I believe I alluded to the fact that I made "Lifetime" with WeightWatchers a few months ago. Since that time, I had some crazy stress which affected my maintenance plan and as of this writing, I weigh about 10 lbs above my WW goal of 162. A couple months ago, I made the decision that rather than go back to WW, I would try the health thing on my own. Really, now that I've achieved weight loss, I am more interested in improving health through diet and exercise.
My health is pretty good right now. My ulcerative colitis has been in remission through remicade since the birth of my daughter in 2015. My diabetes is now two years medication-free with A1C testing normal. I need to keep the focus on a lower-carb diet and lots of exercise if I want to stay medication-free and essentially not diabetic as long as possible.
Diet
Since I'm trying to save money, meal planning healthfully at home helps achieve both goals. My workday daily pattern is something like this:
Beverages: coffee with unsweetened vanilla almond milk
Breakfast: two eggs with fat free/reduced fat cheese with vegetable/salsa and low carb "bread"
Snack: plain greek yogurt with a sprinkle of low sugar granola
Lunch: leftover something
Snack: hummus or guacamole with carrots or peppers
Dinner: cooking something--maybe I'll blog some of my kitchen adventures
If I get hungry, I'll add a low fat cheesestick, piece of fruit, or chips and salsa. I usually let myself have a small piece of chocolate or two at work (dove or hersey kiss).
This seems to be working for me, but it's not really a "weight loss" diet, so I'm not losing much at the moment. I'm eating healthy food when I am hungry and not beating myself up about it. I feel well fed and energized.
Fitness
When I began my new job, I decided I would take the time I usually used in the morning to lesson plan and grade papers before work started and exercise instead. I have been sticking to this plan really well by doing two early AM classes at the YMCA on Mondays (Insanity and CORE) and Wednesdays (Body Pump) and continuing my dance fitness class (Bang PowerDance) at the Y on Saturdays. I have also been going in Thursday or Friday morning (or both) to swim, jog, or lift weights, depending on my mood and body aches.
This is a lot more intense exercise and resistance training than I've ever tried before. Although the first couple weeks hurt a lot and I feel ridiculously weak whenever we do anything involving shoulders and triceps, I LOVE it. I feel stronger and get better at the exercises every week.
Although I'm not wearing my FitBit anymore, I'm still pushing myself to include more daily movement (walking up the stairs to the 4th floor office and to whatever level I'm parked on the garage, using part of my lunch break to walk around, parking in a distant end for meetings offsite and walking, etc.). Again, I'm super focused right now on feeling more fit and energized. It's been working for the most part.
I've noticed an increase in definition of my muscles and the clothes I bought when I hit lifetime are fitting well again, so I'm probably a similar size when I was at my lowest weight.
I need to go get my bloodwork done again, so hopefully the A1C is still healthy. We'll see!
Showing posts with label Project 30. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Project 30. Show all posts
Saturday, March 10, 2018
Tuesday, March 6, 2018
February Progress for Debt Elimination!
In February of this year, I made a major life transition: I took a new position with my public school district that took me out of a classroom and into an office building. Although I have been working on making this transition for the last few years through a graduate program, I was not expecting the opportunity to come so suddenly. I had planned to wait until my now two-year-old daughter was in Kindergarten to make this transition, but a dream job posted. I went for it, not expecting to be taken seriously at this time, and got hired.
I absolutely love my new position, but am adjusting to a lot of things that come with a sudden major change in daily patterns. Now that I'm about a month in, I am noticing that I have more energy and desire to read and write again. I don't know if it will go anywhere major, but I think I want to start up my little blog again. I used to have big ambitions for this blog, but this time around, I just want to use it as an outlet to explore some ideas and projects I have in the works.
If you are still reading after my lengthy absence, thank you. If you are new, welcome.
My inspiration for blogging at this moment is that I am in progress on a new debt elimination plan and find that blogging about it holds me more accountable and helps me reflect on choices. It is not the first time I've struggled with this problem. However, my promotion has left me in the enviable position of having fewer "excuses" about why I can't get completely out of debt if I try really hard. I feel excited again remembering my original commitment to reducing my consumerism when I returned from Korea (which I've let creep up a bit from addiction to convenience and laziness--thanks for the kick in the pants, MrMoneyMustache).
Progress from February:
- I became accountable to myself, looking at debt and owning my budgetary failures. I discovered that I have allowed my family to wrack up a LOT of consumer debt this year, mostly attributable to two major home renovation/improvement projects (HVAC replacement and removing a wall from our living area). We have also traveled a great deal in the last year, which is great, but not at the cost of debt. Additionally, my habits of eating out often (often fast food, just for me--neither healthy nor social) and aspirational purchases when I got my new position (I thought I needed to dress a lot fancier; turns out I probably could have made due with just a few items upgrading) contributed significantly. I must own that.
- I refunded the emergency fund to $1,000. Along with the head/heart work above, I committed to a new understanding of what constitutes an emergency. Then I used part of my tax refund to refuel my EF which had dwindled to about $300.
- I did the math. At the start of February, here is what I owed in really awful consumer debt, in the order that I plan to pay it back. Note this made me SICK:
- Personal Loan: $3,529
- Wells Fargo Home Improvement Loan: $5,579
- USAA Visa Card: $8,360
- Bank of America AmEx: $13,488
- TOTAL (so ugly): $30,956
- I made mistakes, but I am heading in the right direction. I devoted a large tax refund and salary reimbursement from my previous position to paying off this debt. My new totals, at the end of February:
- Personal Loan: $0 (YAY!!!)
- Wells Fargo Home Improvement Loan: $5,000
- USAA Visa Card: $8,065
- Bank of America AmEx: $13,782*
- TOTAL (still so ugly): $26,847
- Amount paid off: $4,109 (WOWEE!)
That's a great feeling to see that progress. (Haha: I'm already so glad I wrote up this blog post.) It's not a realistically sustainable level of debt payoff for our family every month (like I said, refunds and reimbursements made a huge difference), but it makes me acknowledge the power of focus. Just like losing the weight (yes, I did make lifetime with WW), I have to remember that focus and commitment every day is necessary, but it's hard to see progress in the moment. I also have set myself up for success going forward during this month. That feels great, too.
