I'm back!!

I apologize for the unexpected blogging break!  Please know that I have been reading along with your blogs (but unable to comment from my phone) for the past 2ish months.  I have had some family medical issues and an overload at work.  Things appear to be evening out for now and I am greatly appreciative. 

I will do an update on my 2019 goals soon as it is almost the end of the 2nd quarter. However, I am down about 8lbs and my retirement account balance has hit a milestone of $40,000!! I was hoping that this would be the year that my retirement accounts hit $50,000, but I don't think that is going to happen.  There is too much turbulence in the markets. I still have over $6,000 to contribute for the year. 

I have had so many medical expenses this year, I'm not sure that I am going to meet my retirement contribution goal.  I am getting new eyeglasses, contacts, I see the dentist quarterly now, I have to have a deep cleaning on my upper right teeth (in addition to the quarterly visits), I may have to have a crown replaced, etc.  There are so many more that have just crept up on me. I can't even remember them all right now. 

 I also am unhappy that the Fed may be lowering the interest rate later this year.  I finally was making a decent amount of money in my savings accounts!!! 

Anyways, I have lots to write about, but I will have to let this be it for now. 

Happy Blogging!!!

Net Worth Update

Here's where the numbers stand.

Savings-
$12,916 Emergency Fund
 $12,552 Online Savings Account/$7,552 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund/$5k is for my EF
$3,160 Online Savings Account #2- all car replacement
 $29,255 Retirement- Roth IRA
 $7,617Taxable Brokerage (Retirement)


$803 Travel Fund (Work)
$850 pet fund 
$5 medical fund
$1,274 furniture fund
$0 Slush fund


Home-
$304,669-per zillow

              Total (not including home): $68,432
              Total (including home): $373,101

Liabilities-
Mortgage $195,623
Furniture (0% financing) $850

             
                   Total (not including mortgage): -$850
                    Total (including mortgage): -$196,473
 


        Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $67,582                                      
        Total Net Worth(including mortgage): $176,628

Net worth, not including mortgage, increased by $7070 from January (last net worth update)
Net worth, including mortgage, increased by $9,367 from January(last net worth update)


The value of the my home has decreased a little bit.

My mortgage is getting so small.  I was putting an extra $450 toward principal.  That dropped to $439 when the escrow adjusted.  I am still hopefully to have the pmi drop off by with my end of June payment. 

February Going Ons

Hey Everyone, it has been awhile!  I have been having some internet problems and computer problems and by the end of the day, I just don't have the energy to fool around with computers.   Everything is back up and working now!

Does anyone have any interesting weekend plans?  I plan to work in the yard.  I need to clear out the flower beds, etc. There are lots of weeds and bugs to deal with here in Florida.  I may even cut the grass this weekend.  The temperatures are supposed to reach the 80s this weekend.  I also need to clean the garage and the shed and the back porch and and and.....

On to the finances. I contributed $500 to my Roth IRA this month.  This was only half of what I contributed last month.  However, I only have $4,500 left to contribute for the year.  Don't forget the contribution limit increased to $6,000 this year!  Once I max out my Roth I will move on to my taxable account. 

I paid $1,000 towards my furniture bill. Only $1,900 left to pay off! I can't wait to be debt free (except for my mortgage again).  This is the 0% financing deal that I used to replace my 13 year old mattress, etc. 

 I donated $50 to charity this month. This went to my law school.  I usually contribute $100 a year to my alma mater.  I already gave $50 in January, so I am done with that for the year.  Next month I will probably give to my local legal aide organization. 

I did add $200 to my savings account and $50 to my pet care fund.  I also paid my almost $200 escrow shortage. 

 All of my credit cards remain paid in full, but I do owe my dentist office $10 for my most recent cleaning (from Monday).  I hate when they bill later, I'd rather pay when I leave, but oh well. 

Have a wonderful Friday!

Updates

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 scheduled for the end of the year that is worrying me.   I have a few pending motions and I am hopeful that at least one win will take the wind out of the Plaintiff's sails.  Otherwise it is trial preparation over the upcoming holidays.

Payday, for me, is Friday!! I will put a payment in for the mortgage payment today.   Maybe we will get Labor Day bonuses, we have gotten them a few times in the past.   They are usually $100 or so.  If we did get them, I'm uncertain as to where I would put the money??? I definitely need to think about that.  More likely than not, we won't get a bonus.   

