Her Every Cent Counts

June 16, 2013
by Joy
2 Comments

Finally Bought a Car… Paid All Cash, Will Not Hit Networth Goal This Year

I made a decision that this year I will not hit my networth goal in order to purchase a quality car. I test drove dozens of vehicles to determine the best make and model for my needs. I determined that I’d like to spend under $15,000 on the car, but $18,000 maximum if I found someone I loved in that price range. My goal was to purchase from a private party, but I felt it would be easier to buy a car from a dealer.

After test driving everything from a 2007 BMW 328i to a Volkswagen Passat, and a brief interlude where I was convinced I wanted to buy the Volvo S40, I settled on the Hyundai Sonata. I didn’t think the car’s 2.4L engine would be enough power for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the power the vehicle had. The Hyundai dealership had two 2011′s in stock to test drive — I decided to try out the one with more mileage (60k) since it was ticketed at $18k vs $20k of the lower milage model. I really didn’t want to spend $18k on a car, so I figured if I could somehow talk the dealership down to $15k I might buy it. I really needed a car and my boyfriend was getting tired of driving me around, so purchasing a car today was my goal… but not overpaying.

I actually went out to test drive a 2007 private party V6 camry and thought it might be the right choice. It was priced at $16.5k, fully loaded, but I figured I could talk the seller down. But as I test drove the Camry, I remembered why I didn’t like the car. It just felt bulky and heavy. The knobs inside the car looked cheap. It was a fine car but not something I wanted to spend over $15,000 on.

So then I test drove the Sonata and fell in love. I figured I had nothing to lose saying I wanted to pay $15k for the $18k car… and expected the sales manager to drop to $16.5k at the lowest. But through my “sophisticated” negotiating powers or sheer luck I got them down to $15.5k. It was still more than I really wanted to spend, but it was a really good deal for the car – which was loaded with many features. With the $15.5k price tag, I couldn’t turn down the deal. I ended up paying an extra $1.7k for a 4 year, 60k mile warranty, which puts me a bit at ease since I’m worried about buying such a pricey used car… though it kind of has me paying the same amount I would have paid without negotiating. At least everything is covered for four years.

It feels good to have a car with all working features! However, it’s sad that I won’t be able to reach my $250k networth goal this year. I guess that’s not such a big deal, I’ll just have to focus on saving a lot next year and for the rest of this year to make up for it. But it will be hard to see my networth drop from $225k to $205k. I might be able to save $225k for the year but not $250k. Oh well. I needed a car and I decided that I’m going on 30, and deserve something nice… and that I can grow into as I potentially have/start a family in the next 3-7 years.

June 5, 2013
by Joy
3 Comments

Shopping for a Car: The Unnecessary Saga

*edited to add: the reason I am considering such an old car model is that for the next 2 years I have the remainder of my DUI sentence with increased insurance premiums. I am paying $120 per month right now for very basic, no comprehensive insurance due to the DUI. The punishment was deserved, but I do not see myself buying a nice car which requires comprehensive insurance. My original plan was to keep my old car around until the end of the sentence so I wouldn’t have to worry about comprehensive insurance, but it’s pretty much dead now. So I’m trying to buy a car that will get me through the next 2-3 years that won’t require even more expensive insurance. I forgot to mention this.

—

There seem to be as many models of cars as there are people in the world. Big ones, small ones, fancy ones, simple ones, Japanese ones, American ones, European ones, new ones, old ones, really old ones with expensive surgery to make them look like younger ones, et al. And today, with my poor, destroyed ’99 Toyota parked silently in a carport space waiting for its end of days, I know it’s time to get a new(er) car. It’s been time for a while. Since, in 2011, when it was hit and had the front bumper ripped off. A year later, the insurance company finally agreed with me that the accident wasn’t my fault and send me the remainder of a $2000 check. But, the car, worth less than this with 200k miles and a leaky engine, wasn’t worth repairing. I started to hunt for a new car. Yes, in 2011.