Goals for March:
-Use grocery food more efficiently to reduce food waste and cost.
-Plan meals and cook at home unless socializing with another person (personal food purchases outside the home only from set cash allowance).
-No purchases of clothing/shoes for this month. (I have developed a small addiction to shopping websites and stores... don't need that in my life right now... commence re-addiction to reading, a free source of entertainment)
These are totally achievable for me AND will help with my health!
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Earthquake?
As most of you know by now, yesterday just before 2 p.m., DC (and much of the east coast) was rocked by a freak, nearly 6.0 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia. The good news is that there has been very little damage reported. Everyone's been sharing their stories of doom and gloom from their buildings shaking and fears of an apocalypse and all that. So what's mine?
I'll tell you.
Nothing.
That's right. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
I didn't feel a damn thing when the big disaster quake of '11 went down because I had chosen that moment to hop in my car and drive to the gym for my daily laps in the pool. I guess when you're driving 40-50 mph, some mild ground rumbling just doesn't even register in your frame of reference. When I got to the gym, everyone was freaking out and watching CNN where the story had just begun unfolding. I asked what happened and a girl in the locker room who had been lifting weights said that a few minutes earlier, the whole building and all the gym equipment was shaking and felt like it went on for a full minute.
I was concerned initially that bad things had happened (after all, that's a pretty significant natural disaster), but as the reports that no casualties had occurred and few buildings had reported any damage, my disappointment at having missed the whole shebang set in.
I swam a half-mile (which did not feel nearly as satisfying as usual) and returned to my car to 13 (yes, 13) missed calls from my husband who had been pretty freaked out that I'd been unavailable in the hour following the event. My sister had also sent a panicked text message.
But, of course, everything was fine. Life resumed normalcy. It was like the whole thing never happened.
Except for me, I don't even get the memory of the thing.
Is this what they mean when they say that sometimes history just passes us right on by?
I'll tell you.
Nothing.
That's right. N-O-T-H-I-N-G.
I didn't feel a damn thing when the big disaster quake of '11 went down because I had chosen that moment to hop in my car and drive to the gym for my daily laps in the pool. I guess when you're driving 40-50 mph, some mild ground rumbling just doesn't even register in your frame of reference. When I got to the gym, everyone was freaking out and watching CNN where the story had just begun unfolding. I asked what happened and a girl in the locker room who had been lifting weights said that a few minutes earlier, the whole building and all the gym equipment was shaking and felt like it went on for a full minute.
I was concerned initially that bad things had happened (after all, that's a pretty significant natural disaster), but as the reports that no casualties had occurred and few buildings had reported any damage, my disappointment at having missed the whole shebang set in.
I swam a half-mile (which did not feel nearly as satisfying as usual) and returned to my car to 13 (yes, 13) missed calls from my husband who had been pretty freaked out that I'd been unavailable in the hour following the event. My sister had also sent a panicked text message.
But, of course, everything was fine. Life resumed normalcy. It was like the whole thing never happened.
Except for me, I don't even get the memory of the thing.
Is this what they mean when they say that sometimes history just passes us right on by?
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Project 30, Derailed. Health Goals.
Well, naturally, the day after I turned 30, I found out I was pregnant. Which is great. But losing 30lbs and dropping $30,000 debt? Not going to happen this year. Try gaining 30lbs and adding debt from a recent, significant purchase (to-be-blogged-next, along with a re-assessment of my financial goals).
My health goals have changed temporarily to focus on improving health for optimal health of the child and in preparation of delivery. I tried to do this before I went on vacation last month, but I should have known that was a doomed-to-fail endeavor since I was in transitional mode. However, I moved last week to a new place and am pretty settled into a routine with my new job/location. Sure, that will all be uprooted in four months when I have an infant, but for now I'm in a good place to work on some goal-setting.
So, then, health goals for August:
1. Exercise: 4-5 days/week, building up to about 60 minutes per session by the end of the month.
Last week, I joined a local gym with a pool and set a goal of swimming 4 times/week. I met that goal and am continuing it, while building up the number of laps I swim each session. I started out swimming 20 laps in 20 minutes (do NOT mock the slowness... I am coming back from months and months of lack of regular exercise). I'm up to about 40 minutes and 40ish laps each time. I would like to achieve swimming 50ish laps in 45 minutes each session by the end of the month and add in 2-3 days/week of also using the elliptical (either before the pool or on another day) for about 15 minutes at a time. I am working up to this slowly and building my strength/endurance right now.
The results? It's amazing! I'm having almost no pregnancy-related pains now (some aches from muscle building, but nothing like the back/leg cramping I was having the last couple weeks before the move that kind of killed the walking routine I was trying to turn into a habit). It's also helped the heartburn that was beginning (there is less of it) and has kept my weight gain a bit more reasonable. I really like this pool and my hours make it easy to go at a time when there are very few people there who don't work there (between 10am and noon). I have a ways to go as I build my time up this month, but I'm definitely on my way!
Also, I am tracking my daily exercise in a spreadsheet so can see the progress. It's nice.
2. Nutrition: Stop eating out and cook at home, already!
Now that I've moved in, I need to get back into meal planning and bringing dinner with me to work instead of relying on fast food. It's hard to do this because I'm adjusting to a whole new rhythm of life at home that contends with a lot more than just my and my husband's needs. I've decided as a baby step, I'm going to allow myself to rely on frozen meals for work dinners. I'll even let myself splurge on Amy's brand (the all-organic, unfortunately expensive one) because it's still better than stopping for Burger King or McDs on the way home or ordering pizza/Chinese at the hotline because I get a sudden craving.
The second part of my plan to cut back on fast food and dining out is to bring fruit with me every day to work. Sometimes I don't want a whole meal, but I do need to bring healthy snacks. Maybe yogurt, too. That's probably a good idea.
So... the goal for this month then? No more food from outside the home for just me. Dates with the husband or pizza with my dad after sailing or lunch/coffee with a friend are ok, but those are not frequent events, really. The daily drive thru habit I developed in conjunction with working? That needs to go. Like yesterday.
