I Loro Portafoglios Apertos

I'm probably butchering that, but it's roughly Italian for "Their Open Wallets."

Apparently the Italian tax ministry posted on its website the name, address, reported income and tax paid of every Italian citizen, neatly organized by city. It's already been taken down, which is unfortunate-- I don't think any Italians responded to my call for salary revelations!

Do the Thing That You Can Do For 2 Hours Without Realizing It

I forget exactly where I was reading this, perhaps in some article about kids and their parents deciding whether an expensive college is worth it, etc., but someone was quoted giving this advice to people who are deciding what they want to do with their lives: is there something that you can get so into that you lose track of time and later realize that you've been absorbed in this activity for over 2 hours without even knowing it? That is what you should do with your life.

That struck a chord with me, as there are definitely activities that make me feel that way. Do I do any of these things professionally? A little-- I can get wrapped up in certain analytical tasks that my job requires and lose myself for 2 hours in creating spreadsheets and charts. I can also lose myself for hours reading books, and that is definitely part of my job. But the rest of my work life doesn't have that kind of absorbing interest for me.

What other activities do I enjoy that way? Painting. Digging around in a garden. Researching genealogy. I've also gone through phases where I was quite caught up in figuring out new templates for this blog or doing some kind of hack on a Palm Pilot. I guess I like figuring things out, being creative, and playing in the dirt. But would I be happy doing any of these things professionally? Would I make enough money to be happy doing them? The money is important to me, as this blog might suggest! But is there also something about being paid for a task that makes it less fun? Would I rather get lost for 2 hours in something that is pure recreation, or part of my career?

I don't quite know the answer to that question-- I've made the career choices I've made, and that is part of the answer, I guess. How about you? What do you love to do, and do you get paid to do it?

$150

That's how much the new governor of New York gave to charity last year, according to his tax return. And it was just $150 worth of stuff donated to the Salvation Army, not cash. Governor David Patterson and his wife had income of $269,815 last year, so that is a tiny fraction of a percent of their earnings. As this New York Times article points out, this doesn't necessarily mean he didn't make any donations, it just means he didn't declare them on his tax return to get the deduction. So if we're going to go all judgmental on him, he's either a miser or he's stupid! (Or, less likely, he has some very noble ideas about voluntarily paying extra taxes.) Here's what a few people had to say about it:

Alitha Martinez, a comic book artist who lives in Manhattan, gave several hundred dollars’ worth of clothing that her 6-year-old son had outgrown to neighborhood charities last year. She also took a $1,000 tax deduction for donating an old Macintosh computer. And she occasionally sells her artwork and gives the proceeds to the Hero Fund, which provides scholarships to children of military personnel....

“That’s the equivalent of, ‘Let them eat cake,’ ” Ms. Martinez said [about Governor Patterson] as she went to mail her own return at the main post office near Pennsylvania Station on Tuesday morning. “That’s not cool.”

***

Jennifer Fiore, 39, would not say what she does for a living, but she did say she took a deduction on her 2007 return of about $1,000 for donations of clothing that went to benefit breast cancer research, as well as furniture and electronics that were picked up by a group that helps Vietnam veterans.

“It’s almost an insult,” she said of the Patersons’ $150. “It’s not like he doesn’t have enough to give away.”

***

“It’s up to an individual and someone’s conscience,” said Matthew Kelty, 38, who works at the New School and gave money last year to groups that included the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, CARE and Save the Children.

Still, he said, Mr. Paterson’s tax return made him wonder about the new governor’s character.

“It’s interesting that someone who we put our trust in doesn’t seem to care,” he said.

Just hit the "charity" category in the sidebar and you'll see how this same topic has become an issue for me, when some commenters felt I did not donate a large enough percentage of my income. Of course, giving is always a very personal decision: there is no "right" amount to give and people have different reasons for giving or not giving that may or may not seem valid to others. But just to put things in perspective, the Times article had this graphic about average deductions for charitable donations broken down by income range.




