Struggling to be debt free

Hi Everyone, I hope you had a wonderful holiday.  I am still on vacation and enjoying my time off.  I hope to be able to get back to reading and commenting on my favorite blogs soon.  (For some reason the comments from my phone will not post??)  I just wanted to pop in very quickly and post about my raise. My boss called me on the second day of my vacation to let me know that I am getting a raise starting January 1, 2019.  My salary will now be $90,000 (up from $85,850)  I received my last raise in August of 2017 ($80,850 to $85,850) so I am pleased about the increase in income.  Based on the online calculators, I should receive an extra $118 per paycheck (an increase of $236 per month).  I need to figure out what I want to do with the increase in income for the 2019 year.  Probably a combination of mortgage pay down and savings. 

I hope everyone has a wonderful and Merry Christmas!!!

This is not really a Christmas-y post, but I wanted to post it before it slipped my mind.  I read a very sad article about another lawyer, a successful one, who committed suicide. Being a lawyer is such a hard and stressful job and even the Florida Bar has initiated several programs directed towards mental wellness. Even successful lawyers take their own lives due to the stress.  The link to the article is here .  I do not necessary agree with all of the statements in the article and I recognize it is one sided, but it gives insight into the practice of law and the mental health of lawyers.  It shows why I want to retire from practicing law as soon as I possibly can. 

It's December!! I'm feeling pretty excited as I only have 7 more days to work this year.I will have about 12 consecutive days off!! December is usually pretty stressful, but I think I am slightly ahead of where I normally am by this time.  I still have a good bit to do, but I don't feel overwhelmed.  Anyways, here are my goals for December 1. Finish Christmas Shopping 2. Wrap presents 3. Finish filing papers in the office 4. Put up Christmas Decorations 5. Clean out Office 6. Figure out 2019 Financial (and other goals). 7. Pull together a post on how I did on my 2018 goals. 8. Prepare a Net worth update.  9. Read 2 books.  How are you doing on your year end and/or Christmas preparations? Are you on target or falling behind? 

I made my December mortgage payment last week and my mortgage balance finally dropped under $200,000!! The current balance is $199,275!! I was beginning to think it would never get out of the $200,000s.  I am ahead of my amortization schedule by about a year and a half.  I'm at 80.7% LTV.  SOoo close to 80% and so close (relatively) to dropping PMI.  I have one more mortgage payment to make before the end of the year (my 12/31 payment), so the balance should drop down to the $198,000s. My mortgage at the beginning of the year was at 208,908.  So about a $10,000 drop in principal for the year!

Ally has raised the rate on its savings account to 2.00%!!! I love Ally because they have consistently raised rates since I opened mine just a few months ago! However, MySavingsDirect.com is currently offering 2.35% on its savings account!  I have had MySavingsDirect account, a division of Emigrant Bank, for  a few years now. Both accounts are fine, but it did take MySavingDirect a while to raise its rates to compete with the other banks. I still need to check out Marcus by Goldman Sachs, I heard they were a good too and had high rates.  But, on the other hand, 2 savings accounts are probably enough.  I read a very sad and sobering story about a couple firmly entrenched in debt.  It is a warning to us all to get our money under control.  You can read it here . 

 I don't know how familiar you all are with the concept of FIRE.  FIRE means= Financial Independence Retire Early.  FIRE is an amazing concept to me.  I would love to become financially independent so that I'm not required to work until I am 65.  My job is stressful and it seems it is the type of work which will always be stressful (litigation, trials, appeals, etc).  FIRE has a wide array of meaning throughout the personal finance community.  Suze Orman was on the Afford Anything podcast and caused quite a stir with her views on FIRE.  I like the idea of FIRE.  To me, FIRE means freedom and the ability to have choices.  For me to achieve FIRE I need to have a paid for house, a solid emergency fund and (depending upon the age at which I attain FIRE) a crap ton of cash/investments/savings/CDs, etc.  My dad served in the air force for 30 years.  He entered when he was 19 years old and retired at 49.  When he retired ...

