http://www.pfblog.com/ Daily personal finance observation, musing and decisions in a journey toward financial independence by 36 with at least a million dollars. en-us webmaster@pfblog.com 2020-07-14T00:00:09-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6455_monthly_update_february_2015_1998602_28830.shtml <p>Recovering from the temporary setback in January, our net worth advanced almost $29K in the month and is now tantalizingly close to $2M. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown below: </p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2015-03-08T06:37:15-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6454_monthly_update_january_2015_1969771_12136_.shtml <p>Our back-to-back five-figure monthly asset growth finally came to an end. In the month of January 2015, our net worth dropped over $12K, or about 0.6%. On a trailing 12 months basis, our war chest still delivered a comfortable improvement of $305K, or 18.4%. Our household balance sheet, along with ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2015-02-21T05:07:04-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6453_monthly_update_december_2014_1981908_68396_.shtml <p>Our net worth closed the year of 2014 in a high note, climbing a whopping $68K in December. For the full year, we added over $322K to our bottom line, the largest of any year in our history. In fact, we recorded 5-figure monthly improvement in 10 of the 12 ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2015-01-25T04:12:34-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6452_monthly_update_november_2014_1913512_57816.shtml <p>November has been a great month for us. Riding on some substantial portfolio gains, our net worth climbed to a new high of over $1.9M, making this the 8th month of back-to-back five-figure growth. This year so far, we grew our financial fortune by over $250K. If 2014 ends today ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-12-13T22:36:27-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6451_monthly_update_october_2014_1855696_18816.shtml <p>Our net worth continued its steady growth in the month of October. The monthly gain of $18,800 propelled our year-to-date asset growth to almost $200K, handily beating our net worth improvement of $172K in the first 10 months of 2013. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-11-11T05:15:10-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6450_monthly_update_september_2014_1836880_21587.shtml <p>Our family net worth grew a handsome $21,000, or 1.2%, in September, extending our winning streak of back-to-back five-figure monthly gains to the 6th month. For the first nine months of the year, we have grown our total assets by over $177K, besting the $146K gain in the same period ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-10-08T19:20:18-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6449_monthly_update_august_2014_1815293_73983.shtml <p>Our net worth typically receives a big increase every August due to the annual vesting of stock awards from my employment. Last August, our net worth rallied $40K. The year before, it was $64k. And we are thrilled to see another $74K boost to our bottom line in the passing ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-09-07T11:26:54-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6448_monthly_update_july_2014_1741310_19798.shtml <p>With another $19K increase, July is the four consecutive month we enjoyed five-digit monthly net worth improvement. At $1,741K, our net worth rose a handsome $216K in the last 12 months, a good 14.2% gain. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-08-18T15:02:09-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6447_monthly_update_june_2014_1721512_16499.shtml <p>We closed the month of June with a net worth increase of $16,499, or slightly below 1%. In the trailing 12 months, our net worth growth exceeded $220K, of 14.7%. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown below: </p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-08-18T14:33:30-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6446_monthly_update_may_2014_1705013_15050.shtml <p>With another five-figure increase in the month of May, our net worth breached $1.7M for the first time. In the trailing 12 months, we grew our net worth by $197K, or 13.1%. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown below: </p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-06-08T17:34:26-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6445_monthly_update_april_2014_1689963_19015.shtml <p>After a mild setback in March, our net worth resumed its steady growth. In April with a monthly improvement of $19,015, or 1.1%, making it the best showing in the last six months. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown below: </p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-05-10T13:34:21-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6444_monthly_update_march_2014_1670949_5413.shtml <p>Our net worth ended the month of March 2014 at $1,670,949, a slight 0.3% retreat from the prior month. All in all, we ended the first quarter of the year with a combined net worth gain of $11,400, or 0.7%. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-04-10T02:21:31-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6443_new_year_resolution_ill_mow_my_own_lawn.shtml <p>It has been a year since we bought our new home on an acre-shy lot. I am not a particular fan of gardening over my life so far, and hence for most of last year, I had conveniently outsourced the yard work to my gardener for $330 a month, including ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-03-16T07:41:41-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6442_monthly_update_february_2014_1676362_12539.shtml <p>Advancing $12,539, or 0.75%, our net worth closed the month of February at $1,676,362. Trailing 12 months improvement is $190,398, or 12.8%. Our household balance sheet, along with monthly, year-to-date, and trailing 12 months comparison, are shown below: </p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-03-02T09:29:11-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6441_what_i_benefitted_from_filing_my_own_tax.shtml <p>I spent several hours this Sunday morning to put some finishing touches to our federal tax return, and the 27-page return is now on its way to IRS this week. I have worked on the tax return since the late January, and by my estimate, I spent around 20 hours ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2014-02-26T06:58:19-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6440_how_to_get_your_previous_years_tax_returns.shtml <p>As part of the HELOC application process, we were asked to sign a 4506-T form to authorize banks to get from IRS transcripts of our prior years' tax returns. This makes me think: as taxpayers, can we get such information ourselves? Yes, we can. A quick search on the IRS ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2014-02-17T08:07:41-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6439_happy_100th_birthday_federal_income_tax.shtml <p>As each of us are making progress in our respective tax returns, this MarketWatch article conveniently reminded us that it has been 100 years since Americans started paying federal income tax. Many intriguing facts from the article and the slide show covering the evolution of Form 1040 over the past ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2014-02-14T03:52:11-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6438_applying_for_home_equity_line_of_credit_heloc.shtml <p>When we purchased the our house back in January 2013, we put 20% down payment to secure an ultra-low 1.875% APR 7/1 ARM. In anticipation of potential carry trade opportunities, I'm also exploring possibilities to cash out some of our home equity through HELOC, or Home Equity Line of Credit ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-02-13T04:33:38-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6437_early_retirement_extreme.shtml <p>One book I'm reading lately is Early Retirement Extreme by Jacob Lund Fisker. The book asserts that one can have an "extreme" early retirement by accumulating wealth thru only 5 years of work, and choosing to lead a meaningful retirement life while spending low to the tune of $20-30K a ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 8. Spending mm 2014-02-12T05:45:14-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6436_low_cost_financing_thru_interactive_brokers.shtml <p>I have been pondering the idea of USD/Chinese Yuan carry trade for a while now. The investment thesis is one can borrow USD on the cheap and put to investment vehicles denominated in Chinese Yuan with much higher return. And assuming the Chinese Yuan will keep its secular trend to ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2014-02-11T04:00:59-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6435_adjustable_rate_mortgage_whats_the_worst_case_scenario.shtml <p>Back in January when I shared my experience choosing an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) over a more traditional fixed rate mortgage (FRM), I received the following comment from Adam: I would be interested in understanding more about why you have better options at the end of the ARM. I have ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-02-10T04:15:20-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6434_financial_education_for_teenagers.shtml <p>In about a week's time, our son will turn 12. This means he will pay adult's price at Great Clips and our favorite buffet restaurant. And it's also time for some systematic financial education. So our weekend assignment for him: read the CNN Money 5-article series "Financial Education For Kids" ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 5. Saving mm 2014-02-09T06:32:39-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6433_how_many_networked_devices_do_you_have_in_your_household.shtml <p>Satya Nadella, the newly anointed boss at Microsoft, rightfully called out that this is a "mobile first, cloud first" world. Network connections are ubiquitous and everyone has more than one devices to access, consume and create data. Everything is changing and changing fast! On this Saturday morning, I took some ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 8. Spending mm 2014-02-08T09:05:17-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6432_p2p_lending_in_china.shtml <p>Back in 2006, I was among the first group of investors who pumped money into Prosper.com, the pioneer in person-to-person lending in the States. It didn't end up pretty -- my $15K investment turned into a loss exceeding $1,000 due to high number of delinquencies and charge-offs among the 160 ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2014-02-07T03:58:34-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6431_washington_state_get_is_a_losers_game_part_ii.shtml <p>Our analysis indicated that if tuition cost will continue to grow at 9.5% per annum, investment into Washington state's GET program can still make sense for people with a long horizon, even if one will pay a hefty 31% front-end load now. But for those patient parents, it is worth ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2014-02-06T06:14:48-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6430_washington_state_get_is_a_losers_game_part_i.shtml <p>A friend of mine recently asked my opinion of Washington