I did better with this today (since I decided on it today), but I need to make it a top health priority now, and I can only do this through good planning to break a bad habit.
I was going to put a third goal in there, but realized that two is probably good for a focused start. I'll post more about how they are coming along during the month and review at the end of August as well as setting two new goals for myself. Yay goals!
My health goals have changed temporarily to focus on improving health for optimal health of the child and in preparation of delivery. I tried to do this before I went on vacation last month, but I should have known that was a doomed-to-fail endeavor since I was in transitional mode. However, I moved last week to a new place and am pretty settled into a routine with my new job/location. Sure, that will all be uprooted in four months when I have an infant, but for now I'm in a good place to work on some goal-setting.
So, then, health goals for August:
1. Exercise: 4-5 days/week, building up to about 60 minutes per session by the end of the month.
Last week, I joined a local gym with a pool and set a goal of swimming 4 times/week. I met that goal and am continuing it, while building up the number of laps I swim each session. I started out swimming 20 laps in 20 minutes (do NOT mock the slowness... I am coming back from months and months of lack of regular exercise). I'm up to about 40 minutes and 40ish laps each time. I would like to achieve swimming 50ish laps in 45 minutes each session by the end of the month and add in 2-3 days/week of also using the elliptical (either before the pool or on another day) for about 15 minutes at a time. I am working up to this slowly and building my strength/endurance right now.
The results? It's amazing! I'm having almost no pregnancy-related pains now (some aches from muscle building, but nothing like the back/leg cramping I was having the last couple weeks before the move that kind of killed the walking routine I was trying to turn into a habit). It's also helped the heartburn that was beginning (there is less of it) and has kept my weight gain a bit more reasonable. I really like this pool and my hours make it easy to go at a time when there are very few people there who don't work there (between 10am and noon). I have a ways to go as I build my time up this month, but I'm definitely on my way!
Also, I am tracking my daily exercise in a spreadsheet so can see the progress. It's nice.
2. Nutrition: Stop eating out and cook at home, already!
Now that I've moved in, I need to get back into meal planning and bringing dinner with me to work instead of relying on fast food. It's hard to do this because I'm adjusting to a whole new rhythm of life at home that contends with a lot more than just my and my husband's needs. I've decided as a baby step, I'm going to allow myself to rely on frozen meals for work dinners. I'll even let myself splurge on Amy's brand (the all-organic, unfortunately expensive one) because it's still better than stopping for Burger King or McDs on the way home or ordering pizza/Chinese at the hotline because I get a sudden craving.
The second part of my plan to cut back on fast food and dining out is to bring fruit with me every day to work. Sometimes I don't want a whole meal, but I do need to bring healthy snacks. Maybe yogurt, too. That's probably a good idea.
So... the goal for this month then? No more food from outside the home for just me. Dates with the husband or pizza with my dad after sailing or lunch/coffee with a friend are ok, but those are not frequent events, really. The daily drive thru habit I developed in conjunction with working? That needs to go. Like yesterday.
I did better with this today (since I decided on it today), but I need to make it a top health priority now, and I can only do this through good planning to break a bad habit.
I was going to put a third goal in there, but realized that two is probably good for a focused start. I'll post more about how they are coming along during the month and review at the end of August as well as setting two new goals for myself. Yay goals!
Friday, July 1, 2011
Project 30: Vacation Health Goals
Tomorrow I leave for Martha's Vineyard (again) for a much anticipated vacation that was planned before I found out I was pregnant or decided to quit my job as a teacher. Although vacations tend to not advance monetary goals, Min Gi and I have taken some steps to limit the wild spending spree that can accompany travel by planning ahead for cooking in the house we're renting and scoping out cheap/free activities to do on the island. My sister, her boyfriend, and some of the friends that are accompanying us are also trying to economize, so we'll at least have good company.
That said, I'm not going to let financial concerns stop me from having a good time. This may well be our last long trip as a twosome for a bit, and I plan to enjoy it thoroughly. I can let money worries overwhelm me at times, but the reality is that we've come up with a new way to once again cut our housing expenses in half to survive on my reduced income (more about that when we come back from the trip), and because I opted for the summer-pay option when I was teaching, I'm essentially bringing in double pay right now. So even though I'm worried about the future and baby expenses, we're not in all that terrible of a position. I need to chill about it.
Every week, I'm going to set some health goals in an attempt to improve my general health and make my labor/birth easier. I'll try to reflect on how they went when I set new ones. Since I'll be on vacation this week, my goals will be simple:
1) Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. (Pregnancy makes me thirsty; it's hot out and I'm getting some dehydration easily). I will bring a refillable bottle to take around with me to assist in this process.
2) Do 2 sets of "pregnancy" exercises each day: squats, Kegels, cat stretch, and wall stretch. (I should be getting plenty of activity this week, but I need to start doing these recommended things for the next few months to improve strength and flexibility where I need it).
I'm going to start recording water consumption and activity this week in a journal (hopefully food journaling will be a goal for next week). I'll let you know how I did with these two goals next Friday.
That said, I'm not going to let financial concerns stop me from having a good time. This may well be our last long trip as a twosome for a bit, and I plan to enjoy it thoroughly. I can let money worries overwhelm me at times, but the reality is that we've come up with a new way to once again cut our housing expenses in half to survive on my reduced income (more about that when we come back from the trip), and because I opted for the summer-pay option when I was teaching, I'm essentially bringing in double pay right now. So even though I'm worried about the future and baby expenses, we're not in all that terrible of a position. I need to chill about it.
Every week, I'm going to set some health goals in an attempt to improve my general health and make my labor/birth easier. I'll try to reflect on how they went when I set new ones. Since I'll be on vacation this week, my goals will be simple:
1) Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day. (Pregnancy makes me thirsty; it's hot out and I'm getting some dehydration easily). I will bring a refillable bottle to take around with me to assist in this process.
2) Do 2 sets of "pregnancy" exercises each day: squats, Kegels, cat stretch, and wall stretch. (I should be getting plenty of activity this week, but I need to start doing these recommended things for the next few months to improve strength and flexibility where I need it).