At the end of October, I made my mortgage payment for November. The total payment was $2,120.  This is the largest payment I have ever made on this mortgage in the 5 plus years that I have had it.  My mortgage payment is normally $1,481, so this payment constituted an extra $639 towards the principal!!!  My goal is to pay off enough of the mortgage so that I can drop the pmi premiums next year.  I should reach 80% LTV in February of next year, but I won't be at 78% until August.  (Based on the original mortgage schedule, I was going to reach 80% LTV in September of 2020).  I'm so excited!! The pmi premium is $115  month, so by August of 2019, I will be able to add an extra $115 towards principal.  This is even more exciting because by August of 2019, I should have about $1,000 a month going towards principal (if I keep the extra $400 principal payments, the 115 additional principal payment and my required principal payment).   A...

I did not win the Mega Millions Jackpot.  I did spend the $2 to purchase a ticket.  If I did win I would have paid off my house. I also would have opened a series of savings accounts with $100,000 balances.  I would have put a few million into investments.  I would have purchased some long term  CDs.  I would do everything in my power to ensure that I have enough money to last for the rest of my life. I think I would also build a custom home with lots of security features so that I would not have to worry that someone would break in and try to steal my lottery winnings.  I don't want a big house, but I would like an acre or 2 of land.  I would give some money to my mother and sisters.  I would also donate money to charity (disaster relief, St. Jude's, my law school, legal services, etc). I would quit my job and set up a 501(c)(3) charitable organization.  I think I would devote it to provide assistance to struggling families....

Just a quick update.  We are still recovering from Hurricane Michael, but everyday the roads get clearer and less people are suffering from the power outages.  There are more and more donations centers for the less fortunate.  I need to buy some supplies to donate and find a convenient donation center.  I have a bag of clothes that I can donate too. Additionally, I only spent about $200 for the hurricane preparation (some bags of ice, bottled water, snacks and gas for the generator,etc.).  I did manage to add another $60 to my retirement account, that means I am $160 over my goal for the year! I hope I am able to add even more money next month. I can't wait until I am saving $15,000 a year without batting an eye.  I was able to add $450 to my emergency fund.  I m getting closer to my goal of $18,500 for the year. I was able to add $750 to my furniture fund.  I can't wait to replace this 15 year old mattress and frame!! Work has been t...

Hurricane Michael was a major hurricane, but I am happy to report that my family and friends seem to have come through the storm without any loss of life or major damage. There are power lines and trees down all over town.  There are still many without power in my small town.  Our electricity went out about 2:00p.m. on Wednesday afternoon and did not come back in until about 2:00a.m Friday morning. The winds and rain were so bad that we did not get the generator started until Thursday morning.  It was nice to have ice and cold water from the fridge.  We charged our devices and rain a fan.  We did have some bottled water, beer and wine in an iced down cooler, so we had access to cold drinks.  We also had several bags of ice in the freezer to keep the food cold until we could get the generator up and running.  We grilled out for dinner and it was fun, but by Thursday it was pretty hot out.  We were ecstatic to have the power come on early Fri...

At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  PASS.  I am done with this goal!  I have contributed $10,600 to retirement this year.  I plan to continue contributing throughout the year. 2.Increase EF to $18,500. I am slowly adding money to this goal.  My total emergency savings are about $16,800.  I hope to increase this over the next 3 months to meet this goal.  However, that might change based on what happens with hurricane Michael. 3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by the end...

I have a few October goals, but first, let's see how I did on my September Goals.  My September goals were as follows: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go!--PASS.  I actually added an additional $100 to that amount. 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. - DONE ISH.  I did this for about 2.5 weeks out of the month. 3. Get rid of 20 items. DONE- ISH.  I have a bag full of clothing items to donate.  They are sitting in my room and I need to take them to Goodwill. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. FAIL- I did get the fall wreath out of the front closet.  The other decorations are still in the attic. 5. Finish 2 books. - FAIL. I did not finish any. 6. Donate money to charity. PASS- I did donate $25 to my law school. My October goals are as follows: 1. Contribute another $50 to retirement. This is just because I can and I need to pump as much money as possible into m...

