My Financial Odyssey

April 2008 Networth Update: Assets -0.2%; Liabilities -1.9%; Networth +2.6%

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Thu, 15 May 2008 12:45:00 PDT

Ok. So April's update is a bit late. I have been super busy doing research on a business investment. I was thinking of not posting this but for continuity's sake...here we go.

Assets - This month my assets essentially didn't move at all! 0.2%, give me a break.
Liabilities - This month I paid off the standard amount on the student loans and car. I made some good progress on the credit card debt paying down 4% of the total credit card balance! I liiike.

Assets - Liabilities = Networth

I saw a modest 2.6% bump in my networth. Slow and steady and sticking to the plan!

Check out the details here. (April Networth)

Cheers,
TMac

Big TV Buyer's Remorse

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 09:15:00 PDT

(This is not my TV)

Just because I write about personal finance does make me immune to making stupid decisions.
Last month, after my girlfriend and I had ironed out how we were going to handle our finances I started to really want a plasma TV. Not huge - 42 inches. I had a 27 inch that I have been carting around since college which had some display issues in the 4 corners.

The thing that most of my readers don't know about me, but I am sure my friends have noticed is that when I get something in my head that I want to do, I will become fixated on it. I will talk about it, research it, bounce ideas off people, research it some more, and eventually execute the idea.

Well I had been thinking about getting a TV for about three weeks. I had the buy in from the girlfriend and I had found a really good deal for a 42 inch plasma for $750. March Madness was starting and I was dying to watch my number 12 Wildcats tear it up on the court. The weekend before the tourney we bought the TV. Unfortunately what I didn't take into consideration was the fact that our speaker system would not work with the new TV. We had to buy a new home theatre system and DVD player ($200).

All said and done we spent just shy of $900. This money will be coming out of our joint accounts. In hindsight I think we should have waited to save the money instead of putting it on our AMEX regardless of the fact that it was 0% on purchases for 6 months. It is nice having a new, bright TV but the "new", "wow" factor has worn off and we are now looking at the bill on the statement! That money could have gone to paying off some joint debts we have, but instead they went to a big ole' TV.

The way I look it is that it could have been alot worse...I could be one of those people that got into a house that they couldn't afford!

Cheers,
TMac

[Photo Credit]

Two Damn Dollars

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 09:50:00 PDT

This weekend I was in Washington DC for a franchising convention (thinking that franchising is going to my way to financial independence) with a friend from College. for those that don't know, the DC convention center is just a few blocks from "Chinatown" (I use quotes because the DC chinatown is pitiful compared to other cites).

My friend and I were craving Dim Sum which is where customers order from ladies that push around various a la carte food items like shrimp dumplings and crab balls. My friend and I check out the area an only see two places that are serving Dim Sum. We go into the one which has a "20% Off Dim Sum" sign outside and start ordering. As soon as we sit down we order water and some Shumai and Shrimp Dumplings. I must note at this point that the service was terrible in that we had to work to flag down the waitress to order food seperately since the only cart pusher had disappeared (didn't want to be late to the next seminar). I ordered three dishes off the Dim Sum menu and we started talking about the possibilities of franchising. The food took over 30 minutes to come out (how long does it take to make 4 dumplings) and we only got two of the three dishes we had ordered. By the Way we still had not got any water and we had asked 3 times at this point!

We finally have enough and get the check. I pick up the tab and note that the 20% was not taken off for the Dim Sum purchase. The waitress tells me that it is for cash only purchases. Well this is the first I am hearing of this! My fiend and I begin arguing with this waitress protesting that the sign doesn't say anything about payment type! Finally we get 10% off since it wasn't worth protesting any more since it only would have amounted to a dollar or so. she runs my debit card and I leave her a tip of $2 on a $25 bill. I was going to leave her nothing but my friend talked me out of it. As I put the pen down the waitress rushes over, reaches across me as I talk to my friend, and takes the merchant copy off the table. She then begins to point at the tip amount and says "Only two dollars! You need to make it more." At this point I am so dumbfounded that I am just sitting there in amazement as to what is happening. My friend and I go off and begin to enumerate the reasons while she should have not recieved any TIP at all!