state's Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program. As the Evergreen State's 529 prepaid college tuition program and backed by the state's full faith and credit, GET allows parents to purchase "units" in today's price and guarantees a payout value that is ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2014-02-05T04:25:36-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6429_the_cell_phone_plan_for_cheapskates.shtml <p>My son earns a weekly allowance for doing a number of household chores. Last month, he finally saved enough to buy a smart phone, which he claims that half of his 6-grader classmates already have. With the father-son agreement that he is responsible for 100% of his cell phone expenses ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 8. Spending mm 2014-02-04T03:58:34-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6428_will_you_accept_an_amazon_prime_price_hike.shtml <p>In the latest quarterly earnings release call last week, Amazon's CFO Tom Szkutak indicated in his prepared speech that the online retailing giant is thinking of raising the price of Amazon Prime (transcript from SeekingAlpha, emphasis is mine): We launched Prime in the U.S. nine years ago with free, unlimited ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 8. Spending mm 2014-02-03T04:52:25-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6427_monthly_update_january_2014_1663823_4273.shtml <p>Our net worth logged a meager 0.3% increase of $4,273 to ended January 2014 at $1,663,823. Trailing 12 months improvement is $183,444, or 12.4%. We saved about $5,000 from our wages. It is larger than normal and is helped by 1) $1,250 year-start employer contribution to Health Savings Account (HSA ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-02-02T06:37:47-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6425_is_it_worthwhile_to_keep_all_receipts_in_order_to_maximize_sales_tax_deduction.shtml <p>It's tax season again! I started the annual chore of collecting tax forms and piecing together information over the past weekend. Happily being a bean counter, I plan to share some personal experience of tax preparation in coming weeks. Today I'd like to discuss sales tax deduction. Sales deduction was ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2014-02-01T06:12:02-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6426_myra_whats_in_it_for_us.shtml <p>Since he first announced myRA at Tuesday night's State of the Union speech, President Obama wasted no time in signing the executive order to make it happen the second morning, before he started his road trip to tour his newest idea. What is myRA? Whitehouse's fact sheet gave more details ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 5. Saving mm 2014-01-31T04:21:15-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6424_getting_mortgage_on_the_cheap.shtml <p>Once we decided that adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) should be our cup of tea, we wasted no time in looking for the best lender. To be more specific, we wanted to shop for the best rate when it came to 5-year or 7-year jumbo ARMs -- the price range of ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-01-30T05:42:50-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6423_finding_the_most_suitable_mortgage.shtml <p>The moment we started the house hunting in late 2012, we also started the mortgage hunting. Compared with getting the dream house at the right price, getting the right mortgage is at least equally important, if not more, to secure a solid financial foundation of home ownership. Deciding the most ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-01-29T05:45:18-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6422_buying_a_house_with_flat_fee_realtor.shtml <p>A decade ago in 2003, we bought our first house of $315K. We knew very little about home purchase back then, and listing information on the internet is a scarce resource. Through some luck, we managed to find an real estate agent who was willing to give us a 20 ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2014-01-28T04:50:03-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6421_2013_yearend_update_1659549.shtml <p>Net worth tracking and reporting has been a staple of this blog since 2003, and therefore it should be no surprise that our Act II begins with a long overdue recap of our financials since our last report two years back. Let's start with a table showing our year-over-year net ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2014-01-27T05:45:28-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6420_act_ii_back_to_the_blogging_business_.shtml <p>It has been a full two years since my last post on this blog. And yes, the blog was already barren for several years before. What happened during this period? In late 2005, we took a long expatriate assignment working in Asia. The original three-year term got extended a couple ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 0. About mm 2014-01-26T15:00:31-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6418_2011_yearend_update_1212450.shtml <p>What a coincidence! S&P 500 ended the year of 2011 within 0.01% of where it was at the beginning of the year. What it means for our household financial life is that while we had our fair share of the rollercoaster financial ride of the year, we barely received any ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2012-01-02T16:57:13-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6417_monthly_update_march_2011_1149008_2362.shtml <p>In a month that is filled with natural disasters and geopolitical conflicts, our net worth survived the month relatively unscathed. In fact, our savings from job income and minimal portfolio gain more