It’s getting a little (extremely) ridiculous that I haven’t purchased a car yet. The two issues at hand are 1, determining which car to get, and 2, figuring out how to pay for the car.

When I bought my last car, I went about it in my typical anxiety-ridden way. While I was curious about the plethora of choices out there, I quickly limited my choices but determining I should get a Toyota or Honda. I didn’t like the Honda logo or body styles (superficial, yes, but I am) so a Toyota was the winner. I didn’t want a Corolla because they were, well, ugly (I had no idea about performance comparisons at that time.) Prior to deciding on a Toyota I nearly bought a used Chevy Aveo or a used Saab hatchback from two different dealers. Those were the only two cars I tested out before deciding on the Solara. Continue Reading →

June 5, 2013
by Joy
0 comments

The Challenge of Startup Life

Never let your day job become your life. Once upon a time I heard that advice and it stuck with me. Not because it was particularly unique, but it was particularly accurate in regards to exactly what I do when it comes to jobs and my life. Working for a startup to some extent requires you to dedicate many hours of the week to your day job, which very quickly becomes your night job as well.

Startups can be extremely fun and rewarding. I’ve worked for a few of them to date now. Some stayed small with no serious momentum at any point from start to the inevitable layoffs once funding runs out. Some have grown extremely fast only to teeter on the brink of crash and burning. I’ve never seen a real success yet. But I’ve been close and the closer you get the more your dreams of the big win plague the back of your mind while you’re trying to focus on getting an impossible amount of work done. No matter how great things are going, people get burnt out. Naturally, some days are less great than others, and those days are the hardest.

Working for a startup is more like having a work family than most any other job. That family needs to remain somewhat functional over the course of a many year period, bringing in new members that fit its DNA while expanding it genetic footprint. And everyday that family mades decisions together, or processes the output of those decisions, which determine the fate of the business. Every move matters in a highly competitive, fast-changing marketplace. It’s exciting. It’s exhilarating. It’s exhausting. Continue Reading →

June 1, 2013
by Joy
2 Comments

Switching Career Paths at 30

I’ve never had a stable, long-term career plan. In fact, when I went to college I didn’t really understand what a career was. I knew of a few professions — teaching, healthcare, firefighting, and doing things that involved giant offices in the city where people like my father went to work and worked somehow with money. Oh, and creative professions like designing things or performing in theatre. That was pretty much the extend of my understanding around the options available for my future.

For better or worse, I didn’t have the luxury of growing up in a place with vibrant creative minds put to business use like Silicon Valley. No, I grew up in the suburbs of New Jersey where the science/math nerds and the rest of us were kept very separate. Fast forward 29.5 years and here I am, a Director-level employee (in name only, not actually, but close enough) of a serious tech/software company. And I love the industry I’ve landed in. Somehow. From that little girl who had no idea that this type of job or company even existed growing up.

What I don’t love is my profession. If I thought that there was nothing in the corporate world that could fulfill me I’d learn to deal with it. The more I work, though, and the more opportunities I have to dabble in some other roles within the company by weaseling my way into projects, the more I’m reminded that my heart is in product management. Not marketing. Continue Reading →

May 29, 2013
by Joy
0 comments

Women = Breadwinners. Man = Breadmakers.

It looks like I’m not the only woman in the world gearing up for a life of winning some bread. Four in 10 American households with children under age 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner for her family, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census and polling data released Wednesday. This share, the highest on record, has quadrupled since 1960.

The public is still divided about whether it is a good thing for mothers to work. About half of Americans say that children are better off if their mother is at home and doesn’t have a job. Just 8 percent say the same about a father. Even so, most Americans acknowledge that the increasing number of working women makes it easier for families “to earn enough to live comfortably.”

The median household income for married women who earn more than their husbands — more often white, slightly older and college educated — is $80,000. When the wife is the primary breadwinner, the total family income is generally higher. That’s probably because if men work they’re doing it for the money, whereas there are woman working just because it fulfills their blessed hearts, if they happen to be married to someone wealthy. Continue Reading →