Here's where the numbers stand. Savings- $11,816 Emergency Fund  $12,838 Online Savings Account/$7,617 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund  $27,095 Retirement- Roth IRA   $7,369 Taxable Brokerage (Retirement) $1,221 Travel Fund (Work) $753 pet fund  $5 medical fund $2,291 furniture fund $80 Slush fund Home- $298,990-per zillow               Total (not including home): $63,468               Total (including home): $362,458 Liabilities- Mortgage $201,262                                  Total (not including mortgage): 0                     Total (including mortgage): -$201,262           Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $63,468      ...

I haven't had a chance to post, but I wanted to update the blog.  My retirement contributions for 2018 are complete!!!  My goal was to contribute $10,5000 to retirement for the year.  As of Friday, September 14, I have made that goal. In case you were wondering (and I would because I am a nerd ), I have been tracking my retirement contributions for the year.  They are as follows: 1/15/18    $1,390 2/15/18    $610 3/15/18    $1,270 4/16/18    $765 4/27/18    $55 5/11/18    $55 5/15/18    $1,355 6/15/18    $1,000 7/1/18      $100 7/12/18    $25 7/16/18    $1,000 7/25/18    $25 7/30/18    $50 8/15/18  $1,418 8/30/18   $50 9/14/18   $1,332 $5,500 went to the Roth IRA and $5,000 went to my taxable account.

It's almost Fall!! I am looking forward to the cooler temperatures, but not the shorter days that will be here soon. I need to take advantage of the longer days, while we have them, and walk after work. I hope everyone is taking some time to relax over this Labor Day weekend.  Saturday just flew by. I'm not sure when Sunday got here.  The positive it that, at least I don't have the Sunday scaries! And...next week will only have 4 work days!  I figured I should make some goals for September, so here they are: 1.  Finish out retirement contributions. Only $1,332 to go! 2. Exercise 4 days a week, for at least 60 minutes. 3. Get rid of 20 items. 4. Get the Fall Decorations down and put up around the house. 5. Finish 2 books.  6. Donate money to charity. I am so looking forward to finishing off my retirement contributions for the year.  Next I will work on adding more money to my E-fund.  I want to get the E-fund to $18,500 by the end of the...

At the end of June I was just shy of $30,000 in my retirement accounts.  Just a few weeks ago , I finally hit $31,000 in my retirement account. Now, at the end of August, I have over $33,000 in my account.  Again, huge surprise, I was contemplating buying some additional shares of VTI and I logged into my account to see how much I paid last time and boom! My balance was over $33,000! There has been no update on the new work my boss was looking to get.  Still keeping my fingers crossed that he gets it, only because then I can negotiate for a raise.  I would love to get my salary into the $90,000s.  I would really love to negotiate a raise between $5,000- $10,000.  Most lawyers are not as highly paid as people think.  I am hoping to transition into an in house counsel positions, eventually.   I think after all this time, I am tired of litigation.  I did manage to settle that case that was worrying me.  However, I have a trial s...

I had an epiphany the other day about work (i actually had 2, but will only write about one for today's post).  My boss likes to incite controversy.  He deliberately takes jabs at his assistant and uses me as the stick.  Over the years that I have worked at this firm, he and his assistant have developed a very close relationship.  Uncomfortably, close.  Apparently, that is normal for him as he had the same relationship with his previous assistant.  His current assistant has stated that she feels like his girlfriend and his mother.  For some reason, however, he likes to try to incite jealousy in his assistant.  For example,  a few weeks ago, My boss told me that we needed to talk about a comprehensive listing of defenses for each type of case that we defend.  I went ahead and prepared a memo listing everything I could think of so as to not to waste time.  I left a copy on my boss's desk for him to review.  Well, the next da...