I also have some outstanding travel reimbursements about $900 total, but I think about $300 should be paid out to me this week (hopefully).  Some of that money will go towards car repair ($50), some towards my travel (work) fund and maybe a little towards retirement ($50). 

I have not made a charitable donation this month, I will have to see if I have the money to spare to do that.  Maybe I can use some of that travel reimbursement money for giving this month???


Labor day is almost here and I am looking towards my 3 day weekend!  I plan to work on the blog, read some books, exercise, hang out with family and relax.  Do you have any big Labor day plans? 

I'm Back!

and I am tired.  I had a week long trip leaving last Sunday (3/4) and returning this past Saturday(3/10). (It was over a 6 hour drive each way)  I still have not caught up on all my sleep yet.  I was so busy that I couldn't really do my work while on the trip, so now I am behind at work. 

The good news is that I received my tax return yesterday morning!  It only took about 10 or 11 days from the date I filed until the date it was deposited in my account!  I now have $1,184 to put towards replacing my 15 year old mattress and bedroom furniture.  I think that brings the total I have saved up to about $1,700 dollars.  (I need to update my assets and liabilities page). 

I'll have to write more later, as I need to rush to get ready for work.  Happy Thursday Everyone!

Unispired Updates

I have a multitude of ideas for posts, but I lack the motivation and the inspiration to write about anything complicated.  So instead I will write about how my January has gone towards meeting my 2018 goals.

I managed to finish one book this month, Camino Island, by John Grisham.  It was a quick and easy read that slightly held my interest.  I got through it based upon my goal of reading at least 20 pages a day.  I have started a new book by James Patterson, Cross Justice.  It's a rather lengthy book and I don't know if I can read throughout it.  I may switch to a shorter Agatha Christie book.

As far as retirement, I contributed $1,390  this month.  Next month's contribution won't be so robust as it's my mother's birthday, HOA fees are due and my escrow shortage (again!) will be due.

My charitable giving was kicked off with a $50 contribution to St. Jude's Children's Hospital.

I managed to get some exercise in everyday this week, but my eating was less than nutritious.  I should probably do some exercise tonight, but I most likely will not. I will do some in the morning.  I feel very tired and I am a bit concerned about getting sick. 

A $140 went towards my emergency fund.

My something new for the month was I started M-Turking.  I have made $23 so far this month.  I plan to put this money towards the furniture fund.

It's been a pretty expensive month, I have some work related events coming up and I needed some new clothes.  I'm pretty sure I went over budget, but I'll wait until next weekend to add everything up.

Get some beauty sleep tonight all, it's Monday tomorrow!!

2017 Goal Recap

 Let's see how I did on my 2017 goals.  (I know this is super late as it is almost the end of January.)

1. Increase emergency fund from $15,000 to $17,500.-FAIL
I only got my EF to $16,845 by the end of the year.  Close, but no cigar.  I gotta do better with this for 2018. 

2. Add $9,500 to my retirement with an overall goal of having $20,000 in retirement savings by the end of the year.--PASS!
I contributed $9,500 to retirement for the year. I believe between my roth and taxable I ended the year with approximately $22,000 for retirement.  

3. Pay an extra $100 a month on the mortgage, with an end goal of having the balance under $210,000 by the end of the year.- PASS
I paid at least $100 extra on each mortgage payment for the year.  After my raise, later in the year, I  put $290 extra on my mortgage each month. 

4. Save an additional $2,500 into car replacement fund with the end goal of having $5,000 in the car replacement fund by the end of the year. PASSISH
I had $4,972 saved for my replacement car by the end of the year.

5. Pay off furniture I bought before expiration of 0% financing period. --PASS.
I paid this off in approximately 2 months- no interest paid!!!

6. Read 12 books- FAIL
I have only completed 5 books for the year.  Sad, just sad.

7. Write a book- FAIL
Lots of ideas- no actual writing

8. Lose 10 lbs- FAIL
no progress, but no weight gain either!

9. Donate $200 to charity- PASS
  donated $50 to my law school, $50 to legal services for the poor and $100 to a legal fund designed to assist the victims of Hurricane Harvey. 

10.  Get more life insurance- FAIL
Was hoping to lose weight first.

11. Build a separate car maintenance fund. - PASS
I funded a care maintenance fund, but I don't believe it ever got above $100.