than offset the $6K drop in our employee stock option account, and helped us to end the month ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2011-04-09T16:51:53-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6416_monthly_update_february_2010_1146646_19373.shtml <p>The first month of Chinese Year of Rabbit is rather uneventful. Thanks to the steady climb of the stock market, our portfolio also received a nice lift. Our net worth grew almost $20,000 in the month to $1,146,646. Year 2011 Goal and the Journey to $3M We are establishing our ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2011-03-05T18:57:50-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6415_monthly_update_january_2010_1127273_4906.shtml <p>January 2011 sees the 10 year anniversary of our marriage, and we celebrated this big event with a weekend gateway in a fantastic boutique hotel in Hong Kong, and a 1.4ct diamond ring from Blue Nile. It is a great trip indeed and a memorable beginning of our second decade ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2011-02-05T20:12:55-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6414_monthly_update_december_2010_1122367_37499.shtml <p>Happy New Year Everyone! With the help of cross-the-board gain in financial markets, we closed the year of 2010 in a high note with over $37,000 net worth increase in the month of December. For the full year, our net worth grew a handsome $152K to a new height of ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2011-01-01T14:52:17-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6413_monthly_update_octobernovember_2010_1084868.shtml <p>(This is a bi-monthly update covering October and November of 2010.) Our net worth continues to build up after it breaks the million-dollar mark in August. In the last two months, we have grown our asset base by $17,000, largely thanks to savings from job income and healthy investment returns ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-12-03T15:47:49-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6412_monthly_update_september_2010_1067889_47223.shtml <p>Our net worth took a great leap forward in September, thanks to the bull run in the stock market and a lower-than-expected tax on my annual cash bonus. With the September monthly gain of over $47k, the largest in three years, we have grown our assets by almost $100,000 since ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-10-05T20:07:00-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6411_monthly_update_august_2010_1020665_34678.shtml <p>Every August, our net worth will predictably jump up since it is when the annual cash bonus is announced and annual stock grants are vested. This year is no exception. A handsome bonus and a batch of new vesting activities pushed our month-end tally by over $34,000 to a new ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-09-17T14:34:20-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6410_monthly_update_july_2010_985987_24773.shtml <p>a nice rebound of $25k in July and ended the month at $986k. The July rebound is certainly nice, but with 58% of our portfolio parked in various money market accounts, we will be happier if the market will make a (big) correction so we can commit more capital to ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-08-02T23:55:33-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6409_monthly_update_june_2010_961214_4421.shtml <p>Our net worth retreated $4,421, or 0.5% in the month of June. In particular, our employee stock option account extended its distressed journey -- it has lost 75% of its value since the beginning of the year. Conversely, our investment overall fared well, led by a 13% surge in Berkshire ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-07-09T16:21:34-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6408_monthly_update_may_2010_965329_45686.shtml <p>The renewed global economic uncertainty and ensuing stock market "correction" dealt a big blow to our portfolio. Our net worth retreated to 6-figure with a monthly drop of 4.5%. Most damage was done to our vested employee stock option positions, which behave disproportionately to the change in the underlying company ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-06-07T16:34:03-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6407_monthly_update_april_2010_1011016_6626.shtml <p>Thank you for all the nice words in response to my last post. Life is as usual even though our net worth is in 7 digits, but certainly the sense of achievement tastes good. As this uneventful month unfolds, our investment grew a bit and my employee stock option rose ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-05-09T23:03:43-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6406_finally_a_million.shtml <p>I started PFBlog seven years ago to document the journey toward a publicly-announced net worth goal of $1,000,000. With a starting tally of $47k in 2003, my wife and I were well prepared for a prolonged 13-year fight -- our realistic projection back then envisioned us boasting 7-figure net worth ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-04-07T23:49:33-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6403_1year_and_10year_mutual_fund_performance_figures_skewed.shtml <p>This March conveniently marks both the one-year anniversary of the stock market trough during the Great Recession and the ten-year anniversary of the dot.com bubble peak. As such, the trailing 1-year and 10-year performance readings of all mutual funds just had a facelift. Morningstar gives us a timely reminder: For ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-03-12T00:46:28-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6404_bofa_put_an_end_to_overdraft_fee.shtml <p>More than one news outlets ( ">USA Today, WSJ, AP) reported that Bank of America will formally end its practice to charge overdraft fees that go as much as $35. Starting from June 19 for new customers and starting from August for existing customers, BofA will: 1) Disallow overdraft at ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 4. Banking mm 2010-03-10T01:16:24-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6402_shiller_vs_siegel.shtml <p>Wall Street Journal published a good article today discussed oppsing views of the market's prospects. What makes it interesting is the two heavyweight scholars that take drastically different sides: Robert Shiller as the bear and Jeremy Siegel as the bull. Prof. Shiller, whose book "Irrational Exuberance" correctly predicted the .com ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-03-08T19:17:49-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6401_warren_buffetts_2009_annual_letters_to_berkshire_shareholders.shtml <p>The Oracle's Annual Letter to Berkshire Shareholders is always a good read. Finally, I found some time during the weekend to go over the letter and the 2009 annual report. Owning 600 Class-B shares, I'm of course happy with the stock's performance and especially recent stock price spike. I've been ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-03-07T21:28:17-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6400_monthly_update_february_2010_984687_14331.shtml <p>Here comes the monthly tally time again. Our financial life has been uneventful lately. We continue to save about $3,000 a month, and the rest of our fate is governed by the financial market. For this month, the market lifted all boats and my portfolio included, bringing our net worth ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-03-03T20:38:52-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6399_a_price_hike_from_citi_and_one_less_customer.shtml <p>When the credit card overhaul was signed into law last year, many predicts that the banking industry will find new ways to replenish billions of lost revenue. Since then, this is becoming more and more of a reality, and it finally happened to me, even though I have a pristine ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 3. Credit mm 2010-03-02T18:57:57-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6398_monthly_update_january_2010_970356_452.shtml <p>If I can only add less than $500 to our net worth tally every month, it will take us another five years to reach the 7-figure milestone. On the other hand, the tiny improvement in January is not exactly bad, considering the brutal market condition. On the income side, we ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2010-02-05T17:54:33-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6397_fidelity_offers_795_commission_and_free_etf_trades.shtml <p>As reported by New York Times, Fidelity is lowering its online stock trading commission to $7.95 in response to Charles Schwab's earlier move of cutting commission to $8.95. In addition, Fidelity is upping the ante by aggressively competing in ETF trading as well. In fact, it is now offering free ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-02-05T02:17:47-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6396_losing_37_a_year_for_10_years_straight.shtml <p>Yes, the past decade of 2000s didn't treat investors well. If you invested in the DJIA, you lost 9% for the decade. A S&P 500 investor lost 24%. And a NASDAQ investor lost 44%, thanks to the fact that we started the decade at the height of the dot com ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-01-25T14:15:47-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6395_berkshire_hathaway_completed_50for1_split.shtml <p>I waked up this morning, and was surprised to find my net worth dropped by over 40 grand overnight. Yes, the broad market was down, but not to this magnitude! Are we back to the Lehman Brothers days? Then I realized what happened. January 21 was the date when the ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-01-21T22:51:06-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6394_income_tax_law_changes_in_2010.shtml <p>Our legislators in D.C. are determined to challenge everyone's intellectual capacity in handling ever-growing tax code every year. What will 2010 bring? TurboTax maker Intuit compiled a good list of the new tax code that will govern our tax life in 2010 (and future years). Among the changes, the most ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2010-01-11T19:10:37-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6393_maximizing_stock_option_value_the_tax_consequences.shtml <p>(This is the third installment of the employee stock option (ESOP) discussion. Please refer to Part 1 and Part 2 for the context of the discussion.) As we concluded in Part 2, if you are considering to exercise your employee stock option (ESOP) today, it is always a better idea ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2010-01-11T01:03:21-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6392_morningstar_announced_fund_managers_of_the_year_2009.shtml <p>Mutual fund rating firm Morningstar is announcing the recipients of the coveted "Fund Managers of the Year" award for 2009: Domestic Stock Bruce Berkowitz of Fairholme Fund (FAIRX) 2009 Return/Percentile Rank: 39.0%/9th International Stock The Team at American Funds EuroPacific Growth (AEPGX) (Stephen Bepler, Mark Denning, Robert W. Lovelace, Carl ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-01-08T00:55:42-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6391_writing_option_to_improve_option_value.shtml <p>Yesterday I shared that I'm working on the financial problem to maximize return