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About Me:

Patrick

Single male in Ohio born in 1963. I'm "the toyguy" because I work in the toy dept. of a large retail store.

2011 Goals:

- Pay myself back into my savings account the money that I used to pay off my mortgage.
- Put $3000 into a Traditional IRA again.
- Put $1000 into a Roth IRA.
- Add at least $2000 to my Antarctica fund.
- Add $400 to Emergency Fund (At end of 2010 I have $2526 in this fund)
- Put at least some money into my car fund. I have a car fund created at ING with about $25 in it but need to start saving for a future car purchase.
- Go to Scotland for a week in May for a ghost tour and stay a few days in New York city.
- Might have to have another expensive roof repair. Last year or so I had to have half the roof done and was very satisfied. But I think I have to have the rest of the roof done now.
- Take a short trip to New Orleans for Halloween.

2010 Goals:

X- Pay myself back for latest car repair (rear breaks)
X- Add $400 to my E-Fund
(Added $410)
X- Continue putting whatever money I can into IRA fund for 2010 and 2011.
X- Put $3000 into IRA for 2010
X- Have income taxes done before end of March
X- Continue paying at least $100 extra on Principal of my mortgage each month
X- Continue putting whatever extra I can afford into my Travel Fund
X- Have to call Tours of Terror to make arrangements for Ghost Tour in Scotland for next year.
X- Try to take a trip to west Virginia in Spring or early summer.
- Take a short trip to Phoenix Arizona if I can get very low cost tickets. (FAILED. Couldn't get cheap enough airfare)
X- Figure out exactly when I can pay off the rest of my mortgage. It might be this year or the end of next year.

"Lofty" 2010 Goals:

X- Pay off my house completely by November. This one is not so lofty cause I will be paying it off sometime regardless. November will be the absolute earliest though.
(Paid off end of October)
X- Start an Antarctica Fund and save at least $1000 in it. I want to go there someday but its very expensive and my Travel Fund alone will never be able to handle it. (Put in $1200)
- Put at least an extra $1000 into my 2010 IRA than stated above but put it into a Roth instead of a Traditional.
(Failed. Never got around to this one)

2009 Goals:
X- Pay myself back $344 for muffler repairs on my car from December of 08.
X- Add $400 to my E-Fund.
X- Continue saving for a total of $4000 for 2009 IRA.
X- Start saving for total of $3000 for 2010 IRA. (Saved $690)
X- Have my first ever yard sale when the weather starts getting nice this spring.
X- Try to take a real vacation around July or August possibly to Costa Rica.
X- Pay at least $100 extra per month to Mortgage principal. I plan to pay off my mortgage completely before the 20 year mark which is about 3 years from now.

2008 Goals:
- Continue using Quicken to keep my checking and other accounts in order.
- Save at least an additional $400 into my
E-Fund (DONE) which currently has $1,200 in it. My overall goal for E-Fund is $12,000.
- Slowly work on building up a car fund. (VERY SLOWLY)
- Save enough into Travel Fund to take a good vacation in October. (Saved enough money but cannot travel this year)
Save $4000 for 2009 IRA contribution.
- Continue my "Paper (clutter) Challenge"
- More to come as I think it over.

Travel Expo and Payday.

April 17th, 2009 at 05:19 am

Went to a local travel expo today sponsored by a new travel agency. It was sort of a small event but they had all the
various tour groups represented and I enjoyed it. They had free shrimp but I don't eat seafood. I did have some cheese and crackers. I also got some free canvas bags, chip clips and stuff like that. I still had to work today but didn't start till 5 pm. so that worked out too.

Got my paycheck today.
From this check I'm putting $50 towards my extra mortgage principal, $40 towards the new Binoculars I want, and approxamately $20 towards a small new suitcase I'm getting for vacation. I need quite a few things (mostly small stuff) for my vacation so I'm squeezing them into the budget slowly. I have till the end of May to get everything I want/need.

Its funny I have about 5 weeks till vacation and I already rather suddenly decided where I want to go next year. My vacation plans are always subject to change but I usually know when I fall onto something that I just have to do.
First I saw a travel show about it last night then I saw a very nice tour to the place at my travel expo today. I think I'm going to Machu Picchu and the Galapagos Islands in 2010.
Like I said there are lots of variables that can change my mind. Especially price! It looks like a 14 day trip will cost over $6000. But once I get a place in my mind and I get a certain feeling about it means I'll probably be going.

Thanks again everyone for all the kind words about the loss of my cat Penny.
I'm doing ok about it and I think she is better off. I still worry about her and all the people and animals I have lost over the years if they are OK wherever they may be.

Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

4 Responses to “Travel Expo and Payday.”

Analise Says:
April 17th, 2009 at 03:27 pm 1239982033
1239982033

Oh, the travel fair sounds interesting. I'd go to one if it were around where I live. I think it's wonderful you are making plans to travel while you're young. Enjoy the present, but also plan for the future as you are doing.
toyguy1963 Says:
April 17th, 2009 at 04:25 pm 1239985521
1239985521

Thanks Analise. Well I'm not so young. I'm 46.
I do try to plan ahead for the future too though. I have a fair amount in IRAs, and a retirement plan and 401k at work. I also have a good bit in just general savings. Not really enough but better than most and I am working at it.
L Saver Says:
April 18th, 2009 at 01:47 pm 1240062457
1240062457

The trip you're thinking about for 2010 sounds amazing! Best of luck with the planning and saving
toyguy1963 Says:
April 19th, 2009 at 04:01 am 1240113712
1240113712

Thanks L Saver. It might be too much for me to be able to do but it will make a nice goal to try for no matter what. I'll keep my progress updated.

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The Toyguy's Blog

Chugging along at a snail's pace.

Travel Expo and Payday.

4 Responses to “Travel Expo and Payday.”

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