I just can't believe that someone would do something like that and still insist that we raise the tip after telling her all the reasons that we were not going to do so. So strange.

By the way, if you want really good Dim Sum in the DC Metro go here.

[Photo Credit]

Cheers,
TMac

March 2008 Networth Update: Assets: -4.5%; Liabilities: -3%; Networth: +2.3%

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:50:00 PDT

Hello All,

I know that March's update is a bit late, but I hadn't even had the time to download my account activity into quicken till Sunday. A whole month's worth of transactions takes quite a bit of time to catergorize!

Anyway onto this Month's Summary...

I had a pretty decent month and didn't even pay that much attention to my finances since the majority of my bills are on auto-pilot. My cash accounts went down a good percentage this month, but this is mainly due to how my girlfriend and I have decided to handle our money and joint expenditures. It could also be in fact that we bought a 42 inch plasma with a sound system just in time for March Madness, but I digress!

I kicked some credit card a$$ last month by paying down over $1300 in credit card debt alone. The other debt accounts were lowered by the same amount that they have been for a long time now since they are fixed payment, low interest loans. I just kind of leave those guys alone, but don't worry student loan your day will come when I unleash the full fury of larger payments like the credit cards are experiencing right now!

Even after the decreased cash flow this month, I still bumped up my overall networth by 2.3% to $-46,167. I am hoping to be able to make.

From now on, I will be including reporting on actual expense catergories. I would have included it sooner, but the numbers are all skewed from the move earlier this year.

(Click on image for larger view)

Cheers,
TMac

Meet The Blogger Mondays is featuring ME!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 08:33:00 PDT

Lulu at How I Save Money has an ongoing weekly feature where she profiles a different PF blogger. This week it is yours truly! Surf on over to check it out!

Cheers,
TMac

President Bush in NYC, An Observation in Government Spending

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:13:00 PDT

I work on the 27th floor of an office building on Lower Manhattan right off the River and the FDR Drive.

Well I saw a bunch of people looking out the window and went over to see what all the fuss was about. President Bush was arriving in the city for a talk in Midtown. Simple observation of the scene that was unfolding below me showed hundreds of people (press, police, secret service, snipers, etc.) were all stationed in their carefully orchestrated places.

I got to thinking about the financial commitment that the county undertakes every time that the President leaves Washington DC. I am sure that there are hundreds of people that need to scope out the venue, travel routes, background checks on the people that will be in attendance. The government has to move several presidential limos in advance. I spied 4 chinook helicopters from my office window.

A four hour trip to NY from DC must cost the government and consequesntly the taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars.

I understand that this is not a lot of money in the grand scope of the annual federal budget, but it just struck me as I stared out the window as Marine One approached from JFK airport.
Apparently President Bush was arriving for a talk with the Economic Club of New York to discuss how the economy is not in a recession.

Cheers,
TMac

[This is a stock photo from Google Images from a presidential visit in January 2008. ]

Tiger on Life...Apply it to Everything

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:01:00 PDT

"I view my life in a way … I'll explain it to you, OK?" he told his small audience in Florida. "The greatest thing about tomorrow is, I will be better than I am today [emphasis mine]. And that's how I look at my life. I will be better as a golfer, I will be better as a person, I will be better as a father, I will be a better husband, I will be better as a friend. That's the beauty of tomorrow. There is no such thing as a setback. The lessons I learn today I will apply tomorrow, and I will be better."

That's from this article on ESPN.com about Tiger.

I think the trick it having the discipline to learn from your mistakes. I know there has been plenty of times in the past that I have made a mistake, known fully well that it was a mistake, was presented an opportunity to make that mistake again in the future and done so.

Happy Friday.

Cheers,
TMac

2008 Goals

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:27:00 PDT

Well we are well into March and I haven't updated My Financial Odyssey with my 2008 goals. Can you blame me? With so much uncertainty in my job situation and moving to one of the most expensive cities in the country, I felt like any goal I set in January without my living and job situation nailed down would have been in vain.