on my soon-to-expire employee stock options. An outright sale is an easy path to choose, but does it make the most economic sense? One thing to note about stock option: it does not only bear value when ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-01-06T20:56:32-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6390_maximizing_the_value_of_expiring_employee_stock_options.shtml <p>Here comes the first financial challenge for the new decade: employee stock option. My employer has ceased to grant employee stock option (ESOP) since 2005, but I still have some stock options left from the old days, the most recent batch will expire in February 2011. With the underlying stock ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2010-01-06T01:46:51-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6389_net_worth_trend_0709.shtml <p>It's an awful long hiatus since I last updated my monthly net worth tracker. Admittedly, I fell prey of the psychological denial when the market crashed in 2008. For quite some time, I avoided reading my brokerage account statement and refused to watch CNBC. So I hunkered down. I wasn't ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2009-12-30T22:36:56-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6388_decades_winners_and_losers.shtml <p>At the turn of the decade, SmartMoney provided a sampler of the past decade's ">winners and losers in the domestic equity market. Some winners: Goldman Sachs Price per share on Dec. 31, 1999: $94.19 Price at Dec. 28 close: $163.76 | Net gain: 73.9% Caterpillar Price per share on Dec ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 9. Misc mm 2009-12-30T18:41:39-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6387_decade_of_progress.shtml <p>Another three days and we will be officially walking into the decade of 2010s! There are a lot to write about the decade of 2000-2009 -- or the "Aughts", if this is ">the right way to call it. In the mood of the holiday season, let me quickly summarizing what ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2009-12-28T21:50:31-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6386_how_much_are_credit_card_issuers_charging_merchants.shtml <p>Do you know why some small businesses refuse to take credit cards, and do you know why credit card companies can afford giving away 1% cash-back or even more when you swipe your card? Yes, your card issuers will charge any business you pay by credit card. But by how ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 3. Credit mm 2009-02-04T05:31:01-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6385_100_best_companies_to_work_for_2009_edition.shtml <p>Fortune magazine just released its 2009 installment of "100 Best Companies to Work For". Here are the top ten companies. 1. NetApp 2. Edward Jones 3. Boston Consulting 4. Google 5. Wegmans 6. Cisco 7. Genentech 8. Methodist Hospital 9. Goldman Sachs 10. Nugget Market And the link to the ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 9. Misc mm 2009-02-03T05:13:36-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6384_what_you_should_know_about_2008_individual_income_tax_returns.shtml <p>The cliché goes that there are only two things remain constant in this world: death and taxes. With this year's April 15 deadline approach, do you know some important tax law changes that might affect your individual income tax return? Below is a ">concise compilation from CCH CompleteTax of what ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2009-02-02T04:29:42-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6382_monthly_update_january_2009_796679_11654.shtml <p>We continued to live below our means and save a huge portion of our income. But even though our portfolio is only mildly exposed to equity investments, we still took a hit from worst market performance in any January since 1928. As a result, our net worth retreated 1.4% and ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2009-02-01T00:30:29-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6383_how_a_year_is_lost.shtml <p>As a farewell bid to 2008, I compiled a full reconciliation table of the investment gains and losses in the unfortunate year of 2008. Technical Notes: - Purchase = Total money paid to acquire additional stock or mutual fund shares, including commission. - Sale = Net proceeds from selling stock ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2009-01-31T22:42:11-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6381_investment_plan_2009_part_1_the_macroeconomic_assessments.shtml <p>For a long time, I had been rather sporadic in managing my investments, picking up a fancy stock today, and jumping into another mutual fund the next day. Obviously the approach was proven wrong in 2008. So my new year's wish: more rigor in managing my financials. After all, although ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2009-01-20T21:35:17-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6380_what_is_the_white_house_worth_in_the_market.shtml <p>Can you put a price tag on the White House? Of course, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will never be put to the market, but the online real estate site Zillow.com decides to make some timely noise now that the new First Family only needs to wait for another 10 days to ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 2. Car & Home mm 2009-01-10T15:51:14-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6379_why_did_i_sell_all_my_stock_and_not.shtml <p>My stock picking days are finally over, for now. Back in April 2003, I bought my first stock -- Pre Paid Legal Service (PPD). Over the six and half years since, I bought a total of 33 stocks. As late as May, I was sitting on almost quarter-a-million