Reviewing My November Goals

Tomorrow I will post my December goals. Before I do that I wanted to review how I did in October:

How did I do on my October Goals?

• reduce credit card debt Yes
  
• $750 in earned mystery shopping income SURPASSED!
  
• maximum food expenses of $150; maximum fuel expenses of $100 FAILED.

I have a lofty "stretch" goal of reducing credit card debt by $1,500 per month. While I didn't reach it, I did manage to cut credit card debt by $775.

Because I canceled my San Francisco trip I managed to earn $940 from mystery shopping, but it was slightly less than my stretch goal of $1,000. I also earned $287 in reimbursements.

I did achieve my fuel goal by only spending $79 (thanks to a lot of mystery shopping at gas stations) but I exceeded my food budget just a bit. I spent $34 more for food than I had budgeted.

My November Income: $4,071

November was a decent month considering I was unemployed. My severance benefits ended November 10th. Since I wasn't actually working, I did a lot of mystery shopping.

$1,458 Severance Pay
$1,240 Mystery Shopping*
$414 Change in Value of Retirement Accounts (Roth IRA and Rollover IRA)
$959 Rental Income*
$4,071 Total Income for November
*note that the mystery shopping income will always vary from the weekly amounts I post. Here I report actual payments received (cash basis accounting) whereas weekly I report the amount I earned. Rental income was lower because of expenses associated with preparing Rental Property #1 for occupancy.

I started my new job December 1st. I am taking a large salary cut but will try to supplement it with as much mystery shopping as possible. I should also see a bump in rental income now that Rental Property #1 is rented.

Conquering Clutter: Roundup 1 (12/100 items)

As I mentioned on Monday, I will eliminate 100 possessions in December. For the first installment, I thought I would start with the low-hanging fruit:

Trash: 3 containers from the bathroom, calcium tablets, old Zicam chews, free samples of tooth whitening strips, broken DVD player

Donating: patriotic (but ugly) shoes, a few clothing items, 14 purple bracelets, stuffed toy, tennis ball, LCD TV, shower radio

The only item I regret disposing of is the portable LCD TV. I bought it on Black Friday, 2006. It is not digital ready so would require a converter box. Perfect though to pair with a DVD player or video game system. I bought it as a gift that I never gave, and I never used it myself.

Starting My New Job Today

I'm really excited that I'm rejoining the workforce today. Since I've got a lot going on, things may be quiet on the blog for a few days until I settle into my new routine.

Keep posted... I'll be updating my journey to Conquer Clutter, as well as my financial results, later this week.

Wish me luck!