12. Look into and focus on career options.- PASSISH
I did a lot of research, but never settled on any specific plan.

I did a lot of travel last year and helped care for an ill family member.  Those 2 items were major triggers for overspending to me.  I need to do better this year and make sure I don't spend emotionally.  I hope you all did better on your 2017 goals than I did.  Let's make 2018 a great financial/goal year! 

2018 Goals - Struggling to build Networth

At long last, here are my goals for 2018:

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. 

2.Increase EF to $18,500.

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 of the year.  The ultimate goal is to have the balance paid down to $197,500 by the end of the year so that the PMI will drop off the mortgage.

4. Save an additional $5,000 for my car replacement fund with the goal of having $10,000 in my car replacement fund by the end of the year.  I will be aiming to purchase a new car in 2019.  I hope with a trade in and any money saved in 2019 to have $20,000 to put down for a new car.


5.  Read 15 books.

6. Lose 20lbs. I plan to try to lose about 3lbs a month which should place me at 36lbs for the year.  However, I know I struggle with weight loss so I think 20lbs is a good goal.  I also want to commit to exercising 30 minutes a day for 4 days a week and eating more vegetables. 

7. Donate $300 to charity.  This is up $100 from last year, I hope to be able to donate more than $300, but let's see how the year rolls.  I plan to increase this amount each year.

8. Build medical fund up to $1,000

9. Continue to build car repair fund up to $1,000.

10. Get more life insurance.

11.  Try to figure out a happy medium for the travel reimbursement fight.  I want them reimbursed in 30 days and the firm will wait 60 -90 days to reimburse me.  I think I will argue for 45 day reimbursement and all outstanding travel vouchers to be paid at year end.  Right now I have $600 outstanding from 2017. 

12. Find a new primary care doctor and receive treatment for anxiety and depression.

13. Make a decision about my career and job. 

14. Try something new (or outside of my comfort zone) each month (restaurant, activity or social event).

15. Increase net worth by $25,000. 

Money, money and the Struggle.

I have had a lot of travel expenses for work these last few months.  I have already submitted over $700 in travel expenses for August, September and October.  Yesterday evening I came back from a trip up North and I have already documented over $1,200 in travel expenses (airfare, hotel, etc.).  I think there are few more expenses I am missing (i.e. checked bag costs and meals).

I am worn out from all the travel and cannot wait until Friday (Veteran's Day Observed), a day off.  However, I will be taking my car in for an oil change on that day. That's more $$$ that I will be spending.  (I wonder how people can travel so much and not be tired). 

I am also hoping to get some trees trimmed in the back yard to the tune of $950.

A mini "The Struggle this Week"
1. I need my travel expenses reimbursed prior to the Holidays. I don't think that will happen. It usually takes about 3 months.  That will be next year.
2. I have at least 2 more work trips before the end of the year and I already incurred approximately $2,000 in outstanding travel expenses.
3. The partner in the South Florida office keeps giving me new cases/projects. My boss doesn't do anything, why doesn't she give him work?
4. I keep getting cases that are outside my area of practice.  My boss is not helpful and provides no guidance. It makes things a lot harder to litigate. I feel slow and uncertain and I hate that feeling.  However, I do like learning new areas of the law.
5. My boss continues not to do his work and drops it on me at the last minute. It's very frustrating.
6. I'm stressed for so many reasons: work, not enough time to do anything, my toxic former friend, etc.
7. I want to spend money mindlessly to soothe myself. 
8. I wonder if I need to be on anti-depressants? I hate taking medication, but I wonder if it will help.

Mortgage Updates

Welcome to Tuesday! Monday actually went by so quickly and that actually was nice.  I know I often complain about time flying, but a Monday going by quickly was pleasant. 

On to the important things! As I have previously blogged I have been making extra principal payments on the mortgage this year.  Finally, as of the end of September/beginning of October, I have paid more in principal payments than in interest payments! The numbers are as follows:
  

Principal	$5,549.78
Interest	$5,425.01

Yay!! It sucks that so much has gone towards interest, but I keep thinking of all of the interest I am saving by paying extra on the principal. I have to keep this post short as a I have to get on the road (the travel never ends!).  Have a wonderful day!

Time is Not on My Side

I don't know how time keeps slipping by me.  It's October already.  I only put up one post in September. This has been one heck of a year and it seems to be going by so fast.  Maybe even faster than years past.  Maybe it's because I am older? Anyways on to updates. 

I'm sure everyone has heard about the mass shooting in Las Vegas, again I am late to the discussion.  How disheartening to hear these stories.  The only light in these repeated stories is the kindness of strangers helping strangers.