portfolio of ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2009-01-09T09:57:35-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6378_best_and_worst_performing_stock_markets_of_2008.shtml <p>How bad did the worldwide stock markets perform in 2008? Too bad that there is only one country with some positive gains. And comparing to the 94% plunge of Iceland stock market, we are truly blessed to "only" sustain 30%-plus loss in the States. Via BBC: The Best Performing Stock ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2009-01-07T23:05:12-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6377_free_credit_score_for_everyone.shtml <p>Isn't it good that when you wake up from hibernation, everything in the world is better? A good portion of personal finance planning is about credit management, and that usually involves you keep track of your credit report and credit score, so as to maintain a good credit record that ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 3. Credit mm 2009-01-03T16:40:04-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6376_the_1m_goal_revisited_should_i_take_risk.shtml <p>One of the few things that are long-lived at PFBlog is the $1M goal stated in the tag line. When I started PFBlog in 2003, my intention is to use the blog to track my progress to become a millionaire by the age of 40. It doesn't take long for ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2009-01-02T15:13:10-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6375_annual_update_2008_808333.shtml <p>It's time to face the moment of truth. After a lapse of six months (which all of us want to forget), let's pick up again the monthly ritual of reporting my net worth. Here comes our balance sheet at the end of the year: The worst market performance since 1930s ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2009-01-01T15:31:55-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6374_bye_bye_2008.shtml <p>2008 is finally around the corner now. What a busy year! Now 2008 will soon be a memory, I took the chance to write a final annual summary so the year will be remembered when I looked back decades from now. Family What's Good: My wife, my son and I ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-12-31T14:51:56-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6372_monthly_update_may_2008_885297_12932.shtml <p>While our portfolio barely made an inch, we continued to save a substantial part of our take-home pay and this ultimately drove home a 1.5% net worth addition in May. Should I feel good that Our net worth winning streak is finally extended to the third months? For the four ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-06-03T20:26:13-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6370_portfolio_update_may_2008_up_012.shtml <p>SUMMARY May is a pretty stable month for my portfolio in terms of absolute gains -- my stable of mutual funds, stocks and cash inched higher 0.12%. But on a relatively basis, my portfolio lagged the benchmark by 1.3% in this month. Certainly not a good month for relative performance ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-06-01T00:52:57-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6371_monthly_update_april_2008_872365_39068.shtml <p>Thanks to a nice comeback of the stock market, our net worth received a much needed boost of 4.7% in April. I hate to mention the fact that despite our continued hard work and savers' mentality, our nest egg is still lighter compared to the low 900's it fetched in ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-05-10T04:29:29-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6369_portfolio_update_april_2008_up_398.shtml <p>SUMMARY The market finally recovered some ground after five back-to-back monthly losses, and my portfolio benefitted from the market's sudden enthusiasm too with a nice gain of 3.98%, the largest monthly gain in a while. Since my portfolio is decidedly under-exposed compared to my benchmark, my monthly gain is dwarfed ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-05-08T06:27:29-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6368_a_215_refund.shtml <p>The workload surge in the last two months caused many slips in my life. Not only was I forced into a "sabbatical leave" from blogging, I didn't even notice that I have fallen behind on a monthly credit card payment. The card at issue is a Discover Miles card, which ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 3. Credit mm 2008-04-12T20:55:34-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6367_monthly_update_march_2008_833298_5976.shtml <p>The first month of net worth gain came rather late in 2008. Helped by continued strength in my day job and sideline business, our net worth edged up 0.7% in March. While we are $62,100 off where we started the year, we still increased our wealth by over $150,000 in ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-04-08T05:54:14-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6366_monthly_update_february_2008_827321_25287.shtml <p>It seems that our distance to the seven-figure net worth milestone only increased in the first 60 days of the year. With another 25 grand retreat in February on the heels of the $42,790 net worth decline in January, our net worth took a 7.6% nosedive so far this year ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-04-08T05:19:08-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6365_portfolio_update_march_2008_down_137.shtml <p>I'm back to PFBlog! I know it has been a long hiatus since the last time I posted, but the last couple of months hasn't been easy. I was asked to take over a billion dollar P&L that had been poorly run and turn it around. While PFBlog is always ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-04-06T22:49:41-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6364_portfolio_update_february_down_278.shtml <p>SUMMARY $54,134 is a big amount to lose in a single month, and it doesn't make life any easier when it comes immediately after another $60,000-down month. Most of the damage is done by the untimely Microsoft bid for Yahoo! The bid, which was made public in the first day ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-04-06T22:46:12-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6363_morningstar_fund_manager_of_the_year_2007.shtml <p>Earlier this month, Morningstar announced the winners of Fund Manager of the Year award for the past year. Here are the winners: Domestic-Stock Manager of the Year: Will Danoff, Fidelity Contrafund and Fidelity Advisor New Insights International-Stock Managers of the Year: Hakan Castegren and Northern Cross Team, Harbor International Fixed-Income ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-02-12T03:16:31-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6362_monthly_update_january_2008_852608_42790.shtml <p>Suffering the biggest-ever loss in our portfolio -- a total of $60,000 -- our net worth took a nosedive again in January. That is, the second month in red in the last three months. For the month, our net worth declined by 4.8%, or over $42,000. I would be lying ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-02-09T14:02:24-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6361_portfolio_update_january_2008_down_302.shtml <p>SUMMARY With the S&P 500 dropped more than 6% and the international market performed no better, January sees perhaps the most brutal start of the year in recent memory. For three months in a row now, my portfolio lost money. This time, for a total of 60 grand in one ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-02-07T15:49:37-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6360_the_unfamiliar_names_among_the_worlds_five_richest_people.shtml <p>Back in August, I noted in this blog that Bill Gates was replaced my Mexican tycoon Carlos Slim as the world's richest person. Although both Mr. Gates and Mr. Slim have seen their stocks appreciated lately, they are now dwarfed by a new name from India. According to The Boston ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 9. Misc mm 2008-01-15T22:07:44-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6359_portfolio_review_2008_part_1_where_is_the_alpha.shtml <p>Yesterday I shared my grand plan to thoroughly review my portfolio management again in 2008. My first stop is to drill down to my 2007 results, and understand where the ">benchmark-beating results come from. Yes, I beat my benchmark index by 1.77%, and that's what is called alpha in portfolio ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-01-14T14:54:50-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6358_portfolio_review_2008_the_introduction.shtml <p>I first realized that the game rules of my personal finance journey have permanently changed back in the summer of 2006. First, one day I woke up in the morning and found out my portfolio was worth half a million. Then, more frequently, my portfolio started to generate five-figure monthly ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-01-13T18:52:38-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6357_20082010_the_upcoming_golden_age_for_investors_in_low_tax_brackets.shtml <p>Our generations of lawmakers truly don't want to make our financial life easy, and that's why every year there are a long list of tax rule changes that affect everyone's life. To this end, Tom Herman, the tax columnist at the Wall Street Journal, provided a great summary of major ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 7. Taxes mm 2008-01-12T11:19:11-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6356_2008_financial_goals.shtml <p>Starting in 2004, I have always published my annual financial goals at the beginning of each year, and reviewed the result when the year wrapped up. It is a great practice that allows me to keep a record and learn from past experience. Having spent most of my December to ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 1. My Progress mm 2008-01-11T02:45:30-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6355_how_much_will_you_marry_for.shtml <p>Robert Frank's column The Wealth Report at the Journal is all about the rich people's financial life, or anything related to the riches. You will read about how the riches use MySpace-like portals to get connected, how someone can have an A-380 as a private jet, and what the truly ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 9. Misc mm 2008-01-10T00:47:10-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6354_whats_my_total_investment_cost_in_2007.shtml <p>I started to use personal finance software like Microsoft Money to track my finance as early as 1998, but admittedly I have a broken track record -- in my first few attempts to gain control to my finance, I was always too lazy to keep doing the bookkeeping after a ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 6. Investing mm 2008-01-09T01:44:04-08:00 http://www.pfblog.com/archives/6353_supercharge_your_frequent_flier_mileage_account_by_applying_for_cobranded_credit_card.shtml <p>I am a frequent traveler and I love to collect miles. Over the years, I have been using these miles to bring the family to many nice places with reward tickets. It is a bit addictive if you love to travel: the more you travel, the more free tickets you ...</p><p><p>This post comes from <a href="http://www.pfblog.com/" target="_blank">PFBlog.com, The Best Personal Finance Blog </a>.

]]> 3. Credit mm 2008-01-08T03:26:39-08:00