online retailers so that when I shop them using my Discover card, I receive an extra 5-15% cashback. Lastly, you can redeem your cashback for gift card deals (i.e. spend $90 to receive $100 to so-and-so retailer). I use my cashback from this card to fuel "guilty pleasures," mostly beauty products thru Sephora :) 

4. Citi Mastercard: My mom had never had a credit card in her life but was sold when I told her about the points etc. She didn't want to open one herself, so I added her as an authorized user on this card, which I wasn't using. I manage the card for her in terms of paying it off etc. Mom has accumulated $600+ on this card using their cashback program, and we'll finally be redeeming it this year to go toward her plane ticket to Korea.

5. American Express Blue: This one is really stupid, I opened it when I was in college because I thought it'd be cool to have an AMEX. Haha! For awhile I had my dad on here as an authorized user for the same reason as mom (see above), but that wasn't working out. I keep this card because it is my second oldest, but otherwise don't use it.

#6, 7, 8: The remaining 3 are store credit cards for Nordstrom, Banana Republic, and the Limited. These are my preferred stores for buying clothing, which I don't do often. When I do shop the card member deals are great, but I honestly don't need these cards and may consider closing them. 

My one debit card is for my bank to access my checking account. And I always have a small amount of cash on hand for very specific purposes: 1) if I go out to eat etc. with a group, it's easier to split the check if everyone has cash; 2) there are some favorite small businesses and restaurants around the city that are still cash only; 3) my mom told me I should have $20 emergency cash on me at all times :)

I'm organized and have been doing it this way for so long that it's not a hassle at all to manage so many different cards. As you can see I am definitely a plastic over paper kind of gal. How about you? 

Owing the IRS

My dad (who does taxes professionally) just completed my taxes, and it turns out I owe $1322! I had a part-time job in addition to my full-time job for some of last year, and I guess I accidentally claimed too many exemptions. I did get a $142 refund from the state, so in total I'm down $1,180. Now remember when I was all happy about my bonus in this post? It was $2,184. 39, and after I gave my mom 1k I was left with $1,184.39. Almost the exact amount I owe, figures! I guess I should consider it a blessing that I'm not having to dip into my savings to pay it back. So after all is said and done I have $4.39 of my bonus to play with. Woo hoo.

The gift of toilet paper

Last August my cousin moved here to Chicago from the west coast to start graduate school. She drove across the country with her mom, who helped get her settled. On one of their trips to Costco my aunt bought me two "gifts" as well- a 12 count of paper towels and 36 count of toilet paper. I was THRILLED, which probably says a lot about me :) 7 months in and I still have half the TP to go, which means I'll likely make it a whole year without having had to purchase any. Awesome. As for the paper towels, I haven't even opened the pack yet as I'm working my way thru the couple rolls I already had on hand. Side note: I'm extremely thrifty with paper towels LOL, something I picked up from my mom without realizing it. She will use a paper towel, wash it gently, and hang it to dry for one more go. While I'm not that extreme I have been known to yelp with indignation when my boyfriend reaches for a paper towel instead of a napkin to wipe his mouth.

In Korea it's actually customary to gift toilet paper when someone moves into a new home, quite a practical present. I am very thankful to my aunt for her thoughtfulness, and think about her from time to time as I put her gift to good use :P

What I ate this week

Monday, March 14th

Breakfast: defrosted Korean rice cake (떡) & juice (kale, banana, mandarin orange, frozen peach, turmeric, flax)
Lunch: defrosted beef stew & salad
Dinner: whole wheat penne pasta w/ ground beef, onion, mushrooms in marinara sauce & salad
Snacks/Drinks: CLIF chocolate peanut butter bar (I was starving after a small/early lunch!), homemade puppy chow ("muddy buddies"), water, jasmine green tea with honey and soy milk

3/15 now that's some hearty oatmeal!

Tuesday, March 15th
Breakfast: instant maple oatmeal with trail mix
Lunch: l/o pasta from Mon & salad
Dinner: brown rice & Korean side dishes (반찬)
Snacks/Drinks: honey roasted peanuts, Nutty Buddy, water, 1 glass red wine

Wednesday, March 16th
Breakfast: defrosted Korean rice cake (떡)
Lunch: egg salad on pita
Dinner: tortellini & defrosted corn, peas
Snacks/Drinks: 1 chocolate Long John, almonds, water, milk

3/17 leftovers from creative savv's easy rice & veggie bake recipe

Thursday, March 17th 
Breakfast: peanut butter and banana on whole wheat toast
Lunch: l/o tortellini from Wed & salad
Dinner: rice & cauliflower bake using this recipe from creative savv. I used brown rice, substituted cauliflower for the spinach, and left out the olives. It was easy and tasty!
Snacks/Drinks: 1 chocolate Long John, cheddar and sour cream chips, water, milk

Friday, March 18th
Breakfast: chocolate chip scone & coffee
Lunch: l/o rice & cauliflower bake from Thurs
Dinner: 2 carne asada tacos, Mexican rice & beans
Snacks/Drinks: mixed fruit (banana, orange, melon, apple), 1 date, puppy chow, 1 can diet cherry coke

$2.31 Left for March's groceries...can I do it?

