Pay Update

I had my pay discussion with my manager today. They gave me a 10% increase to my base income. Four percent was my performance increase (the highest I could get in my bracket) and the remaining 6% to bring me closer to market. There is still a possibility that I might get another market increase in June when salaries are reviewed, but that's not a given. So while I'm still a smidge below market, it's a lot more than I expected them to give me which makes me very pleased. At this point I'm going to contact a recruiter I had spoken to last month and see what opportunities are out there. I love the company I work for and the people. However it never hurts to keep your options open and network, right?

So now I have to get on with the business of planning my 2008 budget, which is a little challenging to do since I need to account for taxes. I do know the following:

Pre-tax

• Health care (medical plus HSA contribution) will cost me $808 (pre-tax) in 2008. That's up from $600 for 2007.

• I will continue to contribute 20% of my gross annual income to my 401k. In 2008 that will be $10,000 (dang...), compared to $9,000 in 2007.

• My monthly train pass is likely to go up by 10% in 2008 to $1,087.08, compared to $988.20 for 2007.

Post-tax

• I will begin funding my Roth IRA again in full after taking a, oh geez, a 6 or 7 year break? I will max out that contribution to the tune of $5,000 after taxes in 2008.

• After getting my three-month emergency fund completed, I plan to fund my health care fund at $1,500. This covers the deductible, hospital admission copay, and a couple hundred bucks extra for whatever. We're talking health care here, I'm sure that extra cash will find a way to be spent.

• Going back to the emergency fund. Three months is the bare minimum, I'd like to get it up to six months, so that means an additional $3,600.
  

• I need a new computer. Bad. I'm willing to keep this one until Spring 2009. By then I'd like to have at least $7,000 for a new machine. Pricey, yes, but I need a high-performance machine and those cost a pretty penny.
  

Other post-tax goals include a vacation and starting to save for a home. I just went on a vacation this year, so I would be o.k. not going on one in 2008. The home savings...that one kinda has me conflicted. I'm not eager to buy a home. It's not that important to me. That said, I'd like to have some cash set aside so that if the housing market is favorable to buyers in two to five years and I change my mind, I can do something. However to make a meaningful savings for that, I'd have to cut out other things to save aggressively. Meh. I'm not sure how to handle that just yet.

But for now, I'm breathing easier now that I know I'll be making better money next year and be able to fun my most important financial goals.