With that said I have thought long and hard about this year's financial goals. Due to extenuating circumstances I was not able to achieve any of the goals I set out in January. However, this year I am employing the SMART Goal system.

For those of you who don't know SMART stands for...

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Realistic

Time Based

On that note here are my 2008 Financial Goals:

Goal #1

What: Establish a $1,000 E-Fund

How: Based on the $325 currently in the account (I took some money out to help pay for the move to NY) with $100 monthly contributions I should easily achieve this goal.

When: By 2008 Year End

Goal #2
What: Repay parents the $2,500 loan that was taken from them in November.
How: Pay $500/month which will be matched by my girlfriend.
When: May 2008

Goal #3
What: Save $5000 for engagement ring and proposal.
How: Save $500/month till May (when parents are paid back). Then increase saving to $1000/month.
When: September 2008

Goal #4
What: Save 6% of salary in my company's 401K.
How: Starting in July (when I am eligible to enroll) set up automatic paycheck deductions of 6% of my biweekly pay. By year end contributions should total $2,250.
When: By 2008 Year End

And now for the STRETCH GOAL!

What: Pay down $8,000 in Credit Card Debt! This will more than but my credit card debt in half!
How: Pay $500/month till September (totalling $5,000). Then contribute the cash I was contributing to the engagement ring towards the credit card debt for the remainder of the year (totalling $3,000).

When: By 2008 Year End

I think that the first four goals are very attainable assuming no major expenses arise during the year.

Cheers,
TMac

[Photo Credit]

Quick and Dirty Rule of Thumb - Calculating Your Hourly Rate

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 06:08:00 PST

Knowing what your time is worth is crucial when you are strapped for time and you are trying to determine if an activity is worth your effort. As they say in the working world...Time is Money.

According to Tim Ferris, author of The Four Hour Work Week there is a quick and easy way to calculate what your time is worth. I will use myself as an example.

1. Take your annual salary ($75,000)

2. Remove the last three zeros ($75).

3. Divide that number in half ($37.50).

Unless you are "making" or "saving" that much with the given activity then it may not be worth your time.

If you are interested in drilling down deeper to get a more detailed look at what your "true hourly rate" is, then take a look at Trent's post (here) on the subject.

Don't get me wrong, doing things simply because they aren't financially worth your time isn't the only consideration. I know the time that I spend consuming media like MSNBC.com, ABC News in the morning before work, and the 50+ blogs I read on a daily basis (about 1.5 hours) may not be the best financial use of my time. However, I accept this because I subscribe to a maxim that people should learn something new everyday. As such, I see this as time well spent.

Cheers,
TMac

[Photo Credit]

My Move to the Big Apple in a New York Minute!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 11:31:00 PST

Professionally Speaking...

It was a long time coming.

I had been unhappy in DC and at my company for a while. I started looking for an apartment and job in NY right after the Thanksgiving holiday. I just wasn't happy with all the BS that I had to put up with in the old job. I was stressed out with the crappy assignments I was put on. I was on my out of the consulting world.
In January, I interviewed with one of the largest financial services firms on Wall Street. I received a very good offer ($19K more than I was making in DC) and I accepted for a mid February start date.

All said and done I am happy that I made the move (sans the moving expenses). I like the people I now work with and the pace isn't breakneck like at the previous job. Normally I am in the office by 8:15 and out by 4:50pm. The one thing I am having a hard time getting used to is waking up early in the morning. Normally I wake up between 5:00 and 5:30am to be at work by 8:30. I am beginning to notice that most people in NY have very long commutes - normally 1.5 - 2 hours. I am usually pretty wiped out at the end of the day (sometimes I have a hard time staying up to watch LOST!).

Financially Speaking...

On the financial front I am in a good situation in living with my girlfriend. We live in a basement apartment outside the city. We got a 3 bedroom apartment with all utilities included for $1100. Not bad considering I was in Virginia paying $1065/month PLUS utilities. I will outline our saving and spending arrangement in a later post.

Luckily I got a large pay increase when I moved to the new position. I was being paid $56,500 in DC. If I were making an equivalent in the NY Metro I would be at $62,000. However the offer came in at $75,000. That means that I garnered a $13,000 pay increase by switching jobs. Not bad for a few stressful months!