/ It's always something, isn't it? A few weeks ago I was driving to a mediation a couple of hours away and my tire pressure light came on and began rapidly blinking.  This happened to me once before and so I knew that it meant that the batteries in the tire pressure sensors were dead. However, last time the blinking went away on its own and I did not have to replace the sensors. Well, I wasn't so lucky this time.  All 5 of the sensors died (yes including the one in the spare tire).  I contemplated not replacing the them because my car is 12 years old and previously, I had driven a car for years without sensors in the tires.  The problem, for me, became the incessant blinking of the light on the dashboard.  It drove me crazy and I could not stand to look at it for hours at a time while driving around to different cities.  It's a dumb issue, I realize, but I just couldn't take it. So I coughed up $322 at the local discounted tire shop for new sensor...

Wednesday was payday and I was able to put $1,418 towards my retirement contribution goals for the year!  My goal for the year was to contribute $10,500 towards retirement this year.  I only have $1,382 left to contribute in 2018.  I should be able to finish this off in September (fingers crossed that Murphy does not pay me a visit). In case you were wondering (and I would because I am a nerd ), I have been tracking my retirement contributions for the year.  They are as follows: 1/15/18    $1,390 2/15/18    $610 3/15/18    $1,270 4/16/18    $765 4/27/18    $55 5/11/18    $55 5/15/18    $1,355 6/15/18    $1,000 7/1/18      $100 7/12/18    $25 7/16/18    $1,000 7/25/18    $25 7/30/18    $50 8/15/18  $1,418 I have already been thinking about how much I sh...

Just another quick post this morning.  I just happened to login and check my retirement account to make sure that a transfer that I initiated at the end of July fully processed.  I was so surprised to find that the total balance was over $31,000.  Just last month (on 7/20) I was celebrating the fact that I finally reached $30,000.  I know these numbers will continue to ebb and fall, but I love surprises like this.  Also, just in case you did not know, Dave Ramsey is hosting a contest on his website for two people to win $5,500.  Just the amount needed to max out your Roth (if under 50 years old). I entered because I love free money!!

Ally just raised its rates to 1.8%!! I opened my online savings account in June of 2018 and the rate was 1.65% A day or 2 later Ally raised the rate to 1.75%.  Now less than 2 months later Ally has raised rates again to 1.8%.  I am totally a fan at this point! This is not a sponsored post.

I realized, in June, that I have been averaging a $1,100 a month contribution to my retirement accounts. Towards the end of July, I was $50 short of making that goal for the month. I was really disappointed that I was not going to meet or exceed my new informal goal.  However, on the last day of the month, I received a travel reimbursement and I put $50 of that into my retirement fund.  Goal met!!! I love the little good things like that. Over the last few months I had been noticing an occasional squealing sound in my car.  I was worried about what else could be going wrong in my now 12 year old car.  Last weekend I washed out my car and cleaned the inside.  I also went for a drive with my mother, opening the vents on the passenger side of the car.  Low and behold, the sound stopped!! #moneysaved I've made some progress on a case I have been working on at work.  Very bad facts for my client.  The case is difficult and stressful, but I thi...

I don't know about everyone else, but throughout my life I often seem to be in opportune (or inopportune) places to hear sensitive, scandalous or private information.  No, I'm not eavesdropping, sometimes people will voluntarily reveal information to me- maybe because I'm the only other person around.  Sometimes it is said in such a place that I am unable to avoid overhearing the information.   Due to the nature of the information I have been made privy to I cannot disclose it to those close to me as it would ruin friendships, working relationships or simply be construed as gossip.  I'm not the type to want to cause drama in the lives of my friends, family or work relationships. So, your beautiful ears (or eyes rather) will get to hear the random secrets and lies that I hear. I figure my blog can act as my stress relief/venting place for all of the craziness I hear. A lot of these stories also provided valuable financial lessons.  So this is ...

