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Apr 24, 2012    |       6 comments

First Communion Blessings

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SUPER busy weekend and then the week hasn’t let up–so pardon my brief absence!  I was so excited and proud about the planning I did for our daughter’s First Communion and things only got better!  As I shared, we had made the reservation and had the budget under control.  On Saturday when all 14 of us arrived at the restaurant, there was a mishap of some sort.  They were aware of our reservation but did not have a table ready.  It seems that someone broke up the large table arranged for us into 4 smaller tables and those 4 small groups of people were still dining when we arrived.  This is a family owned local restaurant that we really like so even as we had to wait I couldn’t really be angry at them.  As hunger REALLY set in and I was dealing with a tired 7-year-old and my poor diabetic 82-year-old Dad…I started to move toward anger.  It was over an hour before the large table could be reassembled and as soon as we all sat down and a waitress was passing out water glasses…she spilled one down the back of our poor First Communion Kid!  🙁  The back of her pretty dress was all wet and the pretty curls we did went flat.  She had an ice cube in her dress and made me so proud by holding it together when I knew an all out fit was just milliseconds away!  The waitress was also near tears and my sister made a well timed joke saying that now this was a First Communion celebration…AND a baptism of sorts.  We moved along and enjoyed the rest of our meal.  As two bottles of wine arrived at the table and then a spread of delicious desserts I kept eyeing my ex-husband to see if he was adding things to the bill!  I was getting nervous thinking the budget was being blown just about the time I got my half of the bill.  Dinner for 14 with wine AND dessert?  WITH the tip came to $196.00!!  OR $98.00 each!  I still can’t believe it!  The restaurant didn’t charge us for the wine or the desserts!

Our daughter received several gifts and a total of $40 cash.  I haven’t yet but will work with her on splitting that up b/w giving, spending and saving.  I sometimes forget to do that with her b/c she is young and that is dumb—she’s at a great age to learn skills about money.

We are trucking along on the savings and paying debt.  I’m excited to share new numbers on May 1.

 

Apr 18, 2012    |       39 comments

Investments, Part 2

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$11,889.19 in my work 401K and an additional $10,288.31 in Restricted Stock.  I will be vested in February 2013.   This 401K is the only investment account I am currently adding to with a 4% withholding (reminder: this is a recent increase from 3% after a raise kicked in so I wasn’t accustomed to getting the money yet so it was easier to add to savings.)  My company uses Fidelity and I spent some time exploring their website and learned some basic info.  I’m invested in a “life plan” Vanguard  that is designed to grow gradually more conservative as I move toward retirment.  I used 2035 as my retirement date which would put me at age 63.  I think I was in the default fund and it was too conservative for my current age.  I don’t know for certain right now but if memory serves me correctly, my husband’s 401K sits in the same range.

I also used a couple of retirement calculators to see where we are at and what we need to do in order to get where we want to be by age 60.  While certainly not in a fantabulous position, we also aren’t destitute.  With the debt payments decreasing in the next couple of years I would hope that by retirement we are talking about living expenses, medical expenses (which I know have got to be horrendous), housing and basic living stuff…maybe we won’t need to die within 18 months of retirement.  Funny timing as I was doing these calculations today, my husband was dining at what he did not know was a “Senior Friendly” restaurant on his current business trip. I’m sure as he enjoyed what he described as exceptionally bland food…surrounded by the senior crowd…he really wanted to see a text from his wife about retirement!  🙂

Anyway,  I’ve gathered all the retirement numbers and that prompted me to get things moving on the account transfers and such so that’s a plus to posting this info.  I really hate this stuff–like almost rather eat a big bug instead of look at and thinking about my retirement accounts.  Sigh.  I know it is a reality but it is like I have a teflon brain for getting this!  In some ways I think it is simply a mental roadblock that will eventually lift on its own…other times I am pretty sure I will never understand investing.  Maybe there’s a community education course I can look into to help–b/c not even reading books on my own is doing it!  This reminds me of high school geometry when even the very patient teacher finally just gave me a D to get me out of her class!  My only D ever and she was so good about telling me she knew I was working so hard and giving it all I had…but…it was time for me to go!  Ah…good times!

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