It is amazing to look back and compare my earnings level to where I was after graduating from college ($32,000) to where I am now ($75,000).

Cheers,
TMac

[Photo Credit]

February 2008 Networth Update: Assets: -19%; Liabilities: -1%; Networth: -11%

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:18:00 PST

Well February was a rough month. I practically gave back all my gains that I have made over the past year. Alot happened in February to make it a tumultuous month. Namely - I quit my job in DC, bought myself out of my lease and moved to NY and in with my girlfriend and took a job at a one of the largest financial services firms on Wall Street.

Now that the GF and I are sharing expenses, I suspect my numbers to rebound quickly as compared to past dips in networth. Unfortunately I borrowed $2500 from my parents, liquidated $2500 from my Roth and tapped the E-FUND to fund the lease break and the move. Paying those funds back are of utmost importance to me at this point. Once I start getting a regular paycheck from the new job I will be calculating my annual goals. I haven't done this yet since so much was up in the air.

Anyway, check out the numbers for yourself:

Cheers,

TMac

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HSBC Say It Aint So!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 13:32:00 PST

HSBC it seems like just yesterday that you were offering me 5.05% APY on my savings accounts. My how you have changed since then. Now you are offering me 3.80% AP. It isn't all bad, though, you are still at the higher end of the online banks. I just hope that you don't take the Fed's 50 basis point drop in rates today as an invitation to disappoint me even further!

Remember the good ole' days....

US Foreclosures Up 75%!!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 10:54:00 PST

Hello All,

Take a look at this map of foreclosure activity in the US. It really is too bad that the bubble had to burst like it did, but I guess all good things must come to an end. As John Bogle says, "The bigger the boon, the bigger the bust." And afterall, it was a pretty big boon!

I have an uncle in Florida that has foreclosed on two homes on golf courses in the nice posh neighborhoods of West Palm Beach. It sucks to think that he lost alot of money in those potential investments, but I guess it is just the free market at work!?!?!

I digress....back to the article...

According to RealtyTrac the foreclosure activity in the US is up 75% since 2006.

Top annual foreclosure rates
Nevada posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for 2007, with 3.4 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year — more than three times the national average. The state documented the highest monthly foreclosure rate in all 12 months of the year. A total of 66,316 foreclosure filings on 34,417 properties were reported in Nevada in 2007, an increase of more than 200 percent in total filings from 2006.

With more than 2 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year, Florida documented the second highest state foreclosure rate for 2007. A total of 279,325 foreclosure filings on 165,291 properties were reported in the state during the year, more than twice the number of filings reported in 2006. The state’s foreclosure filing total in December was up 275 percent from December 2006, and its fourth quarter total was up 211 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006.

Michigan documented the nation’s third highest state foreclosure for 2007, with 1.9 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. A total of 136,205 foreclosure filings on 87,210 properties were reported in the state during the year, a 68 percent increase in total filings from 2006. Michigan foreclosure activity dipped 17 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but its December foreclosure filing total was still up more than 70 percent from December 2006.

Satirical Sub-prime Explanation

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 10:32:00 PST

Hello All,

I came across this satire of the sub-prime mess. Check it out. It is very funny and quite informative! I love the British humor!

Cheers,
TMac

[via Open Culture]

Hate Your Job? Maybe It's Time to Consider a New One!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:30:00 PST

Over the past few months I have been hinting on this blog that I am not overly happy with my position at work. Since the new partner has taken over my group I have noticed that things have begun to get more rigid and office politics are playing an ever increasing role in who gets promoted. Formerly, your advancement in The Firm has been tied directly to how well you did your job. Fortunately I do my job very well. Unfortunately (for them) I don't play politics.

As such over the past few weeks I have started quietly looking for a new job and gathering my thoughts about what I would like to do going forward.

To get to a place where I could act I needed to ask myself a few crucial questions. Use these as a guide to help get the dialogue started. Talk to your friends, spouse, significant other, etc. to get as many points of view as possible.