Thank goodness for the weekend!! I cannot wait. This is just going to be a stream of consciousness post, so forgive me in advance.  Monday was payday and I was able to sock away another $1,000 to retirement.  I also made another $25 donation to charity.  I am over $225 in donations for the year. I hope I surprise myself this year and get close to $400 in charitable donations (baby steps people!).  Only time will tell, maybe, just maybe, we will get bonuses this year.  That will definitely up my charitable donations as I believe in spreading the good!  I always give my sister and mother a portion of any bonus I receive.  This year I would also like to give some to charity.  My retirement contributions so far this year: 1/15/18    $1,390 2/15/18    $610 3/15/18    $1,270 4/16/18    $765 4/27/18    $55 5/11/18    $55 5/15/18    $1,355  6/15/18 ...

I probably shouldn't post this, but I am planning to ask my boss for a raise.  Yes, I know that I received a raise a year ago.  No, I'm not being greedy.  Here's the back story: my boss is actively seeking to take on a new client (A company) with a diverse, widespread and large book of business. The company has cases throughout the State.  I have been supportive in assisting him with obtaining this client. He definitely needs to build his brand.   I helped him to submit a proposal, informational paperwork and encouraged him to attend meet and greets with the company big wigs so that he would be awarded the contract. Now, it looks like he pretty much has the contract.  He has intimated that he wants me to run this project. Undoubtedly, if he secures this contract I will have an even larger work load.  I'm already busy.  I think it's only fair if I am compensated with a raise.  I'm trying to think of a fair compensation arrangement, but...

Another short post!  A few weeks ago I opened a savings account with Ally because it was offering a 1.75% rate.  Right around that time I saw that a company named Marcus was offering 1.8%.  I figured I would stay with Ally for a bit before rushing over to check out Marcus.  So far Ally seems okay.  It's offering a higher rate than my old savings account so I am pleased.  I was worried for a few days because at the end of June because no interest posted to my account.  As I clicked on various links on the site I saw that the statement cycles ended on the 15th, so I figured I would wait until today to see if any interest posted.   It did!  I received $9.58 for a partial month of parking my money.  That's more than I received for having my money parked for an entire month in my former savings account! I will keep you updated on how Ally works out for me.  FYI- this is not a sponsored post.

Here's where the numbers stand. Savings-  $11,650 Emergency Fund  $11,761 Online Savings Account/$6,587 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund  $25,722 Retirement- Roth IRA   $3,188 Taxable Brokerage (Retirement) $269 Travel Fund (Work) $716 pet fund  $57 medical fund $1,991 furniture fund $367 Slush fund Home- $299,385-per zillow               Total (not including home): $55,721               Total (including home): $355,106 Liabilities- Mortgage $203,877                                  Total (not including mortgage): 0                     Total (including mortgage): -$203,887           Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $55,721     ...

At the beginning of the year, I set some goals for myself.  Let's see how I am doing. 1. Add $10,500 to retirement savings with the goal of having $35,000 saved for retirement by the end of the year.  $5,500 will go into my roth ira and $5,000 will go into a taxable account. Come on stock market growth and no recession! Last year I contributed $9,500 so this will be an  increase of $1,000.  So Far I have contributed $6,500 towards retirement this year.  $5,500 of that went into my Roth IRA.  $1,000 to my taxable account.  I still have $4,000 left to contribute towards retirement for the year.  2.Increase EF to $18,500. I added just a little to my EF, but then I had to spend $335 for the garage door repair.  I will focus on this after my retirement savings for the year are done.  3. Pay an extra $290/month toward principal on the mortgage.  My easily reachable goal is to have the mortgage paid down to $200,000 by ...