I'll save you the trouble of calculating how much the average giving amount is as a percentage of the average income:

$5,000,000	$10,000,000	$297,627	4.0%
$2,000,000	$5,000,000	$115,463	3.3%
$1,500,000	$2,000,000	$62,046	3.5%
$1,000,000	$1,500,000	$41,192	3.3%
$500,000	$1,000,000	$20,858	2.8%
$200,000	$500,000	$8,528	2.4%
$100,000	$200,000	$4,081	2.7%
$75,000	$100,000	$2,945	3.4%
$60,000	$75,000	$2,625	3.9%
$50,000	$60,000	$2,408	4.4%
$40,000	$50,000	$2,207	4.9%
$30,000	$40,000	$2,101	6.0%
$20,000	$30,000	$1,973	7.9%

I didn't find these percentages all that surprising. At the higher end of the income scale, people's basic needs and even luxuries are easily taken care of, so they can afford to donate to charity. At the lower end of the income scale, there is a certain dollar threshold below which people don't want to fall, but of course it is a larger percentage of their income. (Also, maybe they're more tempted to fudge it for the IRS because they desperately need the bigger tax refund.)
Then you have the people in between: Governor Patterson's income range has the lowest percentage for giving. People in these in between levels are the ones who are supposedly "wealthy," or maybe upper-middle-class, or just middle-class in places like New York City where the cost of living is so high. They're anxious about paying for all the expensive things they think they're supposed to have, they're buying homes and having kids and trying to save for retirement: they feel squeezed, and charity is getting squeezed out.
Of course, I should be saying "we," as my adjusted gross income of around $87,000 puts me in the lower range of this group and my charitable giving has so far been even less than these averages. But at least I coughed up more than $150!

Bonus! And How to Spend It...

I found out this week that I would be getting a nice bonus this year. I'd been hoping it would be at least as big as last year's or perhaps even bigger, but I was trying so hard not to count my chickens before they were hatched that I was actually quite surprised by the final amount, which was slightly over $15,000 gross.

First of all, it's just great to get an amount of money like this in one lump sum-- it makes it so much easier to just stick it in the bank and not spend it. But of course I'd like to spend a little bit of it! Getting a bonus feels like getting a reward, and it makes you want to give yourself a little treat. Given that I'd only budgeted myself to receive $7,000 gross bonus, I started to think maybe I didn't have to postpone the new computer purchase that I'd pushed off to next year, and of course other fun items also came to mind. I'm already giving myself the present of an expensive vacation this year, and this makes me feel a little better about that! But I still couldn't help wanting to spend some money!

So here's what I ended up doing, after work on the day I found out how much my bonus would be: I went to Pier 1 to try to buy a couple of baskets. Whoooo, big spender, right??? And here's what's even more pathetic: they didn't have any nice baskets in the size I wanted, so I walked out empty-handed!

Why did I want baskets? Well, I only have two real wastebaskets in my apartment: one in the bathroom, and one in the kitchen. In both bedrooms, I have small shopping bags from Banana Republic that I've been using as wastebaskets, and in the living room, a crumpling shopping bag from Ann Taylor has been holding all my newspapers until I tie them up for recycling. A friend commented that it was a bit of a mess, and why didn't I just buy some cheap baskets to hold the avalanche of papers and magazines. Yeah, I thought, why don't I?

This is the kind of minor spending that I tend to avoid. When faced with spending $10 or $15 on a basket to keep my recycling tidy, I think "ugh, these little things add up and it's a waste of money. A paper shopping bag does the job pretty well, and maybe one of these days I'll happen to find a cool box or bin of some sort on the street somewhere, so why should I buy anything?" (And in fact I did find a very nice wine crate recently, but that is currently serving as a makeshift nightstand.) But getting a bonus of $15,000 made me think it was ok to allow myself to buy a basket or two, and now, of course, I am so annoyed that I couldn't actually complete the purpose!