I'm going to start recording water consumption and activity this week in a journal (hopefully food journaling will be a goal for next week). I'll let you know how I did with these two goals next Friday.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Turned 30.
Today I hit the big 3-0.
The last two months have been pretty awful--entirely because of my job situation. The stress has made the health portion of Project 30 wildly unsuccessful. I'm doing something to remedy that, but it is a long and painful process. As much as teachers are being slammed in the media for unionizing, the flipside of all that "job security" is the difficulty in untangling yourself from it unscathed. Since I don't want to get into the many problems plaguing public education at this moment, I will update you on some of the positives in my life:
1) We moved in with Dav to a cute little house in a very suburban neighborhood with walking paths to the nearest grocery store and a backyard deck. The kitties and the humans in my family love it.
2) Min Gi got a job at a small liquor store owned by a Korean couple about 15 minutes from our house. The work is dull, but he's happy to be bringing in money and have something to do during the day.
3) Since the beginning of the year, we've paid off a little more than $2000 of the debt. Now that we've moved to a more affordable house and Min Gi has income, this should go even faster.
4) Although the "missing Korea" pangs are still frequent and overwhelming, the hatred I feel towards my own country has subsided somewhat into a kind of casual acceptance.
So, we're chugging along here. I've finally been able to start reading again, which helps my sanity a lot. It's inspiring me to at least *want* to write again, though I can't promise I'll be able to until this job stuff resolves itself. This may be within the next month if an opportunity pans out--let's hope so!
The last two months have been pretty awful--entirely because of my job situation. The stress has made the health portion of Project 30 wildly unsuccessful. I'm doing something to remedy that, but it is a long and painful process. As much as teachers are being slammed in the media for unionizing, the flipside of all that "job security" is the difficulty in untangling yourself from it unscathed. Since I don't want to get into the many problems plaguing public education at this moment, I will update you on some of the positives in my life:
1) We moved in with Dav to a cute little house in a very suburban neighborhood with walking paths to the nearest grocery store and a backyard deck. The kitties and the humans in my family love it.
2) Min Gi got a job at a small liquor store owned by a Korean couple about 15 minutes from our house. The work is dull, but he's happy to be bringing in money and have something to do during the day.
3) Since the beginning of the year, we've paid off a little more than $2000 of the debt. Now that we've moved to a more affordable house and Min Gi has income, this should go even faster.
4) Although the "missing Korea" pangs are still frequent and overwhelming, the hatred I feel towards my own country has subsided somewhat into a kind of casual acceptance.
So, we're chugging along here. I've finally been able to start reading again, which helps my sanity a lot. It's inspiring me to at least *want* to write again, though I can't promise I'll be able to until this job stuff resolves itself. This may be within the next month if an opportunity pans out--let's hope so!
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Project 30: Necessary Preparations...
It's funny, but sometimes I set goals and go at it, only to fail because I'm treating the symptoms, not the cause.
Like I explained with the housing costs, I couldn't possibly make my get-out-of-debt financial goal living in a house that eats up 50% of my take home. I'm moving (date set for February), but it will cost some penalty up front for ditching my lease early (which will be made up in less than 3 months in the savings difference). Taking that financial hit hurts when I want to pay off debt, but it will make the paying off debt at a rapid rate POSSIBLE, so I still think it is a good move.
Similarly, I've been through a real, honest psychological journey with myself about my health obstacles over the last few weeks. Talking with the people closest to me (Min Gi and mom) as well as some good friends who are willing to hold up that hard mirror to your own denial (thanks, Amanda!), I've finally acknowledged that what I'm experiencing is not simply reverse culture shock, but an actual period of depression. I've been through this before, so I know how to seek the help that I need in order to pull myself out of the spiraling head game that is depression and realized the sources of it.
Unfortunately, both of the external sources cannot be blogged about at this time (one because it relates to my current job situation and the other I can tell you only in the vaguest terms--and not at this time because even that relates to the job situation in a way). I miss Korea where blogging about your job would almost certainly not get you fired. Haha! Just know that I have identified the sources and am dealing with each head on. With the help of light therapy, exercise, and my doctor, I've been buoyed up enough to do something about each of them. Taking action is a great adversary of depression. It's empowering and healthy.
So... have I made measurable progress on my weight loss goals? Not really. But I'm finally back in a place where I can think about it as a priority in my life again. I'm even enjoying cooking and exercise again (I should have known it was depression when I no longer enjoyed cooking and other hobbies I love).
Like I explained with the housing costs, I couldn't possibly make my get-out-of-debt financial goal living in a house that eats up 50% of my take home. I'm moving (date set for February), but it will cost some penalty up front for ditching my lease early (which will be made up in less than 3 months in the savings difference). Taking that financial hit hurts when I want to pay off debt, but it will make the paying off debt at a rapid rate POSSIBLE, so I still think it is a good move.
Similarly, I've been through a real, honest psychological journey with myself about my health obstacles over the last few weeks. Talking with the people closest to me (Min Gi and mom) as well as some good friends who are willing to hold up that hard mirror to your own denial (thanks, Amanda!), I've finally acknowledged that what I'm experiencing is not simply reverse culture shock, but an actual period of depression. I've been through this before, so I know how to seek the help that I need in order to pull myself out of the spiraling head game that is depression and realized the sources of it.
Unfortunately, both of the external sources cannot be blogged about at this time (one because it relates to my current job situation and the other I can tell you only in the vaguest terms--and not at this time because even that relates to the job situation in a way). I miss Korea where blogging about your job would almost certainly not get you fired. Haha! Just know that I have identified the sources and am dealing with each head on. With the help of light therapy, exercise, and my doctor, I've been buoyed up enough to do something about each of them. Taking action is a great adversary of depression. It's empowering and healthy.
So... have I made measurable progress on my weight loss goals? Not really. But I'm finally back in a place where I can think about it as a priority in my life again. I'm even enjoying cooking and exercise again (I should have known it was depression when I no longer enjoyed cooking and other hobbies I love).
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Project 30: Cutting housing costs or We're moving!
