Prop 1A – State Budget. Changes CA Budget Process. Limits State Spending. Increases “Rainy Day” Budget Stabilization Fund
While Prop 1A have some major advantages, the disadvantages are;
“Although Prop 1A was passed as part of the package to balance the 2009-10 budget, IT WOULD NOT significantly affect this year’s budget. (page 14- Official Voter Info Guide)” [CAPS all mine] — but don’t we need help NOW?
“In any given year, Prop 1A DOES NOT strictly limit the amount of revenues that could be collected by the state or the amount of spending that could occur. (page 15 -Official Voter Info Guide)”[CAPS all mine] — I thought it’s supposed to LIMIT spending? Well, what’s this talk about DOES NOT STRICTLY LIMIT the amount of spending that could occur? The actual document is contradicting the title of the document. Very confusing!
Same paragraph went on to say….”The measure does NOT RESTRICT the ability of the Legislature and the Governor to approve tax increases to collect on top of existing revenue.” — So more POSSIBLE tax increase, huh?
Additionally, …”Regarding spending, while the measure COULD make it harder to approve spending increases in some years by restricting access to revenues, it would NOT CAP the total level of spending that could be authorized…” – talk about living above our means!
What I’m getting out of this is that the State is increasing our taxes to cover their rear ends about their unrestricted spending in the past that brought us to where we are – in the red. OK, fine increase my tax for one year to bring us back.
But this measure, with such verbiage as no caps to spending and no restriction to tax increase – it just becomes a vicious cycle! Because once the State starts seeing green, they will carelessly spend it (no cap). Once we’re on the red again and since this measure does not protect us from tax increase, heck why not?!?
PROP 1A – very confusing! Yay or nay – I don’t know yet.
P.S. The tax break that OBAMA gave me went to the State of California – and I’m still fuming about that!
Please VOTE. Cause it counts.
Happy Mother’s Day – to all the mothers!
Ahhhh….been stressing lately. I’m so stressed out I haven’t been out running for this month – and it’s already the TENTH OF MAY!! The logic is this – my time is better spent looking for a part-time job for extra income than to go out and run. Though now I know this is not true – I SHOULD go out and run. Not only for the physical aspects of running but also to de-stress. I need it – for sanity’s sake. Otherwise I’ll drown in my own world- stressing about the following;
1) MONEY – since my hours are reduced, I’ve been thinking of ways to make extra income to pay the bills – the savings/emergency fund is ALMOST dry. It’s almost 5 months, and I have NOTHING!! I just had my review – and my supervisor is deeply apologetic that he can’t offer me raise or even increase my hours. He sang praises on how well I’m doing and they don’t want to lose me. I like my job – I like what I do – I like my co-workers. However, if someone comes up to me, offer me full-time guaranteed – I have to leave. On the other hand, I sense some bitterness from some co-workers who have built friendships from those who got laid off – I’m starting to hear words such as “seniority” and what-not.
2) CALIFORNIA SPECIAL ELECTION (yes, believe it or not!) – why? Because it will affect not only my future, but my children’s future as well. I don’t have kids yet, but I will. I sincerely believe that some of the propositions are wolves in sheeps clothing. And our State is in deep KaKa. If some of these pass – I’ll be contemplating a move, though I love Cali. I don’t know at this point.
3) And on some nights, the Lakers – well, actually it’s more up and down. When they’re up and doing well – I’m less prone to discouragement. When they’re losing (like today against Houston w/o YAO – so0o frustrating!!), I get very frustrated. I get over it eventually – but in that space of time, I’d rather be enjoying the basketball game. Oh well, we’ll get them in LA – and finish the series in their home floor. NO BIGGIE!
I’m gonna go for a run – to destress.
(will be updated frequently)
In order to pay off debt, I need to somehow eliminate other venues of cash outflow. Once I’m debt-free, this list will become saving tips and will ultimately help in increasing my net worth.
1) Giving is second nature to me – i grew up with generous parents who kept on stating that what you get out of giving is substantially more than what you give. This is one of the hardest decisions that I made – to sacrifice the money that I give to charity in order to pay off my debt. However, since I’m a self-declared runner – I plan on running for charities instead! This means raising funds to run for a cause. Not only am I freeing-up cash, I’m also physically active – which will help in my running goals!
2) Two words – FARMER’S MARKET. Cheap vegetables, fresh fruits, NO TAX! (At least around this side of town). It’s good for the body, for the wallet, and for the local community. Everyone is happy! CAVEAT – need to get my butt off bed early saturday mornings. Not a bad sacrifice for something oh-so-good.
Looking back and trying to determine how one ends up with a credit card debt of $15,000 is never easy. Now that I think about it, no one in their right mind should come up with that kind of debt, and not have much to show for it. (Yeahhhh, I don’t think I’m in my right mind – but this blog should help me get there).
I’m single – never married, have no kids, yet I’m down 15 G’s!
At least with my student loan – I have an education, with my car loan-I have a car, with my mortgage – I have a roof over my head.
But with -$15,000? Where did all that money go?!? (This is probably one of the most embarassing post – but this is the cost of personal accountability).
No one can really answer that question but me, and honestly, I don’t even know how to answer that question. At this point all I can come up with is a timeline of some sort.
HISTORY OF -$15,000, A TIMELINE
June 2006 -graduation (4 years of engineering): Proud to finish in 4, ASHAMED TO HAVE A CC DEBT OF $1,000
October 2006 – finally got an engineering job, shocked with how much $$ I make that I SPENT (ABOUT) $2,000 ON RANDOM STUFF THAT I DON’T NEED AND ASSUMED IT’S OK TO USE CC, WILL PAY WITH MY BIG@$$ PAYCHECK ANYWAY! (NOT!!)