I've been fantasizing a bit about what it would be like to spend my bonus. I'd never just spend the whole thing, but what if I just spent the $8,000 that was above my budgeted amount? After taxes and 401K deductions, it would probably end up being about $4,000 net. If I got a really snazzy 17" MacBookPro, that would be about $3,000 right there. This is probably more computer than I really need. I could get a refurbished one for about $2,300 probably, when you factor in tax. But maybe I could just go for a lesser model-- I wanted a 17" one because I don't have a TV and I've always used my computer to watch movies, but now that I'm seeing someone who has a TV, maybe it's not as big an issue! So let's say I just get the cheapest new MacBook at about $1,100.

Then I thought I might get some curtains. I saw some cute ones at Pier 1-- they didn't actually have them on the shelf, so I jotted down the name and thought I'd just try to order them online. Well, turns out Pier 1's website is totally lame. A lot of their products aren't online, and you can't search their online catalog. No wonder the company isn't doing well-- step up to the plate, people, if you want to sell me some curtains! Maybe I'll try Pottery Barn instead. I'll take a wild guess and figure it will cost me $1,000 total for all the windows I want to cover.

Ok, what else. How about a new bike? I've been thinking it would be good to replace my folding bike with a full-size one now that I have more storage space, but given that I hardly ever ride it anyway, maybe that is a dumb idea.

Oh-- a new camera! I just bought one, on sale for about $140, thanks to a tip from The Big Picture. I did this right before bonus time, but I'll count it anyway.

A bookcase: I could use another one to hold my ever-growing collection. I'd like to have one made to match what I already have, which I bought unfinished and then stained myself. Sounds very cheap but the way it actually worked out, the cost of a new bookcase would probably be at least $450.

Umm, umm-- how 'bout some clothes! I still want some Seven jeans, (which could come to as much as $200) even though I just picked up another pair of Lucky jeans on Ebay for less than half price. Unfortunately I have been gaining a little weight lately and if I don't lose 5 pounds, I'm afraid many of my other recent purchases aren't going to fit.

Ah! And that gives me a good solution as to how to spend the rest of my bonus, since I'm having such trouble trying to come up with things! I'll buy some personal training sessions! I think I have $490 left. At my gym, I think you can get a package of 10 training sessions for about $800-- that will put me a little over my bonus amount, unfortunately... and given my atrocious level of exercise discipline lately, I don't know if having some muscle-bound person exhorting me to "push it" or whatever will really get me any closer to losing the 5 pounds!

You know, it might just be easier to just SAVE all the money after all...

What if You Contribute Too Much to a Roth IRA?

I've had a couple of comments from people saying I should be careful not to contribute too much to a Roth IRA. For 2007, I contributed the full $4,000, but that maximum only applies to people whose income was below $99,000. My total income in 2007 was just above $100,000-- so did I screw up?
Fortunately, the answer is NO! The income limit for Roth IRA contributions refers not to your gross income, but to your "Modified Adjusted Gross Income," abbreviated hereafter as MAGI. Maybe I should have called this post "The Gift of the MAGI..."

As I learned from the "Ask Encore" column in this past weekend's Wall Street Journal, you can figure out your MAGI by going to www.irs.gov and using a worksheet in Publication 590. They say it's on page 61, but I didn't see any page numbers-- I just found it by searching the table of contents for Roth IRA contribution limits.
The worksheet asks you to enter your adjusted gross income from line 38 on form 1040. Then you have to add back in a bunch of other lines, none of which applied to me. Below is the 2007 worksheet:

