My father, a far wiser person than I, tells me that I have "problems of abundance." Don't know what to do on Saturday because you have too many invites? Problem of abundance. Not sure which leftovers to re-heat? Not sure what to wear? Right - Problems of abundance.
Today, I have some unexpected problems of abundance. My husband's company stock is up -way up. We sold some last week, and now we're wondering if we should sell the rest of it. Partner equalization at the firm meant I got $850 'extra' dollars this week, plus payment for travel expenses, and I'm told I'll be getting an 'extra' $75.00 each month. Earlier in the month I recieved a partner distribution -something we are supposed to get regularly, but haven't been able to count on in the tough economy.
I am taking 1/2 the $850 and putting it away for taxes (I am responsible to pay my own taxes quarterly -no withholding), the remaining money is to be split between savings accounts (emergency fund, vacation and christmas). The $75.00 each month is going to go (for the first time in a long time) into my retirement fund. About half of last week's stock sale is being held for taxes, the rest will pay for our new front stairs. The partner distribution is going to be held for taxes.
I am feeling more confident than usual that at the end of the year we'll have held enough money back for taxes. (Because my stake in the firm changes every year, as well as my compensation, we can only guesstimate what we'll owe each year.) If there is 'extra' left over after we pay the government, we'll then probably hold half that in reserve for next year, and put half into our existing debt.
I hope I'm making the right decisions here - I know it's probably better to put some of our newfound $ to our existing debt, but I'm also aware that I need to add to the emergency fund (which was depleted by a series of car disasters), should be funding some kind of retirement, and putting $ aside for Christmas and a planned vacation in 2012 is intended to prevent us from adding any $ to our existing debt.
Problems of abundance. Thoughts as to whether this plan is unreasonable...?
Problems of Abundance
July 29th, 2010 at 05:38 pm
July 29th, 2010 at 06:41 pm 1280428877
July 29th, 2010 at 07:18 pm 1280431107
Whether you decide to keep it or sell it all, I think either way is fine. The only thing I would consider is how the company stock fits into your portfolio, and how much risk would it represents if it were to start falling? If the risk seem too big, I would definitely sell it. If the risk is small and if you really like the stock, you can keep it. You can also do something in the middle.
I would just pare it down to something that is comfortable enough to make you smile about the results.
July 30th, 2010 at 05:20 pm 1280510456
I like the title too. Isn't the real problem of abundance, though, the problem of what one does in the face of it? The more you have, the more concentrated your responses. The lottery winner who buys more lottery tickets, for instance. Doubling down on a rising stock (company or no). The party animal who gets multiple invites for the night/weekend.