Do I like what I am doing?
I like what I am doing because I am good at it. Auditing isn't a "sexy career by any means, but it is stable, well-paying, and relatively recession-proof.
Do I like doing my my job or my preferred job in the city I am currently living in?
Currently I do not like living in the DC Metro. I have been here 1.5 years and haven't really found many people that I connect with and enjoy the same things I enjoy. I would like to move.
What kinds of professional designations will help me attain better standing with prospective employers?
In my case, the CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor. For you it will likely be different - Real Estate License, etc.
If I want to move to a new city, will I be able to afford living there with my expected earnings?
I will be able to live comfortably in my new city given my earning potential (more on where I will be living at a later time). Take into consideration that you may not be able to support yourself in Manhattan on a wage for an entry level marketing assistant.
If I want to move to a new city, will it support my other interests and goals?
I think that it will. I am very interested in Freemasonry, Real Estate, Social Entrepreneurship and bike riding. I think that my new city will provide me opportunities to get exposure to all those things. Unfortunately, DC isn't the most entrepreneurial of towns!

So here are just a few of the questions I have asked myself over the past few months as I have searched for a new job and a new city. Surely there are other good questions to ask. However this is meant to be a jumping off point to start the discussion of your next steps.

December 2007 Networth - Assets +4.4%, Liabilities -1.5%, Networth +4.7%

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 11:45:00 PST

Well I haven't been posting in a while and I actually missed my November networth update. I apologize for that!

Anyway the month of December was pretty strong since I was able to pay for most of my Christmas purchases in cash.

I think that the big accomplishment this month was I was able to pay down a good about of my credit card debt.

Anyway I am keeping this short and sweet.

Cheers,
TMac

Sub-Prime Mess....In A Rant

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 12:56:00 PST

Nick over at Punny Money has encapsulated exactly how I feel about the whole government bail out of the idiots that jumped into a sub-prime mortgage.

My favorite line: "People who can’t do interest rate math shouldn't be given six-figure loans in the first place!"

If you read Nick's blog regularly you know his rant will be entertaining. Check it out - here!

[Photo Credit]

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Consumed - Is Our Consumer Society Sustainable?

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 06:11:00 PST

Hi All,

I have been off the grid for a while. I have been studying for a certification exam and spending some time in Philly (more on that later).

I have been meaning to link to this series from NPR called Consumed - Is Our Consumer Society Sustainable?

Here is the verbiage from the official marketing text on their website:

We are what we buy — a glib adage to be sure, but it prompts an interesting question: Is our consumer society sustainable? American Public Media takes on that question in this special series. We follow consumerism from its origins to its dominance in the world's economy and, arguably, its culture. And we examine how, and if, it might be adapted to reduce its destructive consequences while keeping store shelves stocked.

I think that this is especially relevant during our holiday season that focuses on consumerism. I have linked to some of my favorite segments of the series:

Go ahead, I know you want to. NPR is like brain candy!

Cheers,
TMac

Man I can't wait for this exam to be over with

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Looking Back to Thanksgiving and Forward to Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 18:45:00 PST

Well Thanksgiving has come and gone and we can actually say with confidence that we are in the Christmas season and everyone knows what that mean! That's right - Egg Nog! You either love it or you hate it, and ohh how do I love it (kicked up with some soul warming Rum)! But I digress...

So traditionally in my family over our turkey feast we recap the past year and how circumstances have changed or stayed pretty much the same. Followed by this the kids normally select names out of a hat for Secret Santa style gift giving (there are five siblings). Well Mom and Dad preempted our usual tradition with a disclaimer of their own. This Christmas there will be no gifts given. This year has been an unbelievably tight year for them money wise. Currently they have three girls in private university, one boy in private high school, the business is not doing as well as has in recent past and the pool needs a new liner.

At first this notice to all of us over dinner came as a major surprise to me since I can't remember anytime that my parents shared the details of their personal financial situation with us in such an open way. Though, taken aback by the lack of presents initially, I reflected on the situation and decided that this was indeed a good thing.