1.	Enter your adjusted gross income from Form 1040, line 38; Form 1040A, line 22; or Form 1040NR, line 36			1.
2.	Enter any income resulting from the conversion of an IRA (other than a Roth IRA) to a Roth IRA or a minimum required distribution from an IRA (if figuring MAGI for conversion purposes)			2.
3.	Subtract line 2 from line 1			3.
4.	Enter any traditional IRA deduction from Form 1040, line 32; Form 1040A, line 17; or Form 1040NR, line 31			4.
5.	Enter any student loan interest deduction from Form 1040, line 33; Form 1040A, line 18; or Form 1040NR, line 32			5.
6.	Enter any tuition and fees deduction from Form 1040, line 34, or Form 1040A, line 19			6.
7.	Enter any domestic production activities deduction from Form 1040, line 35, or Form 1040NR, line 33			7.
8.	Enter any foreign earned income exclusion and/or housing exclusion from Form 2555, line 45, or Form 2555-EZ, line 18			8.
9.	Enter any foreign housing deduction from Form 2555, line 50			9.
10.	Enter any excludable qualified savings bond interest from Form 8815, line 14			10.
11.	Enter any excluded employer-provided adoption benefits from Form 8839, line 30			11.
12.	Add the amounts on lines 3 through 11			12.
13.	Enter: $166,000 if married filing jointly or qualifying widow(er), $10,000 if married filing separately and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year, or $114,000 for all others			13.
	Is the amount on line 12 more than the amount on line 13? If yes, see the note below. If no, the amount on line 12 is your modified adjusted gross income for Roth IRA purposes.

My MAGI was only $86,606, which is basically wages, interest, business income, and capital gains. The reason it's lower than my gross income is those lovely pre-tax deductions: my 401k, maxed out at at $15,500, plus little things like my monthly Metrocards, and health insurance.

For 2008, the MAGI limit for contributing the maximum $5,000 to a Roth IRA is $101,000 for individuals. (Yeah, it's different for you over-50 people and married-filing-jointly types, see the IRS link for details while the young swinging singles read on!) I plan to continue to max out my 401k contributions so hopefully it will still be a couple of years before I have to start limiting my Roth IRA amounts. But I will be using that worksheet each year from now on, just in case.

Fortunately, having a too-high income doesn't necessarily disqualify you from participating in a Roth IRA-- the contribution limit is lessened and eventually phased out as your income gets higher, it's not all or nothing. The IRS provides a worksheet with which you can calculate your correct maximum amount.

Here's an example of the 2007 worksheet for someone whose MAGI is over the limit, showing how to calculate the reduced contribution amount:

1.	Enter your modified AGI for Roth IRA purposes	1.	100,000
2.	Enter: $156,000 if filing a joint return or qualifying widow(er), $-0- if married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time in 2007, or $99,000 for all others	2.	99,000
3.	Subtract line 2 from line 1	3.	1,000
4.	Enter: $10,000 if filing a joint return or qualifying widow(er) or married filing a separate return and you lived with your spouse at any time during the year, or $15,000 for all others	4.	15,000
5.	Divide line 3 by line 4 and enter the result as a decimal (rounded to at least three places). If the result is 1.000 or more, enter 1.000	5.	.067
6.	Enter the lesser of: $4,000 ($5,000 if you are age 50 or older, or $7,000 for certain employer bankruptcies), or Your taxable compensation	6.	4,000
7.	Multiply line 5 by line 6	7.	268
8.	Subtract line 7 from line 6. Round the result up to the nearest $10. If the result is less than $200, enter $200	8.	3,740
9.	Enter contributions for the year to other IRAs	9.	0
10.	Subtract line 9 from line 6	10.	4,000
11.	Enter the lesser of line 8 or line 10. This is your reduced Roth IRA contribution limit	11.	3,740

So what happens if you accidentally contribute more than you are allowed for your income level? You have to pay the IRS a 6% excise tax on the excess contribution amount. If you leave the money in the Roth IRA account anyway, it will reduce the amount, if any, which you are eligible to contribute the next year. If you aren't eligible to contribute anything the next year, then you'll keep getting dinged that 6% penalty each year the over-contribution remains in your account. Ouch!

Remember, all this tax stuff is serious business, and I am not a professional-- make sure you check the IRS website to do your own research for your own situation, and stay up to date on any changes in the laws!

The Wealth Gap in Relationships: Too Big? Too Small?

