See Jane Get Rich

I am back from my “blogcation”!

Job

What the heck am I doing?

I am working for the site that I interned for this past spring.  My boss called me up while I was studying for the bar and offered me a 90-day position because they needed some assistance while they are implementing a case management system.  I am in no way qualified for this technical position except that I am familiar with the department’s work flow.  One-third of the way through and thankfully I have yet to actually do what I was hired to do and am dealing with a lot of cases because a senior person in the office took an unexpected early retirement.   I am learning a whole lot and for the most part is content with the work. 

How much dough am I making?

When we first spoke and I asked about compensation I was told it wasn’t set yet but would be in the $28-$36 range.  When we later spoke to solidify things the boss offered me $25 per hour stating the they didn’t know how the budget would be then and that was what they could offer me.  I responded that $25 was way outside the range and asked for a $3 increase to $28 so the figure will at least fit the parameters first quoted me.  I didn’t hear anything about whether it was $25 or $28 until I started and found out it will be $28.  I also requested flexibility with my hours.  I have been going in everyday for the most part but I am planning to work one day from home.  Also, some days I will work six hours and then another day I will work 11 hours.   I need this flexibility because I am taking classes…science classes. Yuck! Which brings us to why I am spending more than what I am earning. 

So, let’s do the math real quick.  

• $28/per hour X 35 hours/per week = $980 and after takes we are looking at $734 /per week
• $734 X 4 pay periods for August = approximately $3k.

August 2010 = $2.936    (budget breaker – tuition)

September 2010 = $2.936     (budget breaker – ticket for Christmas abroad; trip to visit friend)

October 2010 = $3,690  (no budget breaker expected)

My first month in the “real world” and I am going to be spending more than I am earning.  The real culprit is, once again, education to the tune of $2,700-ish for two science classes.  I ended up renting the lecture texts and buying the lab manuals.  I haven’t bought a parking permit and I am trying to do without it for now.

Quick recap: 

(1) Sublease I subleased my apartment to someone who is a little strange but I discovered she was just fine because we had to share the apartment for two weeks since she was so eager to move in and I didn’t want to sleep on a friend’s couck for two weeks.  I required a security deposit for one month.   I have subleased my apartment for April and May.  This saves me $1,500 dollars in rent. 

(2) Finishing Law School Early I did finish all the things I needed for law school early so, I moved out of DC before my classes officially ended but I was done with everything  and I will be going back for exams and will likely stay with a friend.   I have been at home taking a nice relaxing break but also studying some. 

(3) Bar Exam When I subleased my apartment I was at a point where I wanted to walk away from this whole legal thing and go in another direction.  I still want to do this sometime in the future but I owe it to myself to take the bar and give this thing a chance before I jump ship.  Unfortunately, I only came to this realization after I subleased my apartment until the end of June.  My classes will be in DC and they start in mid-May.  One of my friends will let me stay at his place gratis for May.  If I want to continue staying in DC then I need to find a sublease or just crash at school for a month.  I am reconsidering this option and thinking I should just take the class online from home since I don’t have to worry about a thing here.  I have applied and is expecting to sit for two bar exams.  I have started reviewing for the bar today.  I started with torts. 

(4) Internship My internship ended with a trip to the New York office to interview someone.  This trip was so unnecessary but I really wanted to go and my supervisor set it up.  It was a blast.  More importantly, I believe I made solid contacts in almost three offices.  I also made contacts with all the alums working in the organization.  Additionally, I went and introduced myself to the HR people in two offices.  I am still applying for jobs with the organization.  I have recently applied for a position that I feel matches my skills perfectly.  But more on this later.

(5) March Finances – I need to sit down and tally everything up for March but I have been scared to because I know I spent way too much eating out.  It was a whole lot of “we must do dinner since I am leaving town super early and won’t see you again.”  Too many of that.

Unexpected Expense My Sony Viao’s power cord isn’t working for some reason so I have been without my laptop for a few weeks and that has made updating my website difficult since I don’t update my blog from home.  But, now that I am back in the library studying I expect to update my site more often. 

Today, I logged into my bank account to find that my account balance jumped by $4,000.   “Whoa!  What happened?!” I asked myself.  As I quickly scanned my bank account transactions I saw a refund from my law school in the amount of $4,000.  I then quickly logged into my student account to review account charges for Spring 2010 and under credits there is a credit under “outside scholarship $4,000.”   

 I had an outside scholarship that paid for $4k of my tuition for Spring 2009 and I used another $4k for my Fall 2009 tuition.  I found the terms of the scholarship and it states:

 The $4,000.00 scholarship is renewable for the third year of law school (except in the event of unusual circumstances, determined in the discretion of the firm, that may involve the Scholar’s academic performance or conduct subsequent to the award….)

 It seems I was wrong in my interpretation in thinking $4k was just for the third year as a whole.  The scholarship must have renewed again for the Spring semester since I still meet the requirements.  I paid my tuition somewhat early before the scholarship was applied to my tuition and I believe this triggered the refund.  

This brings down my total all time out-of-pocket law school tuition expenses from $29,377.50 to $25,377.50 and my Spring 2010 tuition from $8,777.50 to $4,777.50.   

 An unexpected $4,000 is the best way to start off the week!