How many times over Christmas do we receive things that we truly do not want or need. We just say, "Ohh, Thank You!" and give them that trademark smile. I think that the coming Christmas will be enhanced by the lack of material gifts. I will try to get back to the basics of the holiday season and try to make/create gifts with meaning that come from the heart. I will keep myself out of the malls and my family and friends in mind since they are what make the holidays special.

I can't remember any instance of me standing in a crowded mall with the perfect gift being reminded of how important the person I was buying for was to me in my life. I feel like it has just become automatic to default to the malls where they part with your money and time. Time you should have been spending with the people closest to you.

While I am not saying I am going to buy ZERO gifts this winter, nor am I proclaiming this approach is right for everybody. I recommend that you take time to think why the person you are buying for is important to you and if you are just buying for the sake of getting SOMETHING for the person. If so consider doing something together or a heartfelt card. Those go a long way!

Editors Note: I have specifically not gone back and edited this post as it is mostly stream of consciousness and I feel like something would have been lost in the editing process.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 09:14:00 PST

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you out there. I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I have a good job with a good salary, a wonderful woman that loves me and some of the best family and friends a guy could ever have. I love you all.

I will keep from getting too sappy and let one of our founding fathers do the talking as he reminds us of the importance of giving thanks with a humble heart.

Whereas it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me to recommend to the people of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:

"Now, therefore, I do recommend and assign Thursday, the 26th day of November next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed; for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

"And also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions; to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness to us), and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as He alone knows to be best.

"Given under my hand, at the city of New York, the 3rd day of October, A.D. 1789."

George Washington

I especially love the third paragraph. Why don't people talk like this anymore? It gives me chills just reading stuff like this from the founding fathers. It is jut spoken with such conviction and passion. I think it is something we may have lost over the ages.

Happy Thanksgiving,
TMac

[Photo Credit]

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Evaluating the 2007 Goals

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 14:27:00 PST

Well with one month left in the year I think I can say with utter certainty that I will reach none of my financial goals that I set out to achieve in March. As of right now I am 43% of the way towards my goal of paying down $5,000 in credit card debt; I am 20% of the way to saving a $2,000 emergency fund; and I am still 100% of the way from saving $3,000 towards my 401K.

Why will I not even reach one of my goals? Well, simply put....$hit happens!

When I drafted those goals last March most of my circumstances were different. I had a roommate that I was splitting rent and utilities with. At the time the plan was to live together with him, ma boo, and his wife in a larger yet more cost effective apartment. I am currently footing the bill for an apartment on my own as well as all utilities. Things change.
They were aggressive stretch goals to begin with. These goals would have required me to really hone in on my spending and trim alot of unnecessary spending.
The annual raise wasn't as high as I was expecting. I was expecting 10% and got only 8.5%. While only amounting to couple thousand dollars, this still helps!
I failed to regularly review my progress towards the yearly goals. Also once the underlying assumptions changed, I failed to update my assumptions and expectations.

Am I disappointed about not hitting my goals? Hell yeah I am. Am I going to throw in the towel because I failed to reach them? Hell No!

I have a few goals in store for next year that are even more aggressive than those I had for 2007. Will I hit them? Who knows but I promise I will learn alot in the meantime.

Tune in next time - same time, same station!

Cheers,
TMac

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Cashflow for Dummies

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:26:00 PST

Golbguru over at Money, Matter, and More Musings has a great sequence of potential cashflow diagrams that are easy to understand and quite funny. Which one are you!?!?!

Check it out (click here ).

Cheers,
TMac

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October 2007 Networth - Assets -1.57 %, Liabilities -1.07 %, Networth +0.82 %

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 12:02:00 PST

Well the month of October has come and gone and now it is time for the low down dirty details as to where I stand compared to September.

Actually it looks like I am standing in almost the exact same place as I was in at the beginning of the month. About halfway though the month I changed around my direct deposit accounts which in turn resulted in me logging into my debt accounts to change the accounts from which they were drawing their funds. When doing this I was noticing accrued interest on the accounts that my Quicken didn't pick up. As a result I "trued-up" the account balances in Quicken to reflect the accrued interest charges.