Here's a question I've been thinking about, regarding financial inequality in relationships: if you were going to have a partner who made more money than you, what kind of difference would you be comfortable with? If you made $75,000 a year, do you think it would be harder to be with someone who made $150,000 a year, or $1 million a year? Would the source of their income make a difference, i.e. whether they worked for it, or inherited a big nest egg? How might this change depending on the actual incomes involved? Is the difference between someone making $25,000 a year and someone making $75,000 a year going to cause more or less stress than the difference between people making $100,000 and $300,000? And does it make a difference if the relationship is gay or straight, and whether it's a man or a woman who makes the higher amount?

Let's say you were seeing someone who made more money than you. You don't know exactly how much more, but guess it is maybe two or even three times your own income, but not more than that. You want to feel like there is a balance in terms of who pays for things, but can sometimes feel like the person who makes more should pay more. But you're both considered middle-class. Maybe one of you is more upper middle class, and enjoys a few extra luxuries with that extra money, but you're both in a position where you work hard to make money, worry about saving enough to support your retirement, and feel like you are surrounded by people who make more money than you.

Then let's consider this alternative: you're seeing someone who was born into a wealthy family. They have some sort of trust fund whose income will comfortably and even luxuriously support them for the rest of their life. You yourself are solidly middle class, with some savings and a decent job, but no hope of ever inheriting any significant wealth. You might not be experiencing any financial hardship, but you know you have to be careful about money in order to stay financially secure.

In which of these situations, if either, would you feel more comfortable saying "hey, you know what? I can't afford to do X, Y and Z, and if you want us to do it together, you're going to have to pay for it." Assuming that the wealthier member of the couple is willing to say "Of course I'll pay for X, Y, and Z. Doing it with you is more important to me than the money," could you just accept that, or would you feel guilty?

And on the flip side, what if YOU are the one making more money? What kind of gap would bother you if you were seeing someone who made less money? How much more money would you have to have before you would feel comfortable paying for more than your share, or would you pay for everything without even thinking about it?

2008 Budget

Here's a detailed look at the budget I've finalized for 2008:

Sub-Category	2007 actual	2008 budget	difference
Div Income	$ 197	$ -	$ (197)
Div Income NT	$ 15,411	$ -	$ (15,411)
Int Income	$ 291	$ -	$ (291)
Int Income NT	$ 0	$ -	$ (0)
Long CapGnDst	$ 1,258	$ -	$ (1,258)
Long CapGnDst NT	$ 1,722	$ -	$ (1,722)
Bonus	$ 10,500	$ 7,000	$ (3,500)
Div Income	$ -	$ -	$ -
Gift Received	$ 1,645	$ 500	$ (1,145)
Interest Inc	$ 1,163	$ 1,200	$ 37
Investment Inc	$ 10	$ -	$ (10)
Other Inc (410k match)	$ 5,481	$ 5,500	$ 19
Salary	$ 91,029	$ 95,000	$ 3,971
Tax Refund	$ 2,844	$ -	$ (2,844)
Inflows - Other	$ 3	$ -	$ (3)
Total Inflows	$ 131,555	$ 109,200	$ (22,355)
Condo insurance	$ 320	$ 348	$ 28
Condo: Mortgage and common charges	$ 20,219	$ 20,100	$ (119)
Property taxes	$ 2,312	$ 600	$ (1,712)
Utilities: Gas & Electric	$ 1,102	$ 1,200	$ 98
Utilities: Telephone	$ 1,342	$ 900	$ (442)
Bank Charge	$ 78	$ -	$ (78)
Charity	$ 343	$ 500	$ 157
Clothing	$ 2,940	$ 2,000	$ (940)
Dining: Breakfast	$ 701	$ 720	$ 19
Dining: Dinner	$ 2,616	$ 2,200	$ (416)
Dining: Groceries	$ 2,406	$ 2,400	$ (6)
Dining: Liquor	$ 965	$ 900	$ (65)
Dining: Lunch	$ 1,295	$ 1,200	$ (95)
Education	$ 421	$ 480	$ 59
Entertainment - Other	$ 95	$ 200	$ 106
Entertainment - Books	$ 69	$ 75	$ 6
Entertainment - CDs	$ 53	$ 60	$ 7
Entertainment - Movies	$ 75	$ 80	$ 5
Gifts Given	$ 2,300	$ 1,000	$ (1,300)
Gym & Fitness	$ 1,199	$ 1,308	$ 109
Home Repair	$ 290	$ 200	$ (90)
Household - Other	$ 1,510	$ 600	$ (910)
Household - Laundry	$ 340	$ 360	$ 20
Household - New Home Decor	$ 6,130	$ 800	$ (5,330)
Investment Exp	$ (111)	$ -	$ 111
IRA Contrib: 401k	$ 15,500	$ 15,500	$ -
IRA Contrib: Roth IRA	$ 4,000	$ 5,000	$ 1,000
Medical:Dental	$ (297)	$ 67	$ 364
Medical:Doctor	$ 45	$ -	$ (45)
Medical:Flex spend	$ 333	$ 500	$ 167
Medical:Health Insurance	$ 718	$ 792	$ 74
Medical:Hospital	$ 100	$ -	$ (100)
Medical:Medicine	$ 130	$ -	$ (130)
Misc:Other	$ 1,564	$ 1,000	$ (564)
Misc:Personal care	$ 914	$ 1,080	$ 166
Payroll Taxes, Self:Federal	$ 13,965	$ 14,000	$ 35
Payroll Taxes, Self:Medicare	$ 1,445	$ 1,500	$ 55
Payroll Taxes, Self:NYC tax	$ 2,787	$ 2,800	$ 13
Payroll Taxes, Self:SDI	$ 31	$ 36	$ 5
Payroll Taxes, Self:Soc Sec	$ 6,045	$ 6,300	$ 255
Payroll Taxes, Self:State	$ 4,797	$ 5,000	$ 203
Subscriptions:Internet Access	$ 265	$ 240	$ (25)
Subscriptions:Magazines	$ 184	$ 120	$ (64)
Subscriptions:Newspapers	$ 520	$ 500	$ (20)
Travel:Commute	$ 914	$ 914	$ -
Travel:Non-Vacation Travel	$ 1,376	$ 1,000	$ (376)
Travel:Vacation Travel	$ 1,064	$ 9,000	$ 7,936
Total Expenses	$ 105,411	$ 103,580	$(1,830)
Net	$ 26,144	$ 5,620	$ (20,524)