Another short post this morning. I just opened a new savings account with Ally.  The rate is 1.65% and the rate on my old savings account  was 1.00%.  I should earn just shy of $200 a year on my savings with this new rate! I know $200 a year isn't going to make or break me, but it's definitely a nice addition to my savings.   I also learned that a company named Marcus was is offering 1.8%, but I have not looked into the details yet.  If it is offering no minimum balance and no fees, I might have to open another savings account!

Another short post today on retirement goals! Just a quick reminder, my employer does not offer any retirement benefits.  I am currently saving for retirement in a Roth IRA and a taxable account.  My goal is to contribute $10,500 to my retirement accounts for the year.  I will give specific number updates in my quarterly update at the end of the month. Anyways on to the point of this post, I'm getting so close to my next retirement milestone of $30,000 in my retirement accounts! I am at $29,364, but the market keeps dropping.  Nevertheless, I was pleasantly surprised last week when I made my mid- month contribution and found the total to be just shy of $30,000. Overall $30,000 is so small, but so big in that I've never had that much money saved at one time before! I cannot wait to see the numbers at the end of the year. 

Have you ever noticed that some people get really comfortable at work? It's very strange.  My boss takes naps in his office during business hours.  He is the owner of the firm and announces to everyone that he is going to take a nap.  He stores his kids' old toys in the office.  He has also brought boxes of stuff to the office from when each of his parents died. All taking up valuable work space (this is a small office- one floor of an old house).   We have a paralegal who lists the office number for her physicians, friends and family.  There is a legal assistant who has files for her personal businesses on the firm computers.  She makes personal business calls from the office telephone and personal business faxes from the office fax number.  There is another legal assistant who lets her step children make personal calls from the office telephone.  Sometimes her step-son's friends will call when he is not there which of course require...

I have not had a chance to post over the last couple of weeks.  It's just been a lot of coming and going.  This will be a short post as well.  Last Friday, after I got home from work I was sitting in the living room working on a project and I heard a loud sound.  It sounded like a metal rack had fallen over.  I looked around the house and in a few closets, but I could not find anything that seemed amiss.  The next morning I went out to the garage so I could drive to a local park and go walking with a friend.  I got into my car and pushed the garage door opener.  The garage door partially opened and then closed.  I was confused.  I got out of my car to see if anything was blocking the door...nothing.  Anyways, to make a long story short, one of the torsion springs on the door had snapped.  How inconvenient!  My sister was flying out of town the next day and I was driving out of town Monday through Tuesday.  I called ...

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend.  Please take a moment to remember everyone who has fought and died for our freedom.

I saw a quote on twitter the other day: "You're killing yourself for a job that would replace you within a week if you dropped dead.  Take care of yourself." Wow, did that quote strike a note with me!  It's ingrained in me to work hard.  My mother is a hard worker, always has been and always will be.  Her biggest struggle with aging is having to slow down.  My Dad was a hard worker, but he knew how to relax and was not afraid to speak up when he needed a break.  My mom would just go and go and get upset and angry when she was worn out. As an insurance defense lawyer, my job is based on billable hours.  The more hours I bill the more successful I am in my position.  Working and billing clients makes money for the firm and is the main evaluation tool used by the firm. (but not really because the firm doesn't do performance evaluations.  Generally, the partners will look at the billable hours spreadsheet at the end of the year and co...

Yesterday was payday and I maxed out my 2018 Roth!!! This is the 4th year in a row and I am so excited. My goal this year was to contribute $10,500 to my retirement savings. I planned to contribute $5,500 to my Roth and $5,000 to my taxable brokerage account. In case you were wondering (and I would because I am a nerd ), I have been tracking my retirement contributions for the year.  These are the contributions for my Roth, they are as follows: 1/15/18    $1,390 2/15/18    $610 3/15/18    $1,270 4/16/18    $765 4/27/18    $55 5/11/18    $55 5/15/18    $1,355 Now I only have $5,000 more left to contribute for the year and I hope to be done by September. How are your retirement savings going?  Are you on target to make your goal? 

