Overall Recap

• Settled into my new Oakland apartment
• Last day in office was March 9, 2020
• Sold my house in May
• Turned 30 alone
• Left Oakland in June for cheaper rent and more space
• Traveled to Playa Del Carmen in early October
• Hit my 1-year mark at my job and got a raise in November
• Slipped into a bout of depression during the holiday season

2020 Goals

I surprisingly achieved all but two of my goals. Instead of saving a 3-month emergency fund, I saved 6 months because of the unprecedented unemployment in this country. I was able to go on a staycation to Santa Cruz and rented a treehouse for a weekend, plus the Playa del Carmen trip I discussed here.

I had initially planned on catching up on my 2019 Roth IRA, but I decided to save instead. I sadly didn’t choose one charity partner to work with because there were so many organizations in need, maybe 2021 will be better so I can focus on 1 or 2 groups.

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2020 Net Worth

One of the saddest parts of a divorce financially is the reduction of your net worth. The home you loved has to be sold and the proceeds split. The household items have to be divided and the savings are halved. For my divorce, I decided to not ask for any financial assistance or to seek a portion of my ex’s retirement accounts. I left with my small Roth IRA and a few thousand from our joint EF which was drained due to moving expenses.

As you can see below, I’m well on my way to catching up to my married net worth. I’m looking forward to reaching six figures (again) in 2021!

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2020 Savings

I really can’t believe that I was able to save my last salary ($60k), as a single woman. I cash flowed a lot of things in 2020 and this number doesn’t account for that.

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Where did my money go?

• 6 month emergency fund
• Maxing our 2020 Roth IRA
• Traditional 401k
• Taxable brokerage account

To look back on all of the years I had only pennies left every month and to now be in the wealth-building period is something I’ll never take for granted. Even if it isn’t God’s plan for me to be a wife or mother, I’ll have the means to take care of myself when I’m older and that brings me peace.

My Goals for 2021

Before my divorce and the pandemic, I was a huge planner. I could see the future I wanted and map out how I was going to get there. Now, I just want to be happy with minimal stress, and my goals reflect that.

Money Goals

I’ve decided to switch up a few things for 2021. First, I will be maxing out my 401k instead of only contributing up to the match. Second, I will not be contributing to my Roth IRA because I may hit the income limit and I don’t want to deal with the drama. I will contribute to an IRA at the end of the year if eligible.

Here is the breakdown of my goals:

Maxed out 401k – $19,500

Vacation fund – $3,000

Lasik – $3,500

Brokerage – $15,000

Life Goals

Unlike most people, I’m in quarantine completely alone. I couldn’t see family even if I wanted to since I live on the opposite end of the country. Being isolated has weighed on my mental health, so prioritizing my well being is important to me now more than ever.

• Self-care day every week
• Working out 3x a week
• Research rental properties (I may buy a rental this year)
• Donate 10% of income
• Read more fiction books
• Make new friends

***

I’m still looking forward to what this year will bring. Having financial stability provides me with the freedom to focus on the other areas of my life that require nurturing. Excited to be back posting on here and Instagram more consistently. Hope you’re well!

Stay Wealthy Fam!

-Dannie

Getting Started

Before creating a monthly budget, I used the free annual spreadsheet to plan out my year. Seeing everything all on one page is super helpful in analyzing how my cashflow changes throughout the year. Doing this helps me be proactive instead of reactive towards irregular expenses that I know are on the way.

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Fixed Expenses

This was the category that gave me the most anxiety due to the exorbitant cost of living in the bay area. Since I do not have any family or friends here, living alone was my only option (I refuse to live with strangers or somewhere unsafe, sorry not sorry). Other than my rent costs, everything else is pretty normal for me.

I currently only pay half of my Geico and Tmobile. Webpass (internet) was paid in full when I had it activated at a cost of $504 or $42 a month/12 months.

Like I mentioned in my previous blog, I did receive two months’ free rent as well as $1k off of the third month which helped me tremendously during my transition to the bay. My effective rent will be about ~$2300 for the duration of my lease, which is a big reason why I decided on my place.

However, I’ll begin paying full rent in April 2019 so the budget below reflects that change. I’m still waiting on my water/trash bill so it will stay at $0 for now. I have no clue why it’s taking them so long!

Variable Expenses

To figure out my spending amounts, I simply divided most of my previous joint costs in half. If you’re looking for more ideas on how to determine your budget percentages, go here.

This category can differ from month to month based on my needs and spending requirements. I tend to also track travel and unplanned expenses in this category as well just for simplicity purposes. I don’t budget a specific amount for the last 4 expenses unless I have something coming up.

