My poor little generation is so ignored...
Anyways doing some online research (yay, Google!) and found some good links to keep around.
Financial Planning for Generation X and Generation Y
Why Gen X is in trouble and what they can do about it
My Gen X financial advice to my kids
My outlook on it at the moment? I have my Roth IRA started, I have the beginnings of my emergency fund in a .85% interest earning online savings account (it should be up to the goal amount in a few months), and yeah where do I go from here? My kids are almost too old to really benefit from a 529 college savings account at this point but I still might consider opening those. Or go with my current plan of we'll just muddle through their college expenses the best we can with scholarships, grants, loans, and savings.
Interest rates on savings accounts, treasury notes, bonds, and CD's suck at the moment. I need to read more and determine my long term financial goals before I start jumping into the stock market. And I hate nickel and dime fees for someone else investing my money. (Apparently I'm not alone, see above articles, it's a Gen X thing) I'd like to buy a second vehicle (in cash, I'm saving now) soon so I don't want to tie up that money in something long term but it seems stupid to have over $5000 sitting around earning nothing while I determine what I want to buy. But I figure I have a few months to learn about short term investment options while I'm earning the money I plan to save and invest.
You know, I might actually get the hang on this money thing after all...
Showing posts with label lifegoals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lifegoals. Show all posts
Saturday, December 28, 2013
Sunday, December 01, 2013
Being an Adult dorkiness
So with my new job, I now have these fancy awesome benefits like health insurance, a retirement plan, and get this, money! I'm like "wow! It's so much fun being a grown-up finally!"
No, seriously, I am super excited about being able to afford renter's insurance and life insurance again (both purchased already). I've really enjoyed researching the best online savings accounts for my emergency fund and best no fee Roth IRA's. This is so cool!
And also, I feel better about being able to buy Christmas gifts for the kids this year. I know they say money can't buy happiness but it can buy peace of mind. And with all the craziness of this year, my new job has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. Maybe being an adult isn't so bad after all.
No, seriously, I am super excited about being able to afford renter's insurance and life insurance again (both purchased already). I've really enjoyed researching the best online savings accounts for my emergency fund and best no fee Roth IRA's. This is so cool!
And also, I feel better about being able to buy Christmas gifts for the kids this year. I know they say money can't buy happiness but it can buy peace of mind. And with all the craziness of this year, my new job has lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. Maybe being an adult isn't so bad after all.
Monday, October 07, 2013
The New Crazy Normal
Or is it the New Normal Crazy?
Whenever I get a free moment, I like to ponder how my Normal is never really what I expected to be my Normal. We all grow up with an assumption of how our lives will go. The majority of society has a Normal something like this: grow up with two working married parents, go to college, get a job, get married, buy a house, have kids, send the kids off to live their own lives, retire. There's some slight variations in there, maybe a stay at home parent, move a few times, change jobs but for the most part, that's Normal.*
Since leaving my parent's home at 17, I reached a bit of Normal (married, kids, home) for some years in my twenties but the rest of it has been upside down and backwards. And seems to be staying that way.
Nowadays I tend to think of my life as Crazy, not Normal and act accordingly. On top of being divorced, a new college graduate, oddly employed in random part time jobs, and renting a townhouse, I also have a bi-polar home life of being a single parent of 5 kids one week to being (mostly) foot loose and fancy free the next.
It's a bit crazy at times.
I'm attempting to find one full time RN job but I've sort of accepted that I may be working a string of random part time jobs for awhile. I don't have a goal to marry ever again but I figure I will jump back into the dating pool eventually. I probably won't buy another home, renting is nice for a lot of reasons. There's likely more college in my future in the form of a masters or doctorate degree if I take the nurse practitioner route. And definitely no more children!
It sometimes seems to me that I veered off the Normal well trodden path of life. It's like everyone else is on the wide straight interstate of Normal and somehow I'm hiking along a curvy cow path up on the hillside. I can see everyone else traveling along at the speed limit, passing life's milestones, moving on in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile I'm going up and down hills, around curves, stepping over fallen trees, and splashing across streams.
It's a bit crazy at times.
I'm definitely not saying the interstate or the cow path is the better way to get through life. It's just different, like apples and oranges. But I really did expect to stay on the interstate throughout my life so I often wake up surprised to be on this wacky cow path. Am I going to make it back to the interstate ever? Do I even want to? I don't know.
Crazy is now my Normal and it's okay. That's enough to have figured out for now.
* One could argue that divorce is often a Normal nowadays but it's such a huge disruption in everything. And it's not like it's on anyone's goal list like 'buying a house' so I think it falls under Crazy.
