Well, my new Simple at Vanguard is still sitting there with $0.00. Edward Jones has sold my mutual fund shares, and I have nothing but cash sitting in my Simple there. I am impatient for them to transfer the funds! So far in 2012, I have contributed $600 to my Simple, but that money hasn't been sent. I think my boss will write the check when he does payables on the 15th. I sure hope so! He will write the check to Vanguard, then give it to me. I will need to log on to Vanguard's small business site and print a deposit coupon, then send that in the mail with the check. Hopefully, he will do my 2011 matching at the same time. (They ended up filing an extension, effectively extending the deadline for 2011 contributions, since the Simple issue was still up in the air on April 15th). I'm just impatient for it all to be DONE already.
Over at the Boglehead's Forum, they suggested I use admiral shares of total stock market in my Simple, then adjust my holdings in my traditional IRA to compensate. What a smart idea! This will effectively reduce my costs even more. I view my traditional and Simple as one pot of money anyway, so that will work just fine. They suggested the same for my Roth, but I'm not going to do that. In my mind, my Roth has a different purpose, so should be invested for that purpose and allocated separately.
I charged the balance due to the travel agent for Hawaii, then transferred the money (before the bill came). With my refi in the works, I didn't want a 4k Visa bill showing up on my credit report (I assume they will check it again before closing). So airfare, hotel, and rental car are all paid in full. Everything left in Vacation Fund is for food and excursions.
My TIAA Direct accounts are open and funded, I have no money at all in Ally any longer. So far everything is fine with TIAA Direct.
I believe I will skip the insurance when I sign up at T-Mobile next month. That means my total monthly bill before taxes will be $80.43. With tax it should still be under $90, which is so much better than what I have been paying! My savings will go to....savings! My cash is getting much too low for my liking, so an additional $50ish per month will certainly help.
A few no frills gyms have opened up near my home and are competing with each other. I am going to investigate, but I believe I can trim a bit from my current gym membership of $25 per month. My girlfriends (reason I joined this particular gym) never go when I do, so I would prefer a gym closer to home anyway. If I can free up $10 to add to savings each month, that is just fine with me.
And the big news...my daughter and son-in-law will be moving back from Indiana next month! They will be renting an apartment before they get here, my daughter says. They have been pricing them online and it seems they have decided on a complex not too terribly far from my house, so I'm excited about that. Once it was clear and agreed upon they WILL NOT be staying with me, I was very happy with the news.
I am looking forward to a nice quiet weekend. BF was at my house for a week and just left Wednesday. He will stay home this weekend, as will I. J will have a friend over tonight, and I will likely take them to the movies tomorrow. They want to see The Avengers. I want to get some yard work done. I still (yes, STILL, can you believe it?) have an ugly front planter. I want to get it looking better this spring, so my plants are established before winter sets in.
Some Big (To Me) News :)
May 11th, 2012 at 10:31 pm
May 12th, 2012 at 12:29 am 1336782554
hawaiiiiiiiiii.........