This week/weekend was very, very busy: I moved out of my apartment ($$$$$$$$$$$$) and returned to Very Large and Very Expensive Grad School City to walk across a couple of stages in fancy robes and shake various hands. It was a lot of fun, but it reminded me why I'm pretty glad to no longer live in VLaVEGSC, even though it is fun to visit. In four days I've packed in a museum visit (free!), spent hours on public transportation (not free!), and, uh, a large amount of money on food. (Though to be fair I didn't normally eat out three meals a day when I lived here.)
Blogging is going to continue to be pretty light this week as I'm still traveling, but here's the wince-inducing weekly update:
*First, the good news, to make myself feel better: I put together $250 and bought another round of Roth IRA shares! I'm up to $620 in Roth funds since late April, go me.
*Uh, now the bad news (everything else):
Moving expenses: $1225 (OW)
Public transportation: $30.50
Gas: $54.08
Food: $131 [not as bad as I thought; I guess my parents ended up paying for a lot of stuff this week. As usual, this doesn't include cash spent on coffee and the like, which would probably add another $20-ish]
Student loan payment: $108
Personal care: $128.75. This included a haircut, some waxing (I am in VLaVEGSC after all -- catching up on stuff I haven't done in nine months), some drugstore purchases, and expenses related to an eye infection I picked up yesterday. Who doesn't love wandering around looking for an optometrist who's open and taking drop-ins on Sunday morning? Thank the lord for Orthodox Jews; I found one who's closed Friday after sundown and all day Saturday, but opens Sunday morning. And he only charged me $30 for the visit, plus I paid another $16 for antibiotic eye drops. Fingers crossed that they work and I won't have to visit someone else in CA.
Weekly total: $1677.33. Eesh. Without the moving expenses, that's $452, which is better but not great. I do, blessedly, get paid at the end of this week, so I'm looking forward to a huge student loan payment and to making a small dent in the credit card debt as well.
Hi,
ReplyDeleteYou'd think that after all the American blogs I read I would be able to decipher what the Canadian equivalent to a ROTH IRA is (I am thinking it's the TFSA) but alas I just wanted to say good job on the small but tangible retirement fund growth.
Thank you! At this point I'm thinking slow but steady...I plan to pick up the retirement fund after I get rid of the student loan (two months and counting.) But it feels good to be able to make these little extra contributions now and not have to wait.
DeleteA Roth IRA is an investment vehicle where you pay all your taxes up front and then any later withdrawals are tax-free. So, I can put up to $5500 in this year. Then after I retire, I can take withdrawals of any growth (plus the original principal) without taxes. It's invested in an index fund in the meantime.
I don't know what a TFSA is though I read a lot of Canadian blogs....is that right?
Hi,
DeleteYes TFSA is Canadian, it stands for tax free savings account and from your reply it is the American equivalent to a Roth IRA. We also have a $5500 yearly limit for the account. I like following your journey into long-term investing since I am just dipping my toes in it too. I get excited over the prospect of compound interest and watching money grow without me doing anything. It's like the saying goes, those who understand compound interest earn it and those that don't end up paying it. Clearly not verbatim but you get the gist.
PS. What is the account called where you do pay taxes but only when you withdraw money? Here it is RRSP (registered retirement savings plan).
Ahah! Thanks. And I enjoy the idea of watching it grow too :)
DeleteWe have two kinds of account like that -- one is a traditional IRA (Individual Retirement Account) and the other is called a 401(k). I'm not really sure about the history of these two kinds of accounts, but a 401(k) is something you can only have through your employer (even though not all employers offer them and may or may not contribute to them) whereas anyone can open an IRA. The contribution limits are different too; you can put up to $17500 in a 401(k) every year, but only $5500 in an IRA.
Oh wow! What a big amount that you spent the week. Very expensive travel!
ReplyDeleteOoof, I know, I know! On the upside I crashed on someone's couch and didn't have to pay for a hotel room.
DeleteSorry to hear about the eye infection, hope that clears up. $131 for a week of eating out isn't terrible. I got an e-mail from my alma mater yesterday explaining the security measures for graduation. Made me reminisce a little bit about the "good old days".
ReplyDeleteMe too! I wear contacts and they're kind of an occupational hazard, though they only turn up once every five years or so. This one's being a little more stubborn than they usually are but it's much better. I'm just impatient to be able to wear my contacts again. :)
DeleteThanks!