Friday, December 05, 2008

PF

I came home today from work and some grocery shopping. I called the BF as I put stuff away. It's his birthday today and our two best friends were throwing him a birthday dinner. In the middle of the call Mom was calling me on the other line. I promised to call the BF again later. Mom and I talked as I heat up my dinner.

We couldn't help but discussing the family's financial situation these days. Things are pretty tight since Dad passed away. And now that I am working, there is not much changing in term of my contribution to our family. See, in numbers, my income is considerably high, but after factoring in CA living cost, car payment, and that single person income tax bracket, there is really not much left to save. A little over broke, that's what they called it.

Right now, my financial objective is to acquire enough saving that will cover three months of living expense. And what I experience now is that even that small objective is already hard to attain. It definitely requires some kind of magic to be able to afford owning a place of my own in here while in the same time building some investment portfolio for the future, and don't forget a wedding, hopefully, sometime in the near future.

I continue the habit of budgeting and projecting how much I can save over a period of time with the help of a simple spreadsheet. I consulted the spreadsheet religiously. Something funny happened tonight as I was playing a little forensic
accountant to locate some essential amount of money allegedly missing from my bank accounts. Simply, I tried to balance the expenses and the income. I was in a panic attack thinking that I overspent in hindsight or that maybe somebody broke into my
accounts again. I discovered that it was a typo in one of the numbers that caused such a commotion. By the time I discovered it, my dinner was already cold again.

Money it's not everything one would say. I don't totally buy that. Who am I gonna turn into to support the family and myself once I lose my income? We are not talking lavish lifestyle, just enough to get by. I am not in need of having a fancy car and clothing or other luxury items. I just need some security that I have something liquid in possession to cover a reasonable life span.

Great, it's the weekend, I can afford some insomniac moments thinking about the economy and my personal finance. I am just hoping I am walking towards the light. I am also glad that the BF has a similar financial attitude as myself. In this case,
I'd say a team of two is better than flying solo.

Happy Birthday again, Babe. I was thinking to dedicate a piece here for you today before this money thing took over. After all, you are one of the most important people in my life these day. I hope the card and the CD arrived Monday, a little late, three days after your actual birthday.

And whenever I am missing you so much, I just have to relive the momentous occasions such as our first activity together two days after your birthday last year.

"It wasn't a date", I insisted months after.
"Hey, come on, what guy would wanna go watching a play with a girl she is not even a friend first? Totally, a date," you said.

A date or not, it is one of my favorite things to daydream about us. You do make me happy.