• Groceries = food and drink
• Home expenses = house crap (toilet paper, cleaning supplies, etc)
• Spending = fun money (eating out, entertainment, shopping, etc).
• Laser = laser hair removal (legs), used Groupon for other areas
• Giving = I keep private
• Fastrak = tolls

Savings

To be honest with y’all, these are just estimates. I’ve been hoarding money the past few months in checking accounts but I do plan on sending a majority of those funds to my emergency fund, IRA and sinking pot (general savings).

About my 401k, my employer does offer a match so I will be contributing 6% of my pay after I take care of my emergency fund and other obligations.

Debt

For debt, my house will be put on the market this month and hopefully sold by March/April. There is equity within the home so this will be mostly a positive financial transaction for us. Right now, I plan to use the money to just save and invest (boring yet effective).

Regrettably, I bought an Acura RDX and sunk a lot of cash into that purchase. I will be selling the SUV and buying a smaller car soon. I may or may not use an auto loan for the purchase and I’m still running the numbers and weighing the pros and cons of that decision. Honestly, I just never want to have so much cash tied up ever again because as you can see, life happens.

Tracking Expenses

I track my expenses using Goodbudget (GB) and my monthly budgeting spreadsheet. I also use my AMEX Gold card for all expenses unless I’m forced to use Visa by the merchant. Using my AMEX helps me keep my credit active, gives me rewards and lets me track my spending if I forget to input things in GB.

Here are my variable expenses shown as digital envelopes in the Goodbudget app.

Simplicity is Key

So that is my budget Wealthy Fam! Budgets are not a set it and forget it kind of thing. I’m sure I’ll be tweaking my amounts throughout the year and I’m fine with that.

I’m just thankful that I was financially literate and financially stable enough to enter this new chapter. 5 years ago, I would’ve been dealing with a disaster.

If you need additional help creating a budget and debt payoff plan of your own, check out my free Getting Started – Basics series.

Thanks for reading! I’d love to know which of my expenses are higher of lower than yours <3.

Stay Wealthy Fam,

Dannie

That was my 2019, although my marriage came to an end, so many things were beginning for me and I hope to share those new beginnings with you in this blog. 

Living Arrangements

So most of you know that I’m originally from NC and although I tried my hardest to find a job back east, it just did not happen for me. In late November, I finally got a job offer from a dream company with a dream salary in San Francisco. After commuting 6 hours roundtrip, I knew that I had to find housing closer to the city.

When I was looking for places, I knew that the true Bay Area living was not for me. There is only so much city I can take and the Bay Area is weird, dirty, and expensive so I didn’t have much room to be picky. 

I ended up choosing a place in Oakland due to its proximity to public transportation, safety, and quality of the building. Okay just kidding! I also got 8 weeks free, $1k back and reduced parking costs – so that is a steal, especially due to the area I’m in and it being a luxury apartment.

Why didn’t I get a roommate or settle for a long a$$ commute? Well honestly, because I could afford not to and in this season of my life, I didn’t want to have an uncomfortable living situation. MY LIFE WAS ALREADY IN SHAMBLES. 

We’ll go into budgeting in my next post, I promise 🙂

New Job & Income

I applied for jobs for the majority of last year. I had intended to go into coding full time but due to the changes, I knew that focusing my search on my past experience with technical training would help me secure a job faster. My search became super frustrating because somehow I thought that I’d get a job the very first month -_-. If you’re going through anything, here’s some advice, be patient with yourself.

I wanted a position where I could actually do meaningful work while also being challenged. I’ve had many bad job experiences, so I was picky with who I applied to and interviewed with. I also wanted to be paid my worth, so I wouldn’t have to just scrape by. After 7 months, I received multiple offers and luckily the company I work for now was one of them.

Listen, I’ve been married the majority of my adult life so being able to support myself in the bay area gave me so much anxiety. On that note, I’m not really comfortable sharing my income at this time. Why? Because the internet is scary, folks are mean and I don’t want the extra stress. Me being “transparent” about my specific income helps no one, but if it is relevant to what I’m saying, I’ll consider sharing it in percentages.

Just know that I doubled my income and I thankfully won’t have to live paycheck to paycheck in one of the most expensive areas in the country ALONE. I’m looking forward to sharing more with you as the year goes on!

Outlook On Life

Many people have asked how I’m doing. Honestly, some days are great and some days suck. I’m sure everyone feels that way though. To have to change your plans, goals, and life all at once would be traumatizing for anyone. You know, I may not have planned to ever be starting over at age 29 but the fact that I didn’t have to go into debt to do so is a blessing. So many people are stuck in situations simply due to not having the finances to make a change.

The best way to heal is to look forward and that is what I have been doing and will continue to do. My plan is to invest aggressively, travel frequently and give myself the love and time to figure things out. I don’t know what God has planned for me but I’m going to try my best not to be bitter, broken or reckless. I will not use this chapter as an excuse to ruin my life – especially not financially. 

Thanks for being here, talk soon.
— Dannie