Financially things are going okay.  I have been overspending a lot lately and I can't seem to stop that.  It's definitely been a theme this year.  I have not been able to figure out why I am overspending so much this year.  However, I have been making progress on my goals so I will take that over nothing at all. 


I had some goals for September- those did not go well!
1. Finish out my retirement contributions for the year- just $1,305 more to go- DID NOT COMPLETE.  I have $797 left to contribute to retirement for the year. The remainder of the cash I had budgeted went to hurricane supplies.  Sigh! However, I am pleased to be more prepared for the next one.

2. Read a book- any book, maybe 2- DID NOT COMPLETE.  I did read, a lot, I just haven't finished anything.  Someone, please help me finish another book this year.

3. Exercise every week- 3 times a week PASS!! I did manage to exercise every week- at least 3 times a week!!

4. Review my budget, long term goals and short term goals. NOPE- didn't even crack a pad of paper or pen  (or computer or spreadsheet) to analyze these issues.

Now on to  October goals.
1. Finish out retirement contributions for the year
2. Work on decor for bedroom (finally after 4+ years)
3. Exercise every week for 3 times a week.
4. Add money to Emergency Fund
5. Blog more than once a month!
6. Purge possessions
7. Review budget, long term goals and short term goals. 

Second Quarter Update - Goals 2017

1. Increase emergency fund from $15,000 to $17,500.-IN PROGRESS
I have $15,905 in my EF currently.  6 months to get this where it should be.

2. Add $9,500 to my retirement with an overall goal of having $20,000 in retirement savings by the end of the year.--IN PROGRESS
I have contributed $5,004 to retirement this year. I believe my ROTH is at approximately $15,300. 

3. Pay an extra $100 a month on the mortgage, with an end goal of having the balance under $210,000 by the end of the year.- SO FAR SO GOOD.
I have paid at least $100 extra on each mortgage payment so far this year. This goal may change- more on this later.

4. Save an additional $2,500 into car replacement fund with the end goal of having $5,000 in the car replacement fund by the end of the year. IN PROGRESS
I have over $3,747 saved towards a new car.

5. Pay off furniture I bought before expiration of 0% financing period. --DONE

I paid this off in approximately 2 months- no interest paid!!!

6. Read 12 books- FAIL
I have only completed 2 books this year. 

7. Write a book- FAIL
Lots of ideas- no actual writing

8. Lose 10 lbs- FAIL
no progress

9. Donate $200 to charity- IN PROGRESS
I have donated $100 this year. 

10.  Get more life insurance- FAIL
Was hoping to lose weight first.

11. Build a separate car maintenance fund. - IN PROGRESS
I have $25 in this fund. 

12. Look into and focus on career options.- IN PROGRESS

I have been looking into other careers outside of the practice of law.

Net Worth- June 2017

Happy Fourth of July!!

Here's where the numbers stand.

Savings-
 $10,905 Emergency Fund
 $8,831 Online Savings Account/$3,747 of that amount is for my Car Replacement Fund
  $15,358 Retirement- Roth IRA

$735 Travel Fund (Work)
$360 pet fund 
$25 medical fund
$25 furniture fund
$81 Slush fund 

Home-
$284,551-per zillow

                  Total (not including home): $36,320
                  Total (including home): $320,871

Liabilities-
Mortgage $213,165
credit card $324 (remainder of balance from car repair)
             
                   Total (not including mortgage): -324
                    Total (including mortgage): -$213,489
 


                                     Total Net Worth(not including mortgage): $35,996                                             Total Net Worth(including mortgage): $107,382

Net worth, not including mortgage, increased by $2,320 from May (last net worth update)
Net worth, including mortgage, increased by $5,527 from May (last net worth update)

Things are moving in the right direction, slowly, but surely.  My net worth should be up over $110,000 but the end of the year (Hopefully). 

Welcome to June!

Welcome to June everyone!  I know I'm a bit late, but at least we are only 4 days in.  I ended up earning over $6 on my savings account this month.  Slowly, but surely I am creeping up.  I can't wait until I am earning over $100 a year in interest.

I contemplated opening a CD with some of my EF, but the rates are so low right, I don't think I will bother.  I would get to tie up my money for 91 days to earn approximately $1.  The 1 year and 2 year rates are not much better.  I may reconsider later, as earning something (even just $1) is better than nothing.  I keep hoping that the savings interest rated will rise and make it worth putting money into CDs. 

