I Am Making More Money Now And That Makes Me Kinda Happy
I got a huge raise out of nowhere this week. I was just given the news about two hours ago and I’m still stunned. Starting salaries took a big leap up again this year, and anyone with under five years of service with the company is eligible to be considered for a possible potential pay adjustment to keep them in line with the salary trends. For the third year in a row, I was included, and this year was a doozy; a $7,500 doozy. Taking this raise into account, over my three years with this company, my pay has gone up by an average of about 11% every year. That’s just bizarre. I guess I should be glad I got in while the market was utter shit.
This places me in the position of having to decide just what the hell to do with the extra $95-ish I’ll be getting in my direct deposit account every week. WHAT A BURDEN. It’s been a while since I blogged about money, so I figure I’ll take this opportunity. Where is this money needed?
My biggest financial obligation right now is my home, which, on its own, eats up $1686.12 every month, mostly through mortgage interest. That can be reduced a bit if I can pay off my “second” mortgage (read: not a home equity loan, but an actual, literal second mortgage). Most of this raise should go toward the mortgage.
I need a new car. My infuriating ‘99 Jetta makes even my short 4.4 mile commute to work unbearable. I genuinely hate getting into it. Busted air conditioning will do that. Right now, I’m setting aside $75 every week towards my next car. I wouldn’t mind bumping that up.
My girlfriend and I are saving up for a wedding (even though we aren’t engaged yet). I’m already on pace to be done saving up for it within the next six months, though. I can probably leave this where it is.
I also think I deserve to be able to spend a little bit more. This was an 11% raise, so I should bump up the tiny allowance that I give myself by at least 11%. It’s only $50 right now; let’s make that $60. Even just that is a 20% jump, but you have to let yourself enjoy your money, or you’ll just grow to resent your budget and never stick to it.
Here we go: $60/week towards the mortgage, $25/week more towards my next car, and $10/week more to spend. I’ll take that. A year ago, I would’ve just spent all of it.