When making plans to move back to America, my parents very generously offered to let us live with them for as long as needed to get on our feet. Without that support, moving back to the U.S. at this time would have been possible, but extremely difficult and much more expensive. However, both of my adult younger siblings still live at home, so space is pinched. Also, some unforeseen setbacks on the parents' basement renovations meant that the room where we were supposed to stay was not ready. So for my first month back, I was without my husband, without a job, sleeping on a pull-out sofa in a high-traffic part of my parents' very packed and full home. Talk about stress: Looking back, it's a miracle there was no murder!
Luckily, my parents, siblings, and I have all grown up enough in our relationships that we not only survived this period, we actually had some fun. Min Gi and I considered staying there longer to save up some more funds before moving out even after I got a job. It might have been worth the temporary stress to be able to be on steadier financial ground.
Then I got a job offer about 60 miles one-way (80 minutes with no traffic around the heavy-traffic DC beltway away). The decision to move out made by the fact that I was unwilling to endure this commute. This gave us a week to find a house and move before my job began. Not much time to find the most economic options.
In my investigation of the area, the difference between a live-able 1 bedroom apartment and a 2-bedroom townhouse was about $200/month. So we went with the townhouse, although the rent was an uncomfortable 30% of my gross income (I hadn't gotten a paycheck yet...there was the mistake). I figured we could swing it for a few months on just my salary and then Min Gi would find a job and we'd be fine. We moved in, set up house, and were happy and optimistic about life.
When the paychecks began to come, the sticker shock for couples medical insurance premiums, teacher union fees, mandatory pension contributions, and taxes was overwhelming. Furthermore, teacher salary is complicated by the fact that we are 10-month employees. In my district, we have the option of spreading that to 12-month pay (which I took for my first year until we could put our own plan in place to save), but the way my district balances pay is that they don't take into account that the only deductions that will come out in the summer is taxes--so my pay is disproportionately smaller during the school year.
Although rent at the townhouse was 30% of my gross, it was a completely unacceptable 60% of my take-home. Then, there were utilities. Sure, we could survive on that (with no fun budget at all), but I want to pay off my debt, save for growing our family and emergencies, fully fund our retirement, and save for my husband's future business. We didn't even have the wiggle room in the budget to save up for a plane ticket for Min Gi to visit his family in 2011! I started to get stressed. Again. Stress like this is bad.
Back in November, when we realized this wouldn't work, and that just moving to a smaller apartment wouldn't solve the problem since it wouldn't make a big enough impact on our overall housing costs, we talked and decided we could handle a roommate. We sent out feelers to our friends in the area if any young person was looking for a room in the area so that we could move them into the extra bedroom and split some costs. No dice. We posted an ad on craigslist and got a few responses, but the cats were a dealbreaker for many people. I started to lose hope of getting relief for this situation.
Then, a friend of mine from theater, Dav (that's like Dave, but without the "e"), who lives in the same city as we do with a married couple in a small house, sent out an e-mail that his roommates had gotten jobs in Kansas and were moving out, but that he didn't want to leave the house and so was looking for new roommates. Min Gi and I met with him last night to check out the space (and then we all went out to a nice Mexican restaurant to chat) and decided we're going to take it. Our current lease requires 60 days notice and a fee (which is less than the discount we got on the rent when we initially moved in for being such awesome potential tenants, so it all works out), so we will move in mid-late February.
Financially, this is huge. Our rent will go from $1325/month to $875/month and Dav's share of the house includes all utilities, including internet and basic cable (which is more than what we have now... we currently use free wireless where we can find it). This is a savings of almost $600/month for us. The house is about the same size as our townhouse, but all one floor. It's a single family house with a small backyard (yes we can garden!) and since Dav's lived there for two years already, there are no huge quirky surprises you sometimes get with a new house. It's in a better location for living (walking distance to a grocery store and some retail areas), though about two miles further from my work. Even better--most of the furniture in the house belonged to the departing couple, so Dav needs furniture anyway!
On a personal front, I know Dav well and know he's an easy guy to live with and he knows me (he even reads this blog--hey, Dav!) so he knows our situation well. It's actually a big win for both of us as he finishes school to try for a promotion and we continue to adjust to life in America. Min Gi is excited to have someone else to practice English with and go drinking with sometimes.
People who are not us (like my parents and some of my friends) think we are crazy. It's funny actually. They think we cannot possibly "sacrifice privacy" as a young couple or live in a small space together, but we know this is the right choice for us. If you're going to get ahead in America, you really can't play by usual American rules. We have already eschewed many of the consumerist trappings of shopping as a hobby that is typical here. Now, it's time for bigger changes. Dave Ramsey likes to say "Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else," and I think this is what he meant. It's about making unusual cost-saving, counter-cultural choices in the short term so that you are not forever shackled to debt like typical American consumers.
So... I don't think I'll make much progress on the get out of debt goal in January or February with the early moving penalty fee and truck rental costs. But I would consider this huge decision to be a first step towards meeting my ambitious financial goal in the Project 30.
It's exciting for us. As Min Gi said, "Moving to a new place is like an adventure!" Onward and forward...
Luckily, my parents, siblings, and I have all grown up enough in our relationships that we not only survived this period, we actually had some fun. Min Gi and I considered staying there longer to save up some more funds before moving out even after I got a job. It might have been worth the temporary stress to be able to be on steadier financial ground.
Then I got a job offer about 60 miles one-way (80 minutes with no traffic around the heavy-traffic DC beltway away). The decision to move out made by the fact that I was unwilling to endure this commute. This gave us a week to find a house and move before my job began. Not much time to find the most economic options.
In my investigation of the area, the difference between a live-able 1 bedroom apartment and a 2-bedroom townhouse was about $200/month. So we went with the townhouse, although the rent was an uncomfortable 30% of my gross income (I hadn't gotten a paycheck yet...there was the mistake). I figured we could swing it for a few months on just my salary and then Min Gi would find a job and we'd be fine. We moved in, set up house, and were happy and optimistic about life.
