I’ve got 99 problems and money is involved in all of them. I suppose I should look at all the good things I have and consider myself lucky, but then how do I feel the enjoyment of bitching? After a pretty tough 2012 and looking at a looming financial horizon, what with G-Bug three years away from graduating high school, I wanted to get on a more disciplined path. I’ve taken much of the doom & gloom reporting about retirement and the saving habits of the average American to heart and wanted to avoid being another statistic.
For New Year’s, I gave myself a moderate resolution of having an additional $360 in savings by the end of 2013. For someone who lives from check to check, socking away $15 from 24 out of 26 paychecks in a year seemed a decent place to start. I also wanted to bump up my 401K contribution rate to 5%, the top level where my company would match (100% match for the first 3%, then 50% match for the next 2%). There are also a few debts I wanted to pay down in 2013, so I felt I had a good plan in place to save some, pay some, and be on my way to build up a good nest egg by the time G-Bug goes to college.
I took time to put together a rudimentary family cash flow plan to track and time all expenses I was responsible for paying as well as my pay days. I would have to borrow repeatedly against my overdraft protection with ING throughout the year, but I did the same for all of 2012, so I was prepared for it. When money got really tight, I was able to plan when I would late pay a bill or two until after a pay day, so I wouldn’t be playing so close to the hilt. If I could budget accordingly, we would start seeing some marked improvement after the summer.
How does that expression go about ‘best laid plans?’
The first hit was the re-enrollment into the company benefits program. The company I work for has a top notch benefits program and added vision coverage, which I opted into. It’s only about $7 every pay check. As expected, the medical coverage increased a good deal, but I knew I wouldn’t be participating in a FLEX account for 2013, and that would more than offset the increase. What I didn’t account for was the increase in my Federal taxes. That took my take home pay way below what I was used to, so I changed my 401K contribution rate to 4% to accommodate.
Next came a string of unexpected expenses. G-Bug’s mom had a $25 co-pay for a dentist visit that was part of my responsibility to pay. There was another $144 bill from the dentist that hadn’t been sent to insurance yet, so I’m sitting on that one. G-Bug also asked a boy to a Sadie Hawkins dance, which I was happy to hear about, but comes with its own expenses (dress, shoes, hair, etc.). And, her volleyball team was having a fund-raiser with a $50 “opt out” clause for the parents. Oh, and there was a bogus $42 parking ticket I got for an expired meter. I was successfully able to get that expunged, but still!
The latest surprise was my mistiming of the February mortgage payment. Historically, the payment was made on a Tuesday or Friday, depending on where the day fit at the beginning of the month. I thought it would be Friday the 8th, after I get paid on the 7th, and planned accordingly. The bank tried to withdraw funds today and I didn’t have enough, so there is a $29 fee I hadn’t planned on paying.
My exhausting holiday season didn’t end in December. January is my Mom’s birthday and I sent her a nice gift basket. Two weeks after that, there is Valentine’s Day. Two week after THAT is The Wifey’s birthday. In between is my friend’s birthday. Oh, and in mid-March is my sister’s birthday. Maybe I shouldn’t let these events stress my out, but I would feel worse if I didn’t do anything.
So, are there any silver linings? I do expect to be paid about $360 for my service as the Treasurer/Secretary for the company’s bowling league in April – but, not so fast! This past weekend, I received a notice from our mortgage company that our escrow account has a shortage that needs to be paid along with the March payment. The amount needed? Three hundred fifty-five dollars. After that, the mortgage payment increases another $21 per month. My next moves were to decrease my 401K contribution back to the original 3% I had last year and to sell some shares of Hershey stock I have in my rollover account to free up some cash; something I was hoping to avoid doing for 2013, since I had done so frequently the last three years.
As I said earlier, I guess I should be happy I have a rollover account to borrow from and I’m only borrowing from my profits. Plus, I am employed (“gainfully” is up to debate) with benefits and health insurance, which a lot of people do not have. For that, I am grateful. However, I’m trying to be a responsible husband and parent and put a plan in place to be so, and when that path is sidetracked, I can’t help but throw my hands in the air and wonder ‘what’s the point?’ I suppose this is your classic middle class lament.
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