I ended the month with over $14,300 in my Roth.  That is exciting as I am creeping up on $15,000 in retirement savings.  I should make that in June....well depending on the market.  I should get one of those fancy progress bars for my blog.

I am expecting some big expenses soon: appliances are wearing out and making noises, my car will be 11 years old this year and my laptop seems to be dying (it is about 6 years old). 

I still haven't received my travel reimbursements from March so I will need to follow up with that- it's about $800- tomorrow.  I hate having to involve my boss, but I will not act as a credit card company for the firm.  I am being extremely generous by waiting 2 months for reimbursement.

I paid the mortgage payment right before the long weekend.  I made an extra $150 payment (the usual),  and the balance is down to $213,753.  Houses in my neighborhood have been being listed for $325,000 (I paid around $250,000 4 years ago). If the real estate market stays hot, I may consider selling in a few years.

First Quarter Update- Financial Goals 2017

1. Increase emergency fund from $15,000 to $17,500.-IN PROGRESS
I have increased this by $500 (It was actually $1,000, but I had to borrow $500 for my work travel due to the extremely slow and awful reimbursement process).

2. Add $9,500 to my retirement with an overall goal of having $20,000 in retirement savings by the end of the year.--IN PROGRESS
I have contributed $1,600 to retirement this year. I believe my ROTH is at approximately $11,400. 

3. Pay an extra $100 a month on the mortgage, with an end goal of having the balance under $210,000 by the end of the year.- SO FAR SO GOOD.
I have paid at least $100 extra on each mortgage payment so far this year.

4. Save $2,500 into car replacement fund with the end goal of having $5,000 in the car replacement fund by the end of the year. IN PROGRESS
I have over $3,000 saved towards a new car.

5. Pay off furniture I bought before expiration of 0% financing period.  Will blog about this later in a separate post. --DONE

I paid this off in approximately 2 months- no interest paid!!!

6. Read 12 books- FAIL
I have not completed one book this year yet. 

7. Write a book- FAIL
Lots of ideas- no actual writing

8. Lose 10 lbs- FAIL
no progress

9. Donate $200 to charity- FAIL
I have not selected a charity yet.

10.  Get more life insurance- FAIL
Was hoping to lose weight first.

11. Build a separate car maintenance fund. - FAIL
Waiting on travel vouchers.

12. Look into and focus on career options.- IN PROGRESS

I have been looking into other careers outside of the practice of law.

Road Warrior 2017

I have been traveling so much for work over the last 2 months.  I have 3 more trips before the end of March and I think I currently have over $1,200 in travel reimbursements pending.  I will definitely have over $2,500 by the end of the month (which is approximately 1/2 of a month's take home pay for me).

I really hate having travel reimbursements as it has been an ongoing struggle to get them paid in a timely manner.  Additionally, when the reimbursements are paid, it is in a piecemeal fashion. (I may get 1 or 2 after about 60 to 90 days.  Then another 1 or 2, etc, etc.)  The whole process sucks.  I'm trying to get out of a trip on Monday, but I will see what I can do.  I think my assistant is irritated with me for failing to ask her to set up a telephonic appearance earlier, but I do what I can.  At least she had a week to coordinate it.

Due to the slow reimbursement process I had to temporarily pull $500 out of my emergency fund to fund my upcoming trips throughout the end of the month. Arghh!! I hate doing that.  I like my money to stay where I put it.

On a positive note, with my tax return I should be able to pay off the balance of the furniture sometime this month and that makes me so happy as I will not have to pay a penny of interest and I received 20% off of the whole purchase!

Weekend Goals Final Update and Taxes

1. Complete taxes- DONE
2. Balance my checkbook
3. Finish staining that dang fence-DONE
4. Trim around the driveway
5. Treat the house for termites and other pests- DONE
6. Spray the weeds in the sidewalk cracks- DONE
7. Relax and read a book
8. Clean bathroom-DONE
9. Clean room-PARTIALLY DONE
10.Go into work-DONE

I did most of the things on my list.  I will balance my checkbook today because payday is tomorrow and I need to make sure everything is where it should be.  I could not trim the driveway as my sister loaned our trimmer to a friend. Hopefully, I will get to that one day this week. I will be out of town a few days this week so I may have to wait until this weekend.  But when do I have free time to relax and read my book?!!!

