Friday, January 28, 2011

More Miscellany

1. I refuse to do an end-of-the-month report this January. Because if I did, I would have to admit that I have reduced my overall debt by a mere $55. January is always an impossible month--not only are there Christmas bills to catch up with, but my homeowner's insurance comes due on both my residence and my rental, as do my property tax payments. In my state, there is no sales tax (YAY!) but we get hit hard with property taxes (OUCH!). I feel lucky to have had any debt reduction at all.

2. My 401(k) has hit an all-time high of $216,000. Financial Engines says it is "very likely" that when I retire, I will have an annual income of $57,000 per year (including Social Security). I feel good about that. Although my current income is higher, I live on less than $57,000 a year because I pay $1050 per month (pre-tax) into my retirement funds.

3. I'm in love with my new, very cheap Tracfone. It cost me a whopping $9.99 and came with free "Double Minutes." The double minutes card usually sells for $49.99 though it is currently on sale for $19.99. Either way, I got quite the bargain at less than ten bucks. Then, it turns out that promo codes still work, so with the 200 minute card my sister put in my Christmas stocking, I got a total of 460 minutes. I figure that will last me all year. I don't like talking on cell phones, so I use mine just to check in with my kids, when I'm running late, and for the feeling of safety it gives me to know that I can summon help if I need to. Of course my kids laugh at me because my phone is just a phone--I can call or text. But there's no e-mail, there's no camera, and it doesn't make my morning coffee. For $9.99, I'm not complaining, especially when I see THEIR cellphone bills!

8 comments:

LC said...

Hubby always spirals into a certain gloominess in January. We have similar bills. My sympathies. Any debt reduction in January is VICTORY! My agreement on cell phone usage. Guess we would be left in the dark if we wanted to join the demonstrations in Egypt!

Sharon said...

Oh Grace, I would LOVE to give up my Verizon phone!!! It would save me a fortune!!!

Hey, with all those expenses, you still paid down debt??? Pretty amazing, if you ask me!

Maureen said...

I always find January to be a catch up month, and then it,s full speed into the rest of the year.

Good news for you on the retirement front, well done.

Anonymous said...

C'mon FEBRUARY Let's make up some lost ground!

Petunia 100 said...

Congrats on your 401k reaching a new high!! FE's projection looks awesome to me, especially since your mortgage will also be gone.

Tricia said...

We've had our Tracfone for a while now and we absolutely love it. As an added benefit for us, we live in an area with spotty cell coverage. Since Tracfones use all cell company towers - we can often get reception when others can't!

Grace. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Grace. said...

Tricia, that's been my experience as well. My tracfone works everywhere.