In defense of this expenditure – they were on sale from Zappos.com ; one pair was 10% off and the other was 20% off… and I love them! And I almost never buy shoes!

I had initially charged a whopping total of $914.42 (for 5 pairs of shoes) to the VISA card that I had not been using and had only recently retrieved from the dustbin of my wallet… my AMEX card (7.90% APR for purchases, rewards in the form of points) carries a balance that I have been trying to diminish. That balance is currently $430. My dustbin card has an APR of 20.99% and no rewards= yikes!

This was my first purchase from Zappos, and I’m so happy that they offer free UPS 1-Day shipping (for your returns, too!) and tax-free purchases for 48 of the 50 states. I could have elected to charge this purchase to a Zappos credit card and thus accumulated prized reward points… but said card offered a temporary authorization of only $400. Bollocks.

Now that I’ve tried on all 5 pairs, decided on the 2, and packed the remaining 3 to be returned to Zappos, I’m just eager for $567.56 to be credited to me for my return… and now that I’m no longer a spring chicken in the world of personal finance education, I’ll continue to pay off the balance of my now not-so-dusty credit card.

I must say – it smarts.

—

Oh, and when my mum asked about the price of a pair?

I fibbed majorly, of course: “This pair is $75.00 … but it’s 50% off from $150!”

Her response: “$75??? Just go down to Mervyn’s and find a pair for less!”

This month I’ve incurred some expenses that could have been entirely avoided. I’m flying to San Francisco twice! Sometimes you have to let emotions overwhelm your rational mind and these trips were entirely emotionally necessary.

I’ve been pretty good about depositing about a grand every month into my ING account.
I’ve increased my TSP contributions to 10% with 5% agency matching for a total of 15%
The credit card (although you can’t see it from above) has been used entirely too much!

At the risk of being stereotyped as just another “bad female driver”, here is an anecdote about idiocy:

I was a student at Berkeley when, in the summer of 2005, I borrowed someone’s car, a mid-90s burgundy Ford sedan, I think. Its owner, Brian, had just embarked on a cross-country biking trip, and he left it in the care of his housemate and my friend, Daniel. Daniel trusted me and agreed to lend the car to me one afternoon so that I could navigate my way to the site of my new employer in Oakland. I had not been in the habit of driving since moving to Berkeley, so when I first got behind the wheel, it seemed that my mind was geared more towards taking an aimless spin than towards reaching my destination with a laser-like focus. I ambled around and found myself passing one of the university dormitories on my right, when I noticed a white car shifting away from curb. I thought that there would be ample space between that car and the one I was driving, but I was wrong: we made contact. A large indent was shared across the two-right hand doors of the Ford; the white car received less, but significant damage.

I’m never one to freak out about anything, but at the time I knew that I was on the brink of some deep shit. The other driver was amiable, a recent graduate, and we exchanged information. I let him know about my relationship [or lack thereof] to the Ford, including the lack of any insurance coverage whatsoever on my part. He also said that he was hesitant to report the damage to his insurance agency, since there were three or more vehicles under the same policy, and he didn’t want to face a huge rate hike.

I reported my bad deed to Daniel, feeling the humiliation beginning to sink into my skin. The situation was so foreign that I asked several people for advice – my [male] housemate for any consolation he might be able to offer, my [male] cousin in Florida, a car enthusiast, my middle-aged [male] classmate in Spanish 1, who lived in San Leandro and recommended some body shops in his neighborhood. One female friend was consulted, who had just graduated with an accounting degree from USC and who gave me her insight from 400 miles away. They all told me to do the same thing: tell your dad about this.

I was facing a bill of more than $2000, possibly much more [my memory is faulty and the receipts are stored in a filing cabinet in my parents' house]. During the days following the, er, collision, Daniel pressed me for my exact recollection of the event – was I absolutely sure that it was the other driver who was at fault? My confidence began to waver, until the day when Daniel and the other driver met to discuss and negotiate. “Let the men do the talking” was the rationale, I suppose, and I let them. In the end, they agreed that we would total the costs of repair for both vehicles, and that we would each share half of all expenses. This was generous of the other guy, in light of the fact that I would have to replace two entire doors on the Ford.

I never told my dad about it. My female friend had urged me to, with the reasoning that “he ought to know about your driving record if you’re going to be driving his cars in the future”. I also confess that neither of us drivers notified the DMV about it. Daniel strongly cautioned me against opening a new credit card account, telling me that I would eventually be unable to make the monthly payments and then sink into the Deepest Depths of Shit. The thought of that possibility stuck into my nerve endings like an acupuncture needle gone wrong. But I ended up going to the Citi Bank website and opening two (2) accounts. I emphasized to Jack, my cousin, that this was a lesson I wanted to inflict on myself, a big monetary lesson. “You bet,” he told me.

As it happened, I never reached the point where I couldn’t make monthly payments. The next year did see me doing some no-no things, like overdrawing my checking account, making late credit card payments, and paying for groceries with credit, from time to time. I never stop feeling foolish and sheepish in remembering these instances, as well as the stupid whammy of a catastrophe that helped engender them in the first place. But what’s done is done. When I got a full-time job, I set to work at making huge lump payments to alleviate my credit card balances. I suppose that the last of it was paid off earlier this year, but it’s only in retrospect that I say so, as the amount of debt resulting from the collision had lost its immediacy. I had stopped keeping track of it a while ago.