March 2007 – Boston trip – free tickets from all my college trip frequent fliers miles. Stayed with friends yet spent(ABOUT) $2,000. Still operating under the mentality that it’s OK to use CC.
August 2007 – went on an Alaskan Cruise with Mom, Dad, and Grandma – all expenses paid. How I ended up with $3,000 on my CC is beyond me – must be all those souvenirs and “pasalubong” that I bought. ( I’m a big fan of this “pasalubong” – wherever I go, I always feel like I HAVE TO! )
November 2007 – bought a house with brother and moved! Happy days – bragging about owning property at 23, yet extremely ashamed with additional $2,000 CC DEBT TO FURNISH said property.
March 2008 – significant other, who knew it was going to be this serious? Cost serious too – I’m estimating approximately $3,000 FOR EATING OUT, SHOPPING, GIFTS, MINI-VACATIONS TOGETHER.
The remaining $2,000 must have gone to my bad shopping habits of buying stuff that I don’t really need.
WOW! That was exhausting, extremely embarassing, and severely depressing.
Just a few words of wisdom for the times when the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel is dim.
Without further ado….
” We all have dreams. In order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline and effort.” (Jesse Owens)
“Mind is everything: muscle – pieces of rubber. All that I am, I am because of my mind.” (Paavo Nurmi)
“When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on.” (Franklin Roosevelt)
“Most people who fail in their dreams fail not from lack of ability but from lack of commitment.” (Anonymous)
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” (Thomas Edison)
‘bixby’ bridge, pacific coast highway
In my search for financial independence, I’ve ran into several websites and nothing beats the FOOL. It is loaded with information about investing/investments and saving for retirement, books, media, etc. Their mission – to educate, amuse, and enrich.
What I enjoy most about being a FOOL is subscribing to MINT.
Mint is a powerful personal finance tool where you connect your bank accounts, savings accounts, credit card accounts, 401K, IRA, etc. to the sytem, and it does everything for you and it even calculates your net worth.
3 THINGS THAT I’M DIGGIN’ ABOUT MINT
1)Alerts
Every month, MINT sends me an e-mail about my up-coming monthly dues. Yes, it keeps tabs of all my credit cards and due dates – since they’re all connected in the web-wide world. Additionally, MINT sends out a reminder to my e-mail a couple days before my credit card is due – telling me which card is due and the total amount that I owe.
This is what I got from them recently;
Hi there,
A bill from Chase Manhattan Bank – CREDIT CARD for $3,059.25 is due on 4/28/2009. Bills are no fun … but late fees are worse!
Click here for details.
Cheers,
The Mint Team
2) Budget
YEAP! You can create a budget – and it automatically update once you made a purchase using any of your credit cards or debit card. Very cool, huh?
3)Portfolio Movers and Shakers
As an investor, MINT shows me how my investments are doing, with the current value and the 7-day change. Its very helpful in trying to determine whether to make a move or to just stay put. It also give me a graphical detail of the history and the potential of my investments.
All of this and more, for the grand price of $0.00!! =)
I guess that’s the price you pay for being a FOOL. eh?
I wonder when they’re gonna start sending all this stuff to my blackberry……. hmm.
I’m a beginner. I’ve been a beginner for almost a year and a half now. For some odd reason I just can’t seem to move along to intermediate – or maybe even a post-beginner — someone in between the beginner and the intermediate.
I’m not a born runner and hated those days in gym class when I had to run. Always hated the sport and always thought that I’m not build to run.
Now, I don’t mind exercising – in fact I make time for it. All through college, I swam. I even enrolled in an intermediate lap swimming class — which totally kicked my ass. Talk about swimming laps til’ you feel like throwin’ up! Man I miss those college days — free access to the gym, to the lap pool. And motivation galore — all those cute guys hanging around the gym and the pool. Hehehehe…..
Post -grad, gym membership is not free nor is it cheap. However, I do believe that health is wealth – and it’s definitely worth it.
Now, back in the day, my choice of cardio machine is the stairmaster. I would get on those stairs and hike “up” until i’m drenched in sweat. As a person who likes to read and learn, I read up on how I can optimized my stepping — how to burn more fat and calories, etc. Lo and behold I discovered that in order to optimize your cardio exercise, you have to give-in to variety – i.e. try the treadmill for a change.
And so I started walking on the ‘mill. Soon enough I started walking faster. And about a month later, I decided to try and run on the ‘mill – run til I can’t anymore – just to gauge my abilties. And from then on, I was hooked!
A year from then, running at 4 miles a day – I decided it’s time to have a goal. The goal – to run a marathon, 26.2 miles before I’m 25. I trained harder, and got injured. Lost the motivation.
Now, I’m 24. As I read up on running, I realized that I should have had short-term goals. A 5-k, 10-k, or a half. That the 26.2 is too ambitious for a beginner – that doesn’t mean I can’t do it. It just means that I need the proper training to get me there. And with the 5-k’s and 10-k’s and even the halves would be a great part of the proper training in order to run 26.2.
I’ll be 25 in September.
The short-term goal — to run my first 5-K at the end of May. Cumulative mileage target for the month of May = 36 miles.
The long term goal – to run my 26.2 one year after that. Watch for me!
I’m not new to blogging – but I’m new to WordPress.
With that said, I would like to start with a “mission statement” – a statement of purpose for this blog. In my line of work, I’ve learned that in order for a structure or a system to be sustainable, it has to have a purpose – be it short-term or long-term. For the systems or structures with short-term life, we try to design the system so that come demolition time – everything is straightforward and manageable.
The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my journey as I run away from debt. It will also be a log of learning experiences and endeavors through the complicated path of personal finances.
I hope you jog along with me!