Over budget by $63.63

February expenses were much better when compared with last month.   My gas use was very low because I was stuck inside for a whole week due to the snow storm. 

My food expenses have gone up because (1) I am eating out a whole lot more with friends and (2) I am feeling down about my legal career prospects and haven’t really had the energy nor the desire to cook.

 I used GoDaddy for the domain registration even though I absolutely hate their commercials with the same old tired “sex sells” formula.   I already had an account with GoDaddy and I liked their prices. Be careful when dealing with GoDaddy for backordering domaings.  They have some really really shady practices.  For backordering domains, GoDaddy = Super Shady.  Whenever I make a GoDaddy purchase I always Google “GoDaddy Coupon Code” or something to that effect to find coupon codes that work.  The “Extra Discount” shows how much I saved because of a coupon code I found online right before checkout. 

I use Word Press hosting because in my PF blog reader days I found Blogger to be too cumbersome when you wanted to comment on someone’s post.  I still find Blogger incredibly annoying and difficult to use when commenting, but I love that commenting on other Word Press sites is easy as pie. 

Here is what my blog is costing me a year:

 So, how much did your blog cost?  If you are using a free service, do you think you will upgrade in the future?  

It was a tough decision to make but I decided to cut my internet.  First and foremost, it is sucking up a lot of my time.  One of my personal goals this year was to watch less youtube and not play around on the internet.  One month in, I realized that I am not doing a very good job.  You see, I have a huge addiction  appreciation for foreign movies.  I watch movies in at least 10 different langugaes.  So, its time for the stick.  Second, it is really not a necessity for me.  I am at school at least three to four days so I can check my email and blog.    

But, it will hurt.  A lot.  In late September, I got my internet connection for the first time  in all three years of law school and I told myself that I would cut it if it got to be too much of a distraction.  It has. 

Do you consider the internet to be a necessity or a luxury?  How do you control your internet use?

Okay, let’s break down why January 2010 was the most expensive month of my life. 

Read the rest of this entry »

Financial Goals for Spring 2010

1. Make my 2010 Roth IRA Contribution
2. Roll over 401(k) from my holiday job to a Roth or transfer it to my brokerage
3. Find more affordable car insurance before February 11
4. Obtain a credit report from one of the three agencies
5. Budget/Keep track of my expenses
6. Diversify my investments

 Come February, I will be covered by Geico.  The gecco offered me an unbeatable rate for liability insurance for my 1997 Honda Civic with 150k miles on it.  I never had full insurance coverage on a car.  This was a terrible decision for my first car since I wrecked it within 3 months of getting it but since I am a more experienced driver the libility-only mode of coverage has worked well for me.  Also, since I live in DC, I have alternative options for transportation.  I live near two bus stops and while the metro is not very close it is a doable 15-20 minute walk. 

Before 

Nationwide Insurance

• 6 Month Premium = $241.36
• Per month: $40.22

After

Geico  

• 6 Month Premium = $138.80
• Per month: $23.13

Total Savings:

• Per month: $17.09
• Per year: $205.12

I have been with Nationwide ever since I started driving.  We’ve been together for a long time but its now time to move onto greener pastures.  So, why the big savings?  It wasn’t all about Geico’s “15 minites or more could save you 15% on your auto insurance,” rather “Not having your paret paying for your car insurance can substantially lower your insurance premiums.”  The payment I made with Geico recently is the first time that I paid for car insurance because my parent has been paying my insurance all these years.  When someone else is paying for it you take it for granted and don’t compare shop as you would with your own money.  I didn’t notice the amount since I had no reason to.  I didn’t even find out what my actual insurance was until I called Nationwide to find out my monthly rate so I could do some comparison shopping.  I am glad that I took the time to compare my rate and make the switch.  I only wish I had done it sooner.   

How fabulous is my car insurance makeover?  Do you always compare shop?  What about when you were younger and you were using your parent’s money? 

Financial Goals for Fall 2009 – Update

 I had several personal finance goals for this fall semester and here’s how I fared on them.

Goals:

• Goal #1: Correct my social security earnings statement
• Goal #2: Open a Health Savings Account
• Goal #3: Start a personal finance blog
• Goal #4: Get a holiday job for my winter break
• Goal #5: Set a budget

 Goal #1: Correct my social security earnings statement

 Issue: What I saw on my paystubs and income tax statements did not correlate with what I was seeing in my social security earnings statement.

 Status: Done but…   Read the rest of this entry »

Today, I’ve been the victim of Burger King’s “Would you like that to be a medium or large today?” second generation corporate strategy to nickel and dime its customers.

There is a Burger King on the way to school that I have been avoiding like the plague for months because fastfood is not good for me and I shouldn’t eat it often.  Second, the guy at the window always tries to flirt with me.  First, he would have this cheesy smile on his face.  I avoid looking at him.  Then when I reach for the receipt he withdraws my receipt.  I think he wants me to engage in some kind of cat and mouse game with him for the receipt and I refuse to do so.  I have on my “I am not amused” look and get away as quickly as possible. 

Since it is November and close to exam time I have been slacking on cooking.  So, I stopped by BK for a quick lunch.  I always order #4 the Jr Whopper Burger with no cheese that costs $3.99 which comes to $4.32 with taxes.   But, today the total came to be $5.04. 
Read the rest of this entry »