Another stupid repercussion of the collision happened when I closed both Citi Bank credit card accounts. A bad bruise on my credit report, I guess, but it was something I had wanted to do ever since I charged the repair costs.

—

On the other hand, in other news, I recently began my second 6-month insurance policy with 21st Century, for the 2006 Toyota Corolla I purchased a year ago (another story). I am paying “only” a nice $703, since it is registered under my parents’ address in one of the safest cities in the States. Sweet, methinks!

I’m interested in your perspective on money and all that good stuff.

Welcome!

I’ve read too many anecdotes about couples and everyone seems to have different ways to go about finances. Some married couples keep separate accounts and seem to enjoy the freedom that brings. I suppose a good benchmark for us will be when we take the next step and affirm our partnership in front of our families… and we still have a few more years before that happens.

In my case, my parents are a mild version of the stereotypical Asian parents. They’re working class and need all the help they can get, don’t get me wrong they’re not in any need that I know of but I know I will have to help with their retirement. I know for a fact that my parents don’t have a 401k or even any decent amount saved for their retirement. i know I will have to supplement what they get with $200 or so a month when the time comes. Fortunately, I am not an only child, I have three siblings who will most likely also have to help a little, I am however, the only one with no children of my own.

But seriously, my parents have helped me out so much, they love me so much that helping them will not be a chore. I still remember when my dad bought me that $3,000 computer in 7th grade because it would help me writing papers, it must have been an incredible sacrifice for him back then. God bless them!

I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve dealt with my money in the last couple of months. Despite the extravagance here and there I’ve been able to easily put aside $1,000 to my ING Emergency Fund every month. When I have about $10,000 in my ING Emergency Fund I will truly investigate this Roth IRA business.

I’ve decided that since I seem to be doing well with money I should increase my TSP contributions. I used to contribute 6% and the Fed would match 5% so I had a total of 11% from every paycheck in my retirement account. As of last week I increased my contribution to $10 and with my agency match it becomes 15%.

On a totally unrelated note, I managed to get an awesome deal to fly to California from DC, $99 bucks each way! I’m flying Southwest and paying about $150 bucks less than I thought I’d be paying.

I dragged myself to the grocery store and bought lots of non-perishables and veggies to make at least 5 or 6 dinners. Our refregerator is stuffed, there’s really no excuse to say: “Let’s go out for dinner.” I’ve made two delcious dinners already, on on Tuesday some chicken stir fry with rice and veggies, on Wednesday Orange Chicken with rice and a steamed vegetable side dish (this fed three people!). In terms of food, yesterday we ate dinner and drank wine for free (and lots of both!). How you ask? I again volunteered my services to this guy who puts on fancy parties. This event was at the Argentine Embassy, I poured wine and poured on the bullshit too. A patron would ask me about the wine, about the grape, about the region and I managed to speak with authority and even hold extended conversations about wines I knew almost nothing about except the grape and name. These people paid $85 to attend, I tried the wines and ate with them and at the end of the night I came hone with 4 wines! Thank you Charlie!

Today is Friday and I plan on making dinner and drinking some of that wine.

I only spent $12 on lunch this week, and even that could have been avoided. I could have gone home and made something but I decided to be social with the co-workers and join them in eating lunch.

The last large expense was a Persian textbook for the class I started Tuesday, it should be a great investment, the class seems rigorous enough.

So, there it is $113, for the week so far. I hope it’s not too bad.

Whoever pointed me in the direction of a Benetton should be thanked profusively, ah, European sizes! There’s such pleasure in wearing clothes that fit you well, that seem tailored to your body. At the risk of feeling like a stereotype, I’m gonna say I like clothes. I fantasize about owning a sewing machine and making my own clothes, or at least altering my older clothing. I also keep checking The Sartorialist, this blog which showcases people with awesome styles walking the streets of New York City.

Having read that you’d probably think I’m a fashion-forward young man… you’d be wrong, I’m pretty traditional, I like a well-crafted non-flashy shirt. Unfortunately, even this tends to be pretty expensive. As I mentioned in an earlier entry,I bought 2 shirts from Benetton and they set me back about $100 dollars for simple but fine-looking shirts. It’s not a trivial amount but I feel it’s well worth it.

When Winter began I spent about $300 on a coat that fits me very well and gets compliments, but I can’t help thinking maybe I spent too much.

Saturday we woke up late because we went to a house party the night before. We had breakfast at home. We then headed to SOHO Cafe and I spent about $9 on two drinks and a dessert for both of us. We stayed at the cafe for about fours hours, I think the money was well spent for the entertainment and wireless internet.

At 5 PM we decided to take the metro to the Freer Gallery and try to get free tickets to an anime movie they were showing at 7 PM. When we got there we notced the line was huge and there were only 150 tickets available. Resigned to the fact that we were not getting tickets, we headed to E Street Cinema to check out what they were offering. We decided on “The Wind That Shakes the Barley” and I paid $19. He took care of dinner. That was our excitng Saturday.

On Sunday, after we made French toast and cleaned up we went to a neighboring cafe (notice a theme?). I spent $7 dollars on two drinks and the tip. At 4 PM we tired of the cafe and went home to cook dinner. While I was catching up with a friend on the phone we made a chorizo and lentil soup with a side dish of greens beans and carrots sauteed with balsamic vinegar (yum!).

So, weekend total: about $35.