Whenever I get a free moment, I like to ponder how my Normal is never really what I expected to be my Normal. We all grow up with an assumption of how our lives will go. The majority of society has a Normal something like this: grow up with two working married parents, go to college, get a job, get married, buy a house, have kids, send the kids off to live their own lives, retire. There's some slight variations in there, maybe a stay at home parent, move a few times, change jobs but for the most part, that's Normal.*
Since leaving my parent's home at 17, I reached a bit of Normal (married, kids, home) for some years in my twenties but the rest of it has been upside down and backwards. And seems to be staying that way.
Nowadays I tend to think of my life as Crazy, not Normal and act accordingly. On top of being divorced, a new college graduate, oddly employed in random part time jobs, and renting a townhouse, I also have a bi-polar home life of being a single parent of 5 kids one week to being (mostly) foot loose and fancy free the next.
It's a bit crazy at times.
I'm attempting to find one full time RN job but I've sort of accepted that I may be working a string of random part time jobs for awhile. I don't have a goal to marry ever again but I figure I will jump back into the dating pool eventually. I probably won't buy another home, renting is nice for a lot of reasons. There's likely more college in my future in the form of a masters or doctorate degree if I take the nurse practitioner route. And definitely no more children!
It sometimes seems to me that I veered off the Normal well trodden path of life. It's like everyone else is on the wide straight interstate of Normal and somehow I'm hiking along a curvy cow path up on the hillside. I can see everyone else traveling along at the speed limit, passing life's milestones, moving on in an orderly fashion. Meanwhile I'm going up and down hills, around curves, stepping over fallen trees, and splashing across streams.
It's a bit crazy at times.
I'm definitely not saying the interstate or the cow path is the better way to get through life. It's just different, like apples and oranges. But I really did expect to stay on the interstate throughout my life so I often wake up surprised to be on this wacky cow path. Am I going to make it back to the interstate ever? Do I even want to? I don't know.
Crazy is now my Normal and it's okay. That's enough to have figured out for now.
* One could argue that divorce is often a Normal nowadays but it's such a huge disruption in everything. And it's not like it's on anyone's goal list like 'buying a house' so I think it falls under Crazy.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Feeling Good Part #3
So considering all the craziness of the last few months, I find myself in pretty good spirits lately. I've been taking some steps to fix the things I can and accept those I can't. (Go Serenity Pray! And Dr. Phil)
Fixing:
Full-Time Nursing Job: Applying, talking to my contacts, picking up as many hours as possible at both the volunteer clinic and as a school nurse substitute. The sewing gig is enough (barely) but I still don't have benefits (health insurance, life insurance, 401K). I might be able to get some minimal coverage elsewhere. It's on the To Do List.
Crappy Shoe-String Budget: Not going to go into all the details but I've contacted people to work on my debt. The relief from the strain of those monthly bills is amazing.
Accepting:
Teenagers: Currently have 3 and 2 pre-teens. It's going to be a long and bumpy ride... Just gotta buckle up, white knuckle it and get through to the other side.
Crappy Shoe-String Budget: Needs versus Wants. I have a list. And a plan. And sticking to it.
Dating: Not doing it right now. I'm good with being single at the moment (I reserve the right to change this mindset in the future) It's taken some time but I'm finally cool with just being with me. Plus I have so many amazing friends and family here that any time I really want to do something, I have a great bunch of people to contact.
Townhouse: It's good enough, it's smart enough, and doggone it, we like it. I do have to fight an internal feeling of "it's not a house, it's only 1450 square feet, it's not a house!" It is a little cramped with 6 people sometimes but the other half of the month, when it's just me and the cat, it's perfect. The location is amazing and I have a gym and a garden. I love it until the kids want friends over or I have to find an alternative location for my Girl Scout Troop meetings. I miss having a guest room and I miss entertaining. The accepting is especially tricky when our current town is known for it's 4000+ square foot McMansions and we're living in 1450 square foot townhouse. We're kinda the odd family out at the moment. Like I said, I'm working on the acceptance part.
Quote of the Day: "Don't look for your dreams to come true; look to become true to your dreams." -Michael Beckwith
Fixing:
Full-Time Nursing Job: Applying, talking to my contacts, picking up as many hours as possible at both the volunteer clinic and as a school nurse substitute. The sewing gig is enough (barely) but I still don't have benefits (health insurance, life insurance, 401K). I might be able to get some minimal coverage elsewhere. It's on the To Do List.
Crappy Shoe-String Budget: Not going to go into all the details but I've contacted people to work on my debt. The relief from the strain of those monthly bills is amazing.
Accepting:
Teenagers: Currently have 3 and 2 pre-teens. It's going to be a long and bumpy ride... Just gotta buckle up, white knuckle it and get through to the other side.
Crappy Shoe-String Budget: Needs versus Wants. I have a list. And a plan. And sticking to it.
Dating: Not doing it right now. I'm good with being single at the moment (I reserve the right to change this mindset in the future) It's taken some time but I'm finally cool with just being with me. Plus I have so many amazing friends and family here that any time I really want to do something, I have a great bunch of people to contact.