Guys, it's May.  I don't know what happened. It was late April and now it's May. May 6th.  Time is still flying and I feel perpetually behind.  On everything, work, life,home, etc.  I'm feeling especially burned out at work.  It's been rough lately and I have been working every weekend.  Except this one.  This weekend I decided that I just couldn't go into the office.  I truly could not bear the thought of sitting in the office for hours. On Saturday, I got up early, went to Lowes and bought some stuff for the yard.  Then I met up with my friend and we went for a walk.  I came home and cut the grass, trimmed 2 trees, cleaned out a very overgrown and messy flower bed, trimmed the grass over hanging the sidewalk, picked up the limbs from the tree, pulled weeds out of another bed out front, pulled some vines that had grown into the bushes, and sweated like a pig.  I took a long nap afterwards. Earlier today (Sunday), I went f...

Credit: Plume Ploume I've read a lot of interesting articles about this topic.  Some people advocate paying off their mortgage with extra money and others advocate investing the money.  Where do you stand on this topic?  I am totally on board with paying off the mortgage.  This is for a few reasons: (1) I hate having debt, (2) I hate having a mortgage, (3) If something bad happens (like job loss) I would prefer not to have a mortgage payment to make, (4) I don't plan to make this house my forever home and I would like to have as much equity as possible when I sell so I have more money to put down on my forever home, (5) I want to make sure that even if the house market drops again that I will not be underwater on my house in the event that I am forced to sell and (6)I have PMI on my mortgage and I am trying to pay down the balance of the mortgage so that PMI is no longer required (maybe by early next year!).  If any of these scenarios occur, I think paying ...

 Credit: Maklay62   This week has gone by so fast!! I haven't had a chance to post.  Work is crazy busy and I just can't keep up right now. My boss, however, strolls in about noon a few days each week.  He's always sure to tell me how he's going to start helping out because he knows I am so busy.  Yet somehow when the partner in the South Florida office asked him to help out with 2 appeals, a pre-suit mediation and a trial...he dropped them all on me.  So much for help. Anyways, on to the point of this post... My goal this year to contribute $10,500 to my retirement savings. I plan to contribute $5,500 to my Roth and $5,000 to my taxable brokerage account.  For April I only contributed $765 to my retirement account (due to my very expensive car repair ). That brings my total contributions for 2018 to $4,035 Only $1,465 more to go to fully fund my Roth for the year.  I hope to be max it out no later than May of this year (but pr...

Privilege has been a hot topic in the media. The terms "white privilege" and "male privilege" have been tossed around a lot. I didn't really buy into the whole privilege argument.   I thought it was silly to state that someone was privileged because of their race or sex, especially when so many people struggle regardless of race, sex  or socioeconomic status.  The more traction that the theory gained, the more types of privilege were bandied about in the media and in the personal finance community on twitter ("American privilege", etc)  And then, just a few weeks ago, my Mom called me out on my privilege. Mom told me that  I was privileged. I was shocked.  How could I be privileged?  We were not a wealthy family when I was child.  I'm not wealthy now.  All of the money that I have saved and the assets that I have accumulated are based on my own hard work.  I went into debt for law school and paid back all of my student loan...

I don't know about everyone else, but throughout my life I often seem to be in opportune (or inopportune) places to hear sensitive, scandalous or private information.  No, I'm not eavesdropping, sometimes people will voluntarily reveal information to me- maybe because I'm the only other person around.  Sometimes it is said in such a place that I am unable to avoid overhearing the information.   Due to the nature of the information I have been made privy to I cannot disclose it to those close to me as it would ruin friendships, working relationships or simply be construed as gossip.  I'm not the type to want to cause drama in the lives of my friends, family or work relationships. So, your beautiful ears (or eyes rather) will get to hear the random secrets and lies that I hear. I figure my blog can act as my stress relief/venting place for all of the craziness I hear.  First up--a girl that I work with who I have previously referred to as "Michelle"....