Friday, March 21, 2008

Miscellaneous Money Musings

  • I have a lot going on with my personal finances right now, in addition to the craziness that is our current economy. The Fed cut their rate again, and ING is down to 3.00% APY for savings and a paltry 1.75% for checking. I'm sure I'd feel much worse if I had a large amount of cash saved up, but it's still a bit of a blow coming over the last couple months as I'm getting my financial house in order. The good thing is that I'm saving money and it's earning me something - both of which are big improvements over what I was like before.
  • I haven't paid a single bank fee since December!*
  • I have an opportunity to go to Ireland this June. This was completely out of left field (relatives are going) and I could go with airfare, housing, and food expenses paid. This is all but definite now. I'm planning on taking the opportunity to extend my trip for a week and visit a friend in England. That leg will come out of my pocket. So I need to do some serious saving for this. Costs are high over there.
  • Still annoyed about this whole thing. Sigh.
  • Trying to figure out the best way to balance retirement savings with travel, general and emergency savings (I will likely tap my emergency fund to boost my IRA).
  • Need to buckle down a bit to finish off the month strong. A couple birthdays and some lax discipline made me go over budget on a few unnecessary expenses so far. I should be able to sock away a good chunk though and stay on target.
*With the exception of a wire transfer fee that was reimbursed by NSTAR.

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