When the paychecks began to come, the sticker shock for couples medical insurance premiums, teacher union fees, mandatory pension contributions, and taxes was overwhelming. Furthermore, teacher salary is complicated by the fact that we are 10-month employees. In my district, we have the option of spreading that to 12-month pay (which I took for my first year until we could put our own plan in place to save), but the way my district balances pay is that they don't take into account that the only deductions that will come out in the summer is taxes--so my pay is disproportionately smaller during the school year.
Although rent at the townhouse was 30% of my gross, it was a completely unacceptable 60% of my take-home. Then, there were utilities. Sure, we could survive on that (with no fun budget at all), but I want to pay off my debt, save for growing our family and emergencies, fully fund our retirement, and save for my husband's future business. We didn't even have the wiggle room in the budget to save up for a plane ticket for Min Gi to visit his family in 2011! I started to get stressed. Again. Stress like this is bad.
Back in November, when we realized this wouldn't work, and that just moving to a smaller apartment wouldn't solve the problem since it wouldn't make a big enough impact on our overall housing costs, we talked and decided we could handle a roommate. We sent out feelers to our friends in the area if any young person was looking for a room in the area so that we could move them into the extra bedroom and split some costs. No dice. We posted an ad on craigslist and got a few responses, but the cats were a dealbreaker for many people. I started to lose hope of getting relief for this situation.
Then, a friend of mine from theater, Dav (that's like Dave, but without the "e"), who lives in the same city as we do with a married couple in a small house, sent out an e-mail that his roommates had gotten jobs in Kansas and were moving out, but that he didn't want to leave the house and so was looking for new roommates. Min Gi and I met with him last night to check out the space (and then we all went out to a nice Mexican restaurant to chat) and decided we're going to take it. Our current lease requires 60 days notice and a fee (which is less than the discount we got on the rent when we initially moved in for being such awesome potential tenants, so it all works out), so we will move in mid-late February.
Financially, this is huge. Our rent will go from $1325/month to $875/month and Dav's share of the house includes all utilities, including internet and basic cable (which is more than what we have now... we currently use free wireless where we can find it). This is a savings of almost $600/month for us. The house is about the same size as our townhouse, but all one floor. It's a single family house with a small backyard (yes we can garden!) and since Dav's lived there for two years already, there are no huge quirky surprises you sometimes get with a new house. It's in a better location for living (walking distance to a grocery store and some retail areas), though about two miles further from my work. Even better--most of the furniture in the house belonged to the departing couple, so Dav needs furniture anyway!
On a personal front, I know Dav well and know he's an easy guy to live with and he knows me (he even reads this blog--hey, Dav!) so he knows our situation well. It's actually a big win for both of us as he finishes school to try for a promotion and we continue to adjust to life in America. Min Gi is excited to have someone else to practice English with and go drinking with sometimes.
People who are not us (like my parents and some of my friends) think we are crazy. It's funny actually. They think we cannot possibly "sacrifice privacy" as a young couple or live in a small space together, but we know this is the right choice for us. If you're going to get ahead in America, you really can't play by usual American rules. We have already eschewed many of the consumerist trappings of shopping as a hobby that is typical here. Now, it's time for bigger changes. Dave Ramsey likes to say "Live like no one else so later you can live like no one else," and I think this is what he meant. It's about making unusual cost-saving, counter-cultural choices in the short term so that you are not forever shackled to debt like typical American consumers.
So... I don't think I'll make much progress on the get out of debt goal in January or February with the early moving penalty fee and truck rental costs. But I would consider this huge decision to be a first step towards meeting my ambitious financial goal in the Project 30.
It's exciting for us. As Min Gi said, "Moving to a new place is like an adventure!" Onward and forward...
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Project 30: Getting the husband on board.
Health:
Min Gi cares deeply about my health. Sometimes we fight about it because I feel like he's being too controlling (this is a man who does push-ups for fun; sometimes anything he says about health comes off as critical). Telling me how beneficial exercise is when I've had a cold and cough for the last three days is not helpful. Telling me not to drink diet coke when it's the only thing keeping me from eating donuts is not helpful. He's learned to back off telling me what to do nets better results.
Some of his health habits also bug me: social smoking (he has about 4-12 cigarettes a month, usually while drinking with my brother) and rejecting the medical industry whole hog being the two that cause the most ire.
We have come to a friendly agreement. In the new year, I will quit diet coke and he will quit smoking. See? Supportive!
Financial:
Yesterday, I prepared a written budget for January. Not pretty. We have an equal amount coming in as going out, which means no wiggle room for paying off debt early or building an emergency fund. I've been stressed about this for months, and it's turned into my nagging Min Gi to get a job* (any job... so long as it pays) or unilaterally vetoing anything that resembles fun (and then feeling guilty about doing so, and so allowing him to go to NYC to visit his friend, even though we don't really have the money). This is a bad way to deal with scarcity. I do not recommend it.
After carefully tracking income and outgo for the last three months, I've come to the conclusion that this is NOT a problem of frugality. Except for the dining out budget (which has been halved then halved again), there's really not much left for us to cut--we don't spend exorbitant amounts of money. The two main sources for this lack of funds are 1) we are paying too much in rent--one two-week check does not cover it--and 2) we are a one-income family in a typically two-income area (DC suburbs). I've been needing the pressure valve released on one of these two areas or I'm going to blow!
A strange thing happened, though, when I put it in black and white (which I HAVE done before, but apparently this time it clicked). Min Gi suddenly was open to the idea of moving in with a friend of mine who has a room in his house coming open soon (and would take our kitties!) because it would save over $500/month in rent/utilities. He suddenly saw how necessary it was for him to get a job; enough so to overcome his fears about working in a foreign country and feeling less than 100% confident in his language abilities.
I think two things were different this time.
1) Min Gi has his own goal that requires getting our financial house in order. He has a timeline of five years and a need for a large amount of investment capital. He knows we can't do that with my student debt hanging over our heads and no savings.
2) He's ready to act on it and received the communication differently this time. Somehow, something I said clicked. He's all in now.