This month is the first of a new grocery budget cycle I've started of alternating between $60 and $100. During the $100 month I hope to stock up on enough meats and dry goods for both that month and the following, when most of the $60 will go toward produce. 

Last month (before my new budget) I spent just under $150 on groceries building up my freezer and pantry. So I decided March would be a $60 month. Yesterday when I stopped by the store I had only $13.12 of my budget remaining, with 2 weeks to go. Yikes! This is what I picked up, mostly from Aldi and a couple items from my corner grocer:

1.29 Large eggs

.95 Frozen sweet peas 16 oz

.99 Frozen broccoli florets 12 oz

1.49 Mushrooms 8 oz

1.49 White onions 3 lb

.79 Iceberg lettuce 1 head 

1.49 Instant Oatmeal 10 packets

.59 Mac and cheese

1.49 Cheddar & sour cream potato chips 9 oz 

TOTAL with tax: $10.81

Remaining budget: $2.31

I have enough rice, pasta, beans, fish, ground beef, and chicken for the next couple weeks. Now, I know I can go over my budget without any consequences, but this month I'm really going to do my best to stick with that $60 to see what it feels like. I'll evaluate the number at month's end. Sneak preview: I already know going forward it's going to be upped quite a bit. I only bought about half of my groceries organically this month, and I'd like to go back to most/all organic. This is the first time in a long time I've bought "regular" eggs, and I'm unhappy about that, even at $1.29/dozen. I know they only cost $1.29 for a reason.

Extra sweet

My boyfriend and I went on a little walk after dinner last night and made a pit stop at Dunkin Donuts for one of our favorite treats: chocolate Long Johns. We stopped in maybe 45 minutes before they closed and the guy tossed in an extra donut for free. Yippee! 82 cents/each instead of $1.23. Next time we'll go ten minutes before closing time and see if they give us a whole box's worth :P

Annual raise and bonus

I was thrilled to learn that I received both a bonus and raise this year. We were all a bit unsure of how that would work out as the company has taken some big hits recently. My raise came in at 4.67% with a bonus of $3,700. This was a nice little increase from last year, my first with the company, when I received a 3% raise and $2,152 bonus. I appreciate the extra money even more as someone who not too long ago was part of the nonprofit world, where bonuses for my role are nonexistent.

My manager had told me that the bonus would land in my account by April 11th, but it turns out she actually meant March 11th, so I was doing a happy little dance of surprise this past Friday. After taxes chomped away their dues I was left with $2,184.39 of the $3,700. Ouch. As planned, I immediately transferred 1k to my savings and 1k to my mom. She is planning on traveling to Korea soon for an extended period of 4-6 months to stay with my grandparents. Mom was laid off from her job managing a dry cleaners just a couple weeks ago, and found another job right away. However, this one is a 45 minute drive from home and in an unsafe neighborhood so it's not a long term solution. She is just holding on to it for the next month or so while she gets extensive dental work done, after which she will go to Korea. Mom is treating this trip as a last opportunity to spend quality time with her parents before they pass, as it is unlikely she would be able to visit Korea again anytime soon. I told her to use the 1k to splurge on my grandparents on my behalf.

This leaves me with $184.39 to spend as I please! Right now my top contenders are:

1. A new microwave. My current one has developed an unpredictable temper after several years of loyal service. IT chooses how long, and if, it will heat my food items. I seem to have given up that right.
2. A new office chair. My current chair was bought used for $5 from a friend, and has gotten really unsteady and leans at odd angles. It has turned into a sort of carnival ride every time I sit on it. I work from home so this would be a good investment.
3. A dresser. The drawers gave out in my old one so I currently store my clothes on top of two folding chairs that are sitting side by side.

Nothing too exciting, but my birthday is in April and I've already budgeted money for treats, so spending my bonus on practical items makes sense to me. I am thankful to have received these financial blessings in a time when many (including mom) are losing jobs, underemployed, or not receiving any sort of extra.

An introduction

Hello :) My name is Esther, and for the past few months I have grown increasingly preoccupied with personal finance, personal finance blogs, and living well on less. I have always managed my finances responsibly, but recently I've become much more focused on actively budgeting and being financially planful. This may be because I'm anticipating high cost goals and commitments in the near-ish future: getting married, starting a family, buying a home.

I've started this blog as an outlet for all of the finance junk whizzing around in my head, and in the hopes that it will help me stay motivated. My favorite blogs that I've found to date have been a mix of money and personal (SHAKING THE MONEY TREE tops my list, I love her!), so that's what I'm planning to do with my own. 

More posts will come with the nitty gritty details of my finances. For now, it's nice to meet you :)