I am getting a refund this year on my taxes to the tune of $1,484.  All of that will go towards paying off that furniture I purchased and hopefully in April I can start focusing on funding my retirement accounts for the year (only $8,500 left to go).  

The mortgage interest deduction is the only reason that I have received refunds the past few years.  I have considered adjusting my withholding so that I don't get a refund, but I think I will just leave things alone for now as I hope to really start making huge payments on my mortgage and soon enough the interest won't be enough to deduct anyways. 

Happy Tuesday and Happy Budgeting people!

Weekend Update

I made a few goals earlier this week, for this weekend.  Here is the current status:

1. Complete taxes- I have started, just never finished.
2. Balance my checkbook
3. Finish staining that dang fence
4. Trim around the driveway
5. Treat the house for termites and other pests- DONE
6. Spray the weeds in the sidewalk cracks- DONE
7. Relax and read a book


It's only Sunday morning so, hopefully I will get a few more checked off the list before the end of the weekend.  I think I will add the following items:

8. Clean bathroom
9. Clean room
10.Go into work

I spent most of Saturday helping my mom at her house.  Getting her mailbox painted, pulling weeds in her rock garden, pulling the rocks away from the foundation of the house, going to look at storage sheds for her backyard, fixing a few boards on her deck, running to the store to buy a new rug pad, cleaning the living room so that we could put down a new rug, etc. 

Wish me luck guys!

Work update

I haven't posted a work update in quite some time.  This is, basically, because I try not to think about work when I am not at work.  It's just too stressful.

Work is the same as it has been for years.  I continue to look for a good quality job to apply for, the problem is I can't find one that will pay the same amount of money that I am making now (or more) in my town.  Unfortunately, the largest employer in my city is the State. The State has wonderful benefits, but the pay is generally subpar. I am also very wary of private law firms only because the 3 I have worked for have been awful.  I hear horror stories from my cohorts regarding firms they have worked for in town.  That's why I am generally considering positions where my law degree would come in handy, but would be different from the day to day practice of law.   I just haven't figure out what that position is, but hopefully I will. 

For those of you who don't know, my boss is beyond strange.  Seriously, there is something wrong with him, I'm not kidding. I can't even begin to explain what is wrong with him. He is exhausting. His medications (which he speaks of often) do not work.  His counseling, does not work.  However, he has been at work more this year and that seems to slightly help the timeliness issues.  It also seems to help his assistant come to work more. Previously, neither my boss nor his assistant came to work very much and all of the extra fell on me.  He wouldn't get stuff out on time and I would end up staying late and working weekends to get things done. I was tasked with answering the phone and doing other clerical tasks when his assistant wouldn't come to work.  It's slightly better now, but really I think it's because the South Florida office has complained to both partners about not timely getting feedback about firm matters because of the absence of my boss and his assistant.

Now my boss's assistant has received quite a bit of negative attention about her absences from the office.  Nothing has happened to her, but people keep making mention of her lack of attendance and her false timesheets.  However, no disciplinary action has been taken and I think she is very lucky.  At it's peak, her absences could span a 3 week period of time. 1 week of vacation, 3 (work days) pre-vacation to prepare, and 1 week post-vacation to recover from illnesses acquired during her vacation.  Additionally, she, generally, would take (at least) one day off a day every 2 weeks.

I hope this trend continues, of my boss and his assistant coming to work more often, as it really has taken a burden off of me. 

March Goals

In February I made several goals and I don't think I accomplished many, if any of them.

1.Get taxes done- FAIL
2. read 1 book - FAIL
3. lose 2lbs- haven't weighed
4. figure out what needs to be organized=- FAIL
5.try to stick to budget- PASSISH
6. plan 2 social events - FAIL
7. feel less depressed about life. - PASSISH

Although a short month, February was a rough month.  I'm so glad it is over.  I'm ready for Spring, yard work and less traveling for work.  However, I have to get through March, then the travel should slow down for awhile.  I won't go through all the detail, but most of you know about my plight with travel voucher reimbursements (having to wait 2-3 months for reimbursement).  One co-worker actually told me she had $5,000 outstanding at any one time. That is simply an amount of money that I cannot afford to have outstanding for months and month. 

I am hopeful that March will be a better month for me goal-wise. So here are my March goals

1. Finish staining/sealing repaired portion of fence
2. Repair other side of the fence
3. read 1 book
4. lose 2 lbs
5. Pay off furniture loan
6. Get taxes done and filed
7. Work on career options

Have a great day everyone!