It's been said before by greater minds than mine, but it bears repeating: You can't force someone else to change. After nearly a year of marriage, I can tell you that I've learned a LOT about having a partner, especially one as awesome as Min Gi. Discussing finances with an equally stubborn, independent-minded spouse was not one lesson that had taken particularly well. However, our conversation yesterday makes me believe that year two will be the one where we learn how to work as partners in the finance aspect of our marriage. I can't wait!
*I once received an e-mail at this blog suggesting that by mentioning the fact that my husband has no outside-the-house paid work, I am somehow denigrating him. Um... not my value system. I don't assign value to people based on their take home pay (if that weren't obvious to you from my chosen profession being high school teacher). My husband is amazing. His contributions to our marriage so far are things I simply could not do--bringing calm and patience into tense situations, keeping the house more clean and orderly than I've ever managed on my own, maintaining friendships with others that I would just let fall aside when I got "busy" and stressed making sure we have fun--something I forget to do a lot, just to name a few. I wonder if said commenter would think I was "denigrating" my spouse by mentioning their jobless state if the genders were reversed.
Min Gi cares deeply about my health. Sometimes we fight about it because I feel like he's being too controlling (this is a man who does push-ups for fun; sometimes anything he says about health comes off as critical). Telling me how beneficial exercise is when I've had a cold and cough for the last three days is not helpful. Telling me not to drink diet coke when it's the only thing keeping me from eating donuts is not helpful. He's learned to back off telling me what to do nets better results.
Some of his health habits also bug me: social smoking (he has about 4-12 cigarettes a month, usually while drinking with my brother) and rejecting the medical industry whole hog being the two that cause the most ire.
We have come to a friendly agreement. In the new year, I will quit diet coke and he will quit smoking. See? Supportive!
Financial:
Yesterday, I prepared a written budget for January. Not pretty. We have an equal amount coming in as going out, which means no wiggle room for paying off debt early or building an emergency fund. I've been stressed about this for months, and it's turned into my nagging Min Gi to get a job* (any job... so long as it pays) or unilaterally vetoing anything that resembles fun (and then feeling guilty about doing so, and so allowing him to go to NYC to visit his friend, even though we don't really have the money). This is a bad way to deal with scarcity. I do not recommend it.
After carefully tracking income and outgo for the last three months, I've come to the conclusion that this is NOT a problem of frugality. Except for the dining out budget (which has been halved then halved again), there's really not much left for us to cut--we don't spend exorbitant amounts of money. The two main sources for this lack of funds are 1) we are paying too much in rent--one two-week check does not cover it--and 2) we are a one-income family in a typically two-income area (DC suburbs). I've been needing the pressure valve released on one of these two areas or I'm going to blow!
A strange thing happened, though, when I put it in black and white (which I HAVE done before, but apparently this time it clicked). Min Gi suddenly was open to the idea of moving in with a friend of mine who has a room in his house coming open soon (and would take our kitties!) because it would save over $500/month in rent/utilities. He suddenly saw how necessary it was for him to get a job; enough so to overcome his fears about working in a foreign country and feeling less than 100% confident in his language abilities.
I think two things were different this time.
1) Min Gi has his own goal that requires getting our financial house in order. He has a timeline of five years and a need for a large amount of investment capital. He knows we can't do that with my student debt hanging over our heads and no savings.
2) He's ready to act on it and received the communication differently this time. Somehow, something I said clicked. He's all in now.
It's been said before by greater minds than mine, but it bears repeating: You can't force someone else to change. After nearly a year of marriage, I can tell you that I've learned a LOT about having a partner, especially one as awesome as Min Gi. Discussing finances with an equally stubborn, independent-minded spouse was not one lesson that had taken particularly well. However, our conversation yesterday makes me believe that year two will be the one where we learn how to work as partners in the finance aspect of our marriage. I can't wait!
*I once received an e-mail at this blog suggesting that by mentioning the fact that my husband has no outside-the-house paid work, I am somehow denigrating him. Um... not my value system. I don't assign value to people based on their take home pay (if that weren't obvious to you from my chosen profession being high school teacher). My husband is amazing. His contributions to our marriage so far are things I simply could not do--bringing calm and patience into tense situations, keeping the house more clean and orderly than I've ever managed on my own, maintaining friendships with others that I would just let fall aside when I got "busy" and stressed making sure we have fun--something I forget to do a lot, just to name a few. I wonder if said commenter would think I was "denigrating" my spouse by mentioning their jobless state if the genders were reversed.
Monday, December 27, 2010
Goals Blogging: Project 30 Health and Finance
In 2011, I turn 30.
As I stated in my last post, this is a time for growing up and hunkering down on my responsibilities so that I can live the rest of my life unencumbered with past mistakes and be truly remarkable. I have two main areas of my past bad decisions that haunt me daily and are restricting the freedom I need to live the life I want: health and financial.
In the last 10 years of adulthood I've made general improvements in these areas and I'd like to acknowledge those now. Health: 1) losing and maintaining a weight loss of 50 lb, 2) becoming vegetarian (now semi-veg as I eat fish) and learning to cook, 3) generally being more active and sports involved, 4) overcoming very serious and life-threatening mental illnesses. Financial: 1) became self-educated about basic finance, 2) accumulated over $15K in retirement savings, 3) got out of (after unfortunately getting into) consumer debt, 4) managed not to buy a house (yes that's a win for me since I don't want to live in the same place forever) and avoid other major cultural hedonic pressures in the U.S.
However, 2011 is the year I'd like to devote to shedding the last reminders of my bad decisions before moving forward with my life. These reminders come in the form of debt (3 student loans totaling an impressively overwhelming figure just north of $33,000) and weight (at my weigh-in yesterday, it was 83.5 kgs, or 184 lbs, which is 9.5kgs or 20lbs above healthy for my height and 19.5 kgs or 43 lbs from my target goal of 64 kgs, 141 lbs).
My plan:
Financial: My Christmas present to myself was to purchase Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace Revisited. I have decided that I will follow his program point by point since it agrees with most of my ideas about finances. What I've lacked before is what Dave calls "gazelle-intensity" to overcome your financial quagmire. So I will start with baby step one: Save $1000 in an emergency fund and stop using credit cards (Min Gi and stashed them in a drawer--we're not so sold on his plan as to cut them up; maybe when the emergency fund is complete). I will also need to develop a written household budget with Min Gi and stick to it by using cash only.
