When Last We Met
When I was on here last, I was on my way out the door to a trade show in Arizona for my new business. We had a GREAT 4 days and got several contacts for some potential clients that could make us very busy early on next year.
In the mean time, the proposition for funding of public transportation around here failed. I guess gas prices falling from nearly $4 this summer to under $2 by the time of voting (I actually saw $1.499 this weekend) made people seem less anxious to spend tax money on public transit. The system has since announced rate increases for January, and my bus line continues to be on the list for probable elimination come spring. Of course, I’m hoping that my other business takes off by then and I can just work from home when the time comes. Otherwise, I’ll need to decide on how to get to work.
Other than those things, we continue to watch our retirement savings dwindle with the market. I’m on the verge of increasing my contribution through my company. I also hope to wrap up in the next couple of weeks our new medical insurance plan. My employer’s plan for next year came out with a 7% rate increase. Doing the math, I can get my own plan (same plan from the same insurer) with a higher deductible for $350 a month less. By contributing the max to the HSA portion to cover the rest of the deductible and taking into account the tax benefits of both, I still end up with a couple hundred dollars a month in my pocket. I just need to make a few phone calls and get the plans finalized.
One final note here as well. My wife decided that the boy needed to get a better understanding of where our money goes. Our current budget gives us an average of $300 a week for groceries, gas and other expenses we pay with our check card. She decided that once he gets back from his dad’s for Thanksgiving, that they will start going to the bank every week and pulling out the “allowance” in cash. It won’t be quite as convenient in all cases, but she’s hoping it will help them save money for our vacation coming up in February. I’m looking forward to the experiment as well. I know we don’t always use that amount every week. We have many weeks we don’t spend nearly that amount and others where we make up for it.
Hope everyone is doing well getting ready for the Holidays!