For income, I have budgeted for the bonus and a small raise. I also included the 401k matching contributions. Otherwise, I'm not counting on any investment income, so hopefully there is a bit of upside there. But I want to be conservative in this area.
As for expenses, you'll notice that I'm trying to cut back a little on clothing and dining-- I bought some new clothes in 2007 and hopefully won't need as many this year. Unless I get fat, that is, which is another reason why I also cut back on dining. I'm also reducing gifts given, since I won't be giving my nephew another $1,000 savings bond. (Hopefully my sister won't have any more children this year!) The home decor line is also cut way back, as I don't need any major furniture. Misc Other is lower than last year because I don't expect to need a new Treo, which I bought last year. And I've decided to postpone getting a new computer. I also cut back my property taxes quite a bit from what I paid last year-- this is pure guesswork, but hopefully the real amount once the abatement kicks in will be even lower.
Also note that I am showing my 401k and Roth IRA contributions as an expense here-- paying myself first!
And then the one item that has been massively increased is TRAVEL! $9,000! Yowza! I may not need all of this, but it's looking very likely that I will do a very expensive, very exciting trip this summer. The cost is killing me, but I also know that it is something I want to do sooner or later, and I'm thinking maybe sooner is better. And the budget seems to be allowing me to do it and still save a little cash. Maybe not quite as much as I'd like, but I'm just going to go for it and hope for the best. Stay tuned to see how it all works out!