Townhouse: It's good enough, it's smart enough, and doggone it, we like it. I do have to fight an internal feeling of "it's not a house, it's only 1450 square feet, it's not a house!" It is a little cramped with 6 people sometimes but the other half of the month, when it's just me and the cat, it's perfect. The location is amazing and I have a gym and a garden. I love it until the kids want friends over or I have to find an alternative location for my Girl Scout Troop meetings. I miss having a guest room and I miss entertaining. The accepting is especially tricky when our current town is known for it's 4000+ square foot McMansions and we're living in 1450 square foot townhouse. We're kinda the odd family out at the moment. Like I said, I'm working on the acceptance part.
Quote of the Day: "Don't look for your dreams to come true; look to become true to your dreams." -Michael Beckwith
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
"Do Nothing" Day
All I have scheduled today is a Girl Scout Leader meeting this evening. No work, the house is pretty clean, I don't have any errands to run, kids are at G's...
I have a few writing ideas bouncing around in my head, something along the lines of 'things I've learned' or 'stuff I still need to work on' or 'where the hell do I go from here'.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who analyzes and over thinks life. I see so many people just going about their day as if they don't have a constant inner monologue questioning and wondering and pondering everything. But on the flip side, I've made some spectacular life changing decisions without even really thinking about them at all. Then as I deal with the fall out from those 'no thought actions' (moments, months, years later), I look back and ask "what the fuck was I thinking?" And the answer, I'm sad to say more often than not, is I wasn't thinking. One of my biggest lessons I've learned over the years is 'not making decision is still making a decision.' I try to avoid making that particular mistake nowadays. But no worries, there are a lot more mistakes that I continue to make over and over again (see 'my shoe string budget').
So of all the ideas and possibilities bouncing around in my head (which I'm sure I'll share with you eventually), I want to start writing again. I've been reading a lot of varied books lately, mostly because I'm broke and just borrow and download whatever is available from the local library onto my Kindle. It's kinda like blindly grabbing a couple of books off the shelf except I can do it at 2am without leaving my sofa. And no late fees when I forget to return them.*
Two books that I recently blindly grabbed and then really enjoyed reading are The Best American Travel Writing 2011
and Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (you probably know her from Eat, Pray, Love)
And now I've been inspired to write again.
NaNoWriMo is coming up in November so that's definitely on the To Do List now. Until then, I'm going to work on getting my ducks in a row (job, shoe string budget, life goals, you know the little stuff...) and start making time to write again.
Although honest to God, even after all the tears and frustrating lonely nights, I'd still rather have a certain sexy older man with a Boston accent distracting me from writing.
Quote of the Day: "Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." ~Thomas à Kempis
* I lovingly blame my mom for this. She always returned my library books for me since she was the town librarian. 'Returning library books' has therefore never been part of my 'borrowing library books' experience. I currently owe my local library $8.41
I have a few writing ideas bouncing around in my head, something along the lines of 'things I've learned' or 'stuff I still need to work on' or 'where the hell do I go from here'.
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person who analyzes and over thinks life. I see so many people just going about their day as if they don't have a constant inner monologue questioning and wondering and pondering everything. But on the flip side, I've made some spectacular life changing decisions without even really thinking about them at all. Then as I deal with the fall out from those 'no thought actions' (moments, months, years later), I look back and ask "what the fuck was I thinking?" And the answer, I'm sad to say more often than not, is I wasn't thinking. One of my biggest lessons I've learned over the years is 'not making decision is still making a decision.' I try to avoid making that particular mistake nowadays. But no worries, there are a lot more mistakes that I continue to make over and over again (see 'my shoe string budget').
So of all the ideas and possibilities bouncing around in my head (which I'm sure I'll share with you eventually), I want to start writing again. I've been reading a lot of varied books lately, mostly because I'm broke and just borrow and download whatever is available from the local library onto my Kindle. It's kinda like blindly grabbing a couple of books off the shelf except I can do it at 2am without leaving my sofa. And no late fees when I forget to return them.*
Two books that I recently blindly grabbed and then really enjoyed reading are The Best American Travel Writing 2011
and Committed by Elizabeth Gilbert (you probably know her from Eat, Pray, Love)And now I've been inspired to write again.
NaNoWriMo is coming up in November so that's definitely on the To Do List now. Until then, I'm going to work on getting my ducks in a row (job, shoe string budget, life goals, you know the little stuff...) and start making time to write again.
Although honest to God, even after all the tears and frustrating lonely nights, I'd still rather have a certain sexy older man with a Boston accent distracting me from writing.
Quote of the Day: "Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." ~Thomas à Kempis
* I lovingly blame my mom for this. She always returned my library books for me since she was the town librarian. 'Returning library books' has therefore never been part of my 'borrowing library books' experience. I currently owe my local library $8.41
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