Assets:
My assets went down about 1.5% this past month mainly due to a lower than normal account balance in my checking account and a small loss in my Roth IRA account.

Liabilities:
On the liabilities front I was able to retire $731 of my debt. Most of that came from paying down student loans and the loan on the Passat. Unfortunately I was only able to reduce my outstanding debt on my credit cards by $53. This is due to an unexpected mid-month balance transfer. I missed a payment on my Citi card that was sitting at 0% while I was at work in Richmond. Once I got the statement I noticed a huge charge for accrued interest which instantly set off my alarms. I called Citi to see if they would reenact my 0% if I cut them a check immediately - they denied the request. As a result I had to Xfer the debt to another card. After the Citi fees and the balanace Xfer fees I only netted a negative $53 towards my credit cards.

Looking Forward:
November does not look like a good month for making positive gains in my Networth. I have all my regular expenditures that I will need to pay plus I have a few things that will negatively impact my networth.

Car Insurance - my car insurance is due in November. That will be about $420 out of pocket that I will need to pay. When I was with ING I had an account specifically for the accrual of money for car insurance, however, I inadvertently liquidated this account when I left ING and I used some of the proceeds towards paying for other things. BAD TMAC! :-(
Auto Service - Also related to my car I have come up to my 30,000 mile service. This is one of the big scheduled service events for my car. Unfortunately the local VW dealer will bend me over for this one. I am expecting it to be in the neighborhood of $300.
Decreased Car Value - Related to #2, I am going to adjust down the value of my car in my Quicken account based on the new mileage which will further reduce my assets.
Thanksgiving - throw in a trip to Boston to see family and friends that I haven't seen in about a year and that will make for a quasi-expensive weekend. Luckily I was able to talk dad into footing the bill for the flight home to Boston (arguably the most expensive part) if I promised to drive up for Christmas. Now I just need to find a way to save some money on drinks and getting around!

November is going to be killer.

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Five Minute Checkup - Are you in Saving a Healthy Amount for Retirement?

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:11:00 PDT

Thanks goes out to Mapgirl for pointing out that it is National Save For Retirement Week! Check out the NSFRW website (click here). There is a ton of good info on there about saving for retirement for both employees and employers!

According to the site:

Research has shown that more than half of all workers in the states have less than $25,000 in total savings. Even more startling is the fact that 41 percent of workers between the ages of 45 and 54 report the same amount.

With longer life expectancies and rising costs, it's critical that Americans understand the importance of saving-now.

One of my favorite parts of the site is the 5 Minute Checkup (click here). Here you can quickly estimate how much you should be saving to meet your retirement goals. I took the checkup and here is how I did...

First you must enter your current data:

(that's right, I want to retire by 55!)

Once your current data is in hit Calculate! Here are my results...

As you can see, I have a long way to go. I need to really start cranking out some big numbers related to my retirement savings. I think that will be one of my biggest goals for FY 2008. While not a comprehensive look at my retirement picture, it does spur the mind into actively thinking about how much we will actually need to retire. Retiring early will be especially challenging.

Cheers,
TMac

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Fight or Flight?

noreply@blogger.com (TMAC) — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 06:00:00 PDT

Trent at the Simple Dollar had a great post a few weeks ago (sometimes I have some spare time to do some trolling through the archives of my favorite sites) that struck a chord with me about a mid-twenties professional named "Kathy" that wrote to Trent for advice on whether or not she (and her boyfriend) should move out of the DC Metro area to a smaller city with a lower cost of living. Kathy seems to have a similar background to mine in that we both attended liberal arts schools in the North and we both work in IT assurance at consulting firms.

I know what you are asking yourself, "TMac, did you write to Trent as Kathy?" I wish I was, she isn't even 25 and has already knocked her masters degree out of the way and appears to have minimal debt.

Check out the post and the incredibly varied and rich comments (there are about 125). Totally worth a quick read.

As for TMac, I would love to flee the DC Metro area for greener pastures in the Northeast, but for now I am staying put so that my boo and I can establish ourselves with regards to job experience levels, cash reserve for a home purchase, etc.

[Photo Credit: wallyg]