2007 Income

Here's how much money I made in 2007:

Salary	$91,029
Investment Income (div, cg, etc)	$19,001
Bonus	$10,500
Other Income	$5,496
Tax Refund	$2,844
Gift Received	$1,645
Interest Income	$1,163
TOTAL INFLOWS	$131,678

Notes:

• As I'd previously mentioned, it was very nice to finally hit a six-figure income this year. My total income including investment dividends, etc. was over six figures last year, but that is not the same as seeing a number over $100,000 on your final paystub! I wish my salary alone was over $100k, but that will take another couple of years, I think, and in the meantime, I'm happy to have a bonus that makes up the gap, assuming it's big enough to do so again next year!
• All the investment income-- dividends and capital gains-- ends up being reinvested in either my 401k or my E*Trade investment account, so I don't think of it as spendable income.
• Other Income is mostly my employer's matching contributions to my 401k.
• A tax refund doesn't really feel like "income" to me, but that is how Quicken categorizes it.
• $1,000 of the Gift Received line is a check given to me by my mother, which I see more as money that I am holding in trust for her, in case she gets into debt again. (backstory here)
• I am not including the (very modest) ad revenue this site generates, as I have been donating it to various charities.

That's the scoop-- coming soon will be a post on my 2007 expenses.

November 07 Recap: Income and Expenses

Here's a run-down on my income and expenses in November. Some of my mutual funds paid dividends this month, so the "Other Income" line is higher than usual. I try to ignore this line anyway, and focus on how my expenses compare to my actual salary.

Inflows

• Salary $7,750
• Other Income $4,540 (dividends, interest, 401K employer match, etc.)

Total Inflows $12,290

Outflows

• Business expense $293
• Clothing $586 (blame it on the thong)
• Dining $582 (under budget! yay!)
• Entertainment $54
• Gifts Given $245 (It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...)
• Household $194 (I decided I needed a humidifier and a shelf for my bathroom)
• Housing $1,944 (when oh when will my tax abatement kick in?)
• Medical -$214 (flexible spending account reimbursement received)
• Misc $282 (most of this represents my ridiculous efforts to buy a new backpack. 6 purchased, 6 tried, at least 5 in various stages of being returned. Gotta love those free returns at ebags.com)
• Payroll Taxes, Self $2,544 (a little higher now that my 401k deductions have ended)
• Subscriptions $61
• Travel $77
• Utilities $195 (gas, electric and telephone)
  

Total Outflows $6,843


Net Inflows/Outflows $5,447

If you back out the atypical dividend income, I managed to save $907 in cash. My 401k contributions were only about $16 this month, as I hit the $15,500 annual maximum. That meant I had a higher net paycheck, and higher taxes. This wasn't my greatest month ever for savings, as I did buy some clothes and "stuff," but I did at least get my dining expenses lower than they'd been for the past 6 months. I'm definitely over budget for the year-- my spending habits are still showing the effects of buying a new home, and also, as a commenter pointed out, catching up on all the spending I was reluctant to do while saving money for that new home! I think the only areas where I'll end the year under budget are education, entertainment, and travel. Next year I definitely want to take a big trip, so I'll be taking a hard look at my spending plans to budget for that!

Question from Reader: Should I Take a $67,000 Pay Cut?

Wow, here's a doozie, left as a comment on "Okay I'm Asking":

OK here's a question for MX and all her helpful posters. Currently 102K as unhappy lawyer working 60 hrs/wk (sometimes 80-100). Should I quit for job with 40 hrs/wk where I am likely to be happier? Salary will be 35K so will have to make major lifestyle changes?! SF in big city so living costs currently v high

That is one hell of a pay cut! It's hard to give any advice here, since A) I am not a financial advisor and try not to play one on TV or on this blog, and B) there is a lot of missing information about the questioner's lifestyle, student loan status, etc.

I would tackle this by really analyzing my spending-- what do I actually spend, what can I cut, realistically. $35k doesn't necessarily go that far in a big city. Yes, a person can live on that amount and plenty of people actually do, but those major lifestyle changes might be really, REALLY major if you've been used to a six-figure income! If you're changing jobs to be happier, how is it going to affect your happiness to never be able to eat out in restaurants, or to have to move to a smaller apartment with a longer commute? Is the $35k job the only alternative to your current job as a lawyer? Might there be an in-between alternative with a smaller pay cut? All food for thought...

Anyone else have any ideas?