March 2010 Goals

In like a lion out like a lamb…

~ children’s idiom

I am having a tough time with goals for this month not because I can’t think of any, but because the goals I have are not actual goals.  Some are wishes and hope, some have no action plans associated with them.  In short they will either happen or they will not.  This month will be defined not by the actions I take but the way I react.  Will I rise above and seize the day???

•  Last month I had a goal of 4 post a week.  I didn’t finish.  This month is about finishing.  Here is what is on tap for counting cow chips:

The dumb chronicles – lessons learned from past mistakes

The trial of the century – Is now the time to buy a house.  Let the jury decide

Critical reading – Mastering the art of reading between the lines

My story – A look back at the journey so far

•Reading assignment.  I have read many great books on investing and personal finance, but there is so much out there that I haven’t even touched.  My goal is to finish the magazines I am reading and a book a month.  More to come on my reading list.

•  On a more personal note.  Be the best at work.  Demand excellence and work fast.  That’s the key.  I want to rise up and meet the expectations that have been placed upon me.

 

Like I said not many actionable items, but I think it’s measurable and achievable.  I just have to perform.

Feb Goals 2010 Wrap Up

“I went for years not finishing anything. Because, of course, when you finish something you can be judged . . . ” – Erica Jong

February has come and gone and it’s time to look back at what I accomplished.  One of the biggest challenges I face on a daily basis is finishing.  I am a great starter, but sometimes the follow through is lacking.  I’m working on it, and I hope this blog will encourage me in that endeavour.  I think the biggest fear I have is summed up in the quote above.  I fear failure and if I didn’t finish it  doesn’t count.  It’s the finality of finishing and being judged that scares me.  I do good work and I have great ideas and plans.  It’s time to make them a reality. 

February Goals

A successful blog shares great ideas.  I have ideas.  It’s time to share them.  So I’m committed to bringing you 16 post this month, 4 a week.  For a procrastinator like myself it’s enough.

Fail.  I’m being honest with myself here.  I published 4 post, that’s the bad; but I have no less than 15 that are in various stages of editing and revision.  Finish, that’s my new mantra.

Taxes – El and I are both getting back money from our taxes with the extra deductions from our move, the $1,250 loan we each plan to take from Uncle Sam (more on this latter), and getting out of the tax sink hole that is New York City.  Since I’m the nerd, I’m doing our taxes and the quicker I get them done the quicker we get our money.  I’m setting a deadline for February 15th.

Pass, barely.  So I filed our federal and the money is in the bank already.  The state taxes are a different matter as I am too cheap to pay $19.95 x 4 for the electronic filing, and we ran out of paper.  They’ll be in the mail Monday so I’m going to count it.  I did finish them by the 15th after all.

My cash flow budget (more on this latter) tells me I am going to run out of money on the 13th, I don’t get paid till the 15th.  I’ve got to find a way to spend less than $50 until I get paid to prevent this from happening.  In addition I am going to be $500 in the hole come the middle of March.  Hopefully, a pay raise will come through by then, but I need a plan B.  So this goal is a little more fluid, but the basic gist is that I need to plug the hole on paper so that the levy doesn’t break in real life.

Pass, with flying colors.  I found the money with a small gig to plug the hole, and the tax refund plugs the March hole.  I can pay all my bills which was the point.  I find out this week about the job and pay raise.  Keep your fingers crossed.

The wheels are turning, albeit very slowly.  I’ll have new goals first thing in the morning which will kick start a big month for me.  February goes down as an incomplete. 

Valentine’s Day Plans

The most important things are the hardest to say, because words diminish them. 

~Stephen King

 

El’s not into Halmark Holiday’s, but just becuase it’s over commercialized doesn’t mean you can’t do something a little different and outside the norm.  I would hate to be one of these people or how about one of these, or finally one of these.  So this year we are going to do V-day with style and class to make up for last year’s BYOB V-day with our friends that had a lot of style but may have been lacking in the class.  No my friends, this year we are going to do duck.  I just haven’t figured out what kind of duck.  We liked cripy fried duck at the Chinese places in NYC.  Duck a l’Orange always sounds delicious and fancy.  Lo and behold Martha Stewart to the rescue with this months Living… a section entitled Duck 101.  So as Emeril would say call your internet service provider and demand the new smell-o-blog.  Wonder if I can put scratch and sniff pictures?  Go ahead try it, scratch and sniff below.    

El said it was a little disconserting to have Hewy, Dewy, and Loui on the package.

 So duck, check.  Let’s see sides, maybe some brown rice?  Na, too boring for such a regal meal.  Maybe some quinao, or how about deliciously friend polinta.  Creamed spinach is a must, but the healthy Eating Well version that we love so much.  Delicata squash that makes your toes curl in delight.  I think we are on our way to a very romantic dinner for two, add a little bubbly and we are set.  But I musn’t forget the peice de resistance. 

 Pecan Linzer Cookies with Cherry Filling   

Almost too pretty to eat.