I've been tracking my expenses since landing in America and talking to my husband about goals and whatnot. Is Min Gi 100% on board? No. He's great because he's naturally so frugal, but he often abdicates financial responsibility for planning and goals. He'd rather let life "happen" and work things out along the way. We want a family and a future, so that's just not going to fly anymore. However, I need to own the fact that whenever he refuses to participate in our finances, I use it as an excuse to blow money on eating out and other things. I need to be responsible to me, even if he's not yet fully involved. And I need to be more patient. He nearly always gets there (wherever there is I want to be), he just takes a longer time.
Health: I know how to lose weight and I know what I need to do. The trouble is, of course, not doing it. I was doing well last year when I was focused on a few small goals a week. I think that's what I'll do again this year, but do one a week. And then keep doing it until it's a habit. We'll start with the biggest two: This week I have to start tracking my food in a food journal. Next week: Walking for one hour on the treadmill for at least 3 times a week (we'll build up from there).
One of my biggest derailers with both health AND finances is eating out. It's a great comfort to me in times of stress. And I am STRESSED. But honestly? It's unhealthy and expensive. I'm going to have to self-veto. Meaning I cannot propose it or initiate it. And I can only agree to it with a friend or my husband once a week. That and giving up soda (I am a diet coke FIEND) are my new year's resolutions. This final week of 2010, I'm cutting myself a little slack because all of my friends are in town who I haven't seen in four years.
I will blog once a week (and as needed) about my progress. I might fail at first and make some mistakes. I'm ok with that. But I want to resolve these things. In a small way, they have robbed my 20s of being fully fulfilling. And I'm mad. I'm tired of them robbing any more life out of me. The only reason I might alter these goals during the year is if I get pregnant, and even then, it will only change the order I tackle things (focus on building emergency fund before finishing the debt in financial; and focus on whole-health issues rather than weight loss first in the health area).
I am calling this whole thing Project 30. In the year I turn 30, I want to lose 30 lbs and drop $30K of debt. Lofty goals to be sure, but that's the whole point. Now, let's get on it.
As I stated in my last post, this is a time for growing up and hunkering down on my responsibilities so that I can live the rest of my life unencumbered with past mistakes and be truly remarkable. I have two main areas of my past bad decisions that haunt me daily and are restricting the freedom I need to live the life I want: health and financial.
In the last 10 years of adulthood I've made general improvements in these areas and I'd like to acknowledge those now. Health: 1) losing and maintaining a weight loss of 50 lb, 2) becoming vegetarian (now semi-veg as I eat fish) and learning to cook, 3) generally being more active and sports involved, 4) overcoming very serious and life-threatening mental illnesses. Financial: 1) became self-educated about basic finance, 2) accumulated over $15K in retirement savings, 3) got out of (after unfortunately getting into) consumer debt, 4) managed not to buy a house (yes that's a win for me since I don't want to live in the same place forever) and avoid other major cultural hedonic pressures in the U.S.
However, 2011 is the year I'd like to devote to shedding the last reminders of my bad decisions before moving forward with my life. These reminders come in the form of debt (3 student loans totaling an impressively overwhelming figure just north of $33,000) and weight (at my weigh-in yesterday, it was 83.5 kgs, or 184 lbs, which is 9.5kgs or 20lbs above healthy for my height and 19.5 kgs or 43 lbs from my target goal of 64 kgs, 141 lbs).
My plan:
Financial: My Christmas present to myself was to purchase Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace Revisited. I have decided that I will follow his program point by point since it agrees with most of my ideas about finances. What I've lacked before is what Dave calls "gazelle-intensity" to overcome your financial quagmire. So I will start with baby step one: Save $1000 in an emergency fund and stop using credit cards (Min Gi and stashed them in a drawer--we're not so sold on his plan as to cut them up; maybe when the emergency fund is complete). I will also need to develop a written household budget with Min Gi and stick to it by using cash only.
I've been tracking my expenses since landing in America and talking to my husband about goals and whatnot. Is Min Gi 100% on board? No. He's great because he's naturally so frugal, but he often abdicates financial responsibility for planning and goals. He'd rather let life "happen" and work things out along the way. We want a family and a future, so that's just not going to fly anymore. However, I need to own the fact that whenever he refuses to participate in our finances, I use it as an excuse to blow money on eating out and other things. I need to be responsible to me, even if he's not yet fully involved. And I need to be more patient. He nearly always gets there (wherever there is I want to be), he just takes a longer time.
Health: I know how to lose weight and I know what I need to do. The trouble is, of course, not doing it. I was doing well last year when I was focused on a few small goals a week. I think that's what I'll do again this year, but do one a week. And then keep doing it until it's a habit. We'll start with the biggest two: This week I have to start tracking my food in a food journal. Next week: Walking for one hour on the treadmill for at least 3 times a week (we'll build up from there).
One of my biggest derailers with both health AND finances is eating out. It's a great comfort to me in times of stress. And I am STRESSED. But honestly? It's unhealthy and expensive. I'm going to have to self-veto. Meaning I cannot propose it or initiate it. And I can only agree to it with a friend or my husband once a week. That and giving up soda (I am a diet coke FIEND) are my new year's resolutions. This final week of 2010, I'm cutting myself a little slack because all of my friends are in town who I haven't seen in four years.
I will blog once a week (and as needed) about my progress. I might fail at first and make some mistakes. I'm ok with that. But I want to resolve these things. In a small way, they have robbed my 20s of being fully fulfilling. And I'm mad. I'm tired of them robbing any more life out of me. The only reason I might alter these goals during the year is if I get pregnant, and even then, it will only change the order I tackle things (focus on building emergency fund before finishing the debt in financial; and focus on whole-health issues rather than weight loss first in the health area).
I am calling this whole thing Project 30. In the year I turn 30, I want to lose 30 lbs and drop $30K of debt. Lofty goals to be sure, but that's the whole point. Now, let's get on it.
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