That’s my Valentine’s Day plan.  Let’s see if we can pull it off.  I like extravagance on the cheap.  This meal could possible cost you $50 a person in NYC, $100 per person on Valentine’s Day.  I think the duck was on sale for $12, and with everything else added in I figure the entire meal will cost $25, and we should get at least 4 meals out of that. 

Is a Valentine’s Day meal not as special if you start performing a cost analysis and talking about leftovers?  I don’t think so, but I think I’ll keep that to myself, all the same, on Sunday.  After all if it’s from the heart it’s priceless. 

What are your plans?  Anything I should do to improve our romantic dining experience?   

   

       

       

Stupid House

Home is where the heart is

-quote from my childhood

Wellheeled is hosting a series My Honey, My Money that should be great reading.  This post is for her Money conflicts in your relationship request.  Check out what else Wellheeled is twirling around the dance floor.

I’m exhausted today.  We went a full 10 rounds last night over a stupid house.  I can’t sit still right now because the coffee makes me jittery and I think I’m on trip 8 to the bathroom because it runs straight through me, and it’s not even noon.  A stupid house that’s probably under contract, and we couldn’t even think of putting an offer down for at least another month.  How do people decide what house to call home, especially when you have limited means? 

It’s just a stupid house; built in 1870 with a beautiful grand staircase, and stupid twelve foot high ceilings, a stupid study, and seven… SEVEN stupid fireplaces.  It’s not a stupid house, it’s a start towards a dream home, for only $125,000!  That’s $600/month compared to the $1200 we pay to rent!

That’s my view now let me give you El’s.

It’s a stupid house, with stupid trash strewn everywhere because it’s a short sale.  There’s a stupid hole in one of the ceilings, and a stupid hole in the utility room floor.  The stupid fireplaces are all boarded up, there are stupid cracks in the plaster in all the rooms that would need to be replaced, and the kitchen is STUPIDLY small, would need $30k to fix, and involve knocking down a wall.  The only furniture we have came with us from NYC and would not fill up a grand Victorian plantation home.  We can’t afford to heat it, we can’t afford to cool it, and the town it’s in is stagnant at best.  I liked the newly renovated ranch with new floors and kitchen fixtures for $195,000.  That’s $1,000 a month. 

In the end both houses probably cost the same… ok, you win, the Victorian house will probably cost more when all is said and done and who knows how long we would be under construction… 3 months… 3 years?  We can’t afford either of them.

I’m in love with an illusion, a fantasy of what the house could be like.  It’s a fault I have that I can’t see reality.  Fantasies don’t have cracks and holes that I haven’t fixed, or kitchens that are useless because we don’t have the money to pay the contractor finish the job.  Reality is water leaks and mold and termites, insurance and taxes and yard work, repairs and mortgages and trashy neighbors.  

It’s just a stupid house and not a home.  Home is growing up.  Home is the dream of a life together. Home is where you are… Home is where I want to be.  Let’s find a home together.  I’m sorry, and thanks for keeping the stupid house on the short list.  I’m stupidly in love with you.

How to get a Loan from Uncle Sam

The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax.

– Albert Einstein

Our tax code is full of loopholes, dead ends and just plain insanity.  It’s an amalgamation (or abomination if you prefer) of 80 years of tax laws bolted precariously together.  It started with the unholy alliance of economist and politicians who discovered that by taxing an activity you get less of that activity.  The converse holds true as well.  By offering deduction/credits for an activity you get more of that activity.  For this reason savings for retirement/health care/college are tax deductable, tax credits are offered for upgrading appliances to meet Energy Star requirements, and home owners get a tax deduction for any interest they pay on their mortgage.  It’s time to use the tax loop holes to my advantage.

To start, I’m still not certain I am ready to buy a house; and, since this whole plan hinges on the fact that I will be buying a house, let’s just pretend that it’s going to happen.  I’m also almost certainly going to put more than $5,000 down as a down payment, so let’s assume I have that cash in hand.  Now with that in mind, this is for all you first time home buyers out there.

Here’s the plan.  I’m going to open up a traditional IRA with $5,000 for tax year 2009 BEFORE April 15^th.  This will allow me to deduct the contribution from my taxable income, and so the amount of taxes I owe will go down by my marginal tax rate times the amount of my contribution.  Using myself as an example:  I have a marginal tax rate of 25% and my contribution is $5,000, so I will save $1,250 in taxes.  Because you can take out funds from a traditional IRA for a first time home purchase without penalty, I will then withdraw the $5,000 to use in my down payment.  When I file my taxes on April 15^th, 2011 for tax year 2010 I will have to report this $5,000 as income once again, and, as long as my marginal tax rate is the same, I will pay back the $1,250.  In essence what I have done is taken an interest free loan of $1,250 from Uncle Sam from the time I file my taxes this year until April 15^th next year.

Who cares, that’s a lot of work for an interest free loan.  Yes it is, but I have a rip-off loan charging me 28% interest.  I can then use that $1,250 for one year and save the interest I would have paid.  That works out to $350, for FREE!!!  Small potatoes in the grand scheme of things but every little bit helps.

You could also do this with a 401k as well.  I’ll have another post detailing how that would work, but just to tease you, multiply $15,000 by 25% and then multiply that by 28%.  Who’s laughing now sucker. 

Here’s the fine print:

1. You have to be a first time home buyer as defined by the IRS.
2. You have to have money to put into the IRA
3. You must be eligible to contribute to an IRA – have earned income, AGI under limits, ect.
4. You MUST use the money you take out of the IRA for a home purchase within 120 days of taking it out.
5. You might be charged a nominal fee (probably $35) by the company holding your IRA if you chose to close the IRA
6. Tax rates could go up in one year, or you might make enough money to bump you into the next tax bracket.  Look at your own personal situation and if you need help write a comment.

Feb 2010 Goals – Failure is not an option

Failure is not an option

– Gene Kranz (mission control on Apollo 13 mission)

 

I’ve always thought of myself as a driven goal oriented sort of guy.  Lately, I’ve begun to question that when I look at how my career, or lack thereof, is progressing.  I have flashes of brilliance with ideas that are so exciting, but it seems like chains are holding me down.  My ideas smolder while the follow through is put off for another day.  Can you consider yourself goal oriented if you never accomplish any goals?  What if all that you have are great ideas? What if they aren’t good ideas???

It’s time to find out just how brilliant some of these ideas are by making goals that will breath life into them.  I like the idea of creating monthly goals.  It seems to work well for Stacking Pennies and My Pretty Pennies.  They create some of the best goals and I enjoy reading about their struggles to set and accomplish goals.  If this blog is to be a success, I need to be as brutally honest with myself much the same way they are.  So, without any further ado.  I present the first monthly goal sheet for Counting Cow Chips.  Don’t laugh the first step is hardest and so I’ve set the bar basically on the ground.

1. A successful blog shares great ideas.  I have ideas.  It’s time to share them.  So I’m committed to bringing you 16 post this month, 4 a week.  For a procrastinator like myself it’s enough.
2. Taxes – El and I are both getting back money from our taxes with the extra deductions from our move, the $1,250 loan we each plan to take from Uncle Sam (more on this latter), and getting out of the tax sink hole that is New York City.  Since I’m the nerd, I’m doing our taxes and the quicker I get them done the quicker we get our money.  I’m setting a deadline for February 15th.
3. My cash flow budget (more on this latter) tells me I am going to run out of money on the 13th, I don’t get paid till the 15th.  I’ve got to find a way to spend less than $50 until I get paid to prevent this from happening.  In addition I am going to be $500 in the hole come the middle of March.  Hopefully, a pay raise will come through by then, but I need a plan B.  So this goal is a little more fluid, but the basic gist is that I need to plug the hole on paper so that the levy doesn’t break in real life.

So that’s it.  Three goals.  Not very difficult but very important.  I promise next month to raise the bar.  But for now… failure is not an option.

 

 

House Fever

“It’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma: but perhaps there is a key.”

-Winston Churchill

I’m coming down with H1F1, more commonly known as First House Fever.  The problem is, I don’t know if it’s trying to kill me, like the virulent strain from 2005-2008 that left so many broken dreams in its wake, or if it’s trying to fulfill me like the American Dream that it is supposed to represent.  It truly is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma and I’m hoping that you dear reader can help me find the key.

Here are the facts about my situation.

• I’m going on 29 and in the last 10 years I have lived in 11 different apartments throughout the country.  I’m ready to find my place in the world.
• I have been dating a wonderful girl, El,  for the past 2 1/2 years.  We are not yet married but that could change in the not to distant future.
• We just escaped from NYC to the paradise that is NC.  You mean it’s not normal to pay $2,700 for a one bedroom?
• We currently pay $1,200 a month in rent and our lease is up at the end of July.
• I started a new job in a volatile industry 2 months ago, but so far everything seems steady… for now.
• El just started a new job 5 months ago that is relatively stable.
• Between the two of us we have over $25k in credit card debt and another $25k in student loan debt.
• We only make $65k right now.  It will go up, but I’m not sure by how much.
• Our credit stinks right now, but we are working on it.  We should be debt free in 2 years.
• We have $10k in an old 401k that is mostly in cash.  With the investment choices available,  Cash is the only viable option I would consider.  Wouldn’t the best place to park it would be a house?
• We are looking at a house in the $180’s which would make our payments around $900.

So diagnose me.  Am I delusional… Is there any way this is going to work?  Is a house a cancer stick destined to kill me, or is it a bowl full of yogurt filled with probiotic goodness?

Hello World!

“the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of the Creator hovered over the waters.” 

Let’s see if we can add a little light to this site and breath life with a rich tapestry of words.  That’s what this site is all about: shedding light into the mysteries of my life, personal finances, and exposing all around bad advise.  Advise is like a cow chip, at worst it’s just a steaming pile of shit that you try not to step in, and at it’s best it can add a rich earthiness and growth to our personal lives.  I hope to provide more of the latter.  This is just a beginning and to quote the master Tolkien “you must start somewhere and have some roots, and the soil of the Shire is deep. Still there are things deeper and higher; and … I am glad that I know about them, a little.”   Onward and upward let the adventures begin!