Assets:
Cash - $72.00
Banking - $11,427.73
Savings bonds - $5,054.00
401k (vested) - $8,578.53
Roth IRA - $10,824.69
529 - $3,923.89
Brokerage - $136.02
ESPP - $962.88
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $1662.97
Rent (outstanding checks) - $2650.00
Net Worth: $36,666.77
-10.6% change since last month
==
Ouch. Quite a rough month here on paper... the essential collapse of the financial market has taken a large chunk out of my retirement & 529 savings, and my company stock ESPP shares have also tanked (sure wishing right about now that I had just paid the exorbitant fees to sell them directly weeks ago!)
In addition, my expenses were quite high. I am moving this month, which is a very exciting event for me personally, but also means I am experiencing such joys as paying overlapping rent and security deposits, and am probably in for a bit more still (extra fuel costs, new furniture & household items). I also paid my 6 month car insurance premium and bought a new laptop this month, further adding to the carnage.
Seeing these numbers is definitely hard to swallow, but I am trying to remain calm and remind myself that these are only paper losses for now and that my ongoing expenses will be much lower after I am fully moved in.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Monday, September 1, 2008
Financial Update - September 2008
Assets:
Cash - $10.00
Banking - $10,237.72
Savings bonds - $5,036.00
401k (vested) - $8,825.07
Roth IRA - $11,956.68
529 - $4,117.92
Brokerage - $272.02
ESPP - $2286.84
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $696.72
Rent (outstanding check) - $1022.09
Net Worth: $41,023.44
+11.1% change since last month
==
Great news - my ESPP shares finally showed up, and the company stock has even gone up quite a bit since then! Unfortunately, selling the whole thing through the ESPP broker would slap me with a ~$150 transaction fee, which in my opinion is just ridiculous. I have heard that it's possible to transfer the shares to a discount broker though, which I will definitely be looking into.!
Cash - $10.00
Banking - $10,237.72
Savings bonds - $5,036.00
401k (vested) - $8,825.07
Roth IRA - $11,956.68
529 - $4,117.92
Brokerage - $272.02
ESPP - $2286.84
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $696.72
Rent (outstanding check) - $1022.09
Net Worth: $41,023.44
+11.1% change since last month
==
Great news - my ESPP shares finally showed up, and the company stock has even gone up quite a bit since then! Unfortunately, selling the whole thing through the ESPP broker would slap me with a ~$150 transaction fee, which in my opinion is just ridiculous. I have heard that it's possible to transfer the shares to a discount broker though, which I will definitely be looking into.!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Financial Update - August 2008
Assets:
Cash - $37.00
Banking - $9009.43
Savings bonds - $5,018.00
401k (vested) - $8,581.21
Roth IRA - $12,000.90
529 - $3,877.49
Brokerage - $228.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $838.71
Rent (outstanding check) - $985.84
Net Worth: $36,927.50
+5.6% change since last month
==
Markets about the same as when I posted last month, even after a pretty big rally yesterday. I have a pending Employee Stock Purchase Plan buy that should hit any day now though, so hopefully will see a reasonable bump from that for next month.
In other exciting news, interest has finally started to post on my iBond! Only $18.00 now, but it's very nice to see!
Cash - $37.00
Banking - $9009.43
Savings bonds - $5,018.00
401k (vested) - $8,581.21
Roth IRA - $12,000.90
529 - $3,877.49
Brokerage - $228.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $838.71
Rent (outstanding check) - $985.84
Net Worth: $36,927.50
+5.6% change since last month
==
Markets about the same as when I posted last month, even after a pretty big rally yesterday. I have a pending Employee Stock Purchase Plan buy that should hit any day now though, so hopefully will see a reasonable bump from that for next month.
In other exciting news, interest has finally started to post on my iBond! Only $18.00 now, but it's very nice to see!
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Financial Update - July 2008
Assets:
Cash - $18.00
Checks - $25.00
Banking - $8002.95
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $7,695.48
Roth IRA - $12,071.65
529 - $3,615.58
Brokerage - $202.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $684.89
Rent (outstanding check) - $943.86
Other (outstanding checks) - $30.00
Net Worth: $34,971.93
-0.5% change since last month
==
Ouch... pretty bad month for the markets; it's certainly painful to keep contributing to an account and still have the value drop!
In other news, this is the 3rd month after purchasing my iBond, which means that interest will start posting at the beginning of next month... definitely will be exciting to see!
Cash - $18.00
Checks - $25.00
Banking - $8002.95
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $7,695.48
Roth IRA - $12,071.65
529 - $3,615.58
Brokerage - $202.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $684.89
Rent (outstanding check) - $943.86
Other (outstanding checks) - $30.00
Net Worth: $34,971.93
-0.5% change since last month
==
Ouch... pretty bad month for the markets; it's certainly painful to keep contributing to an account and still have the value drop!
In other news, this is the 3rd month after purchasing my iBond, which means that interest will start posting at the beginning of next month... definitely will be exciting to see!
Monday, June 2, 2008
Financial Update - June 2008
Assets:
Cash - $13.00
Checks - $49.00
Banking - $7,240.51
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $7,717.79
Roth IRA - $13,044.46
529 - $3,694.38
Brokerage - $320.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $959.49
Rent (outstanding check) - $966.56
Net Worth: $35,153.11
+8.1% change since last month
==
Thanks to a mostly-rebounding market this month, my Roth IRA balance finally crept up past the sum of my contributions again, which is always nice to see. Though, my brokerage account isn't doing nearly so well - I've lost almost half of what I had put in!
Cash - $13.00
Checks - $49.00
Banking - $7,240.51
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $7,717.79
Roth IRA - $13,044.46
529 - $3,694.38
Brokerage - $320.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $959.49
Rent (outstanding check) - $966.56
Net Worth: $35,153.11
+8.1% change since last month
==
Thanks to a mostly-rebounding market this month, my Roth IRA balance finally crept up past the sum of my contributions again, which is always nice to see. Though, my brokerage account isn't doing nearly so well - I've lost almost half of what I had put in!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
I needed a budget!
One of my New Year resolutions for 2008 was to start keeping a monthly budget and tracking all of my expenditures for the year, beginning in February. This was quite a challenging goal for me, as I've never been able to keep up this type of constant commitment for long, as evidenced by the countless aborted journals, sporadically-updated blogs, and ruefully-abandoned exercise plans I've had in my life.
Thus, I'm very happy to report that, as of May 1, I've now kept up my budget and expense tracking for a full 3 months! It's a truly great feeling to know, not just guess or hope, that I'm spending less than I make and putting aside money for longer term goals. Also, the budgeting and expense recording is actually much easier and less time-consuming than I had originally thought - and after 3 months, has now become a habit.
I'm using a tool called You Need A Budget (YNAB) for the budgeting and tracking - basically a souped-up Excel sheet with some budgeting philosophies built-in. YNAB costs $20 for the basic version, but the built-in functionality has made the process much quicker and less painful - and thus easier to keep up! - than it could have been. However, a homemade Excel sheet or free pre-built tool will also get the job done. (One tool I have heard good things about is PearBudget, although I've never used it myself.)
For those who are fortunate enough to not be in debt or living paycheck-to-paycheck, maintaining a budget and keeping track of all expenditures may seem like overkill for a problem that doesn't exist. However, the process itself is invaluable as it forces me to actively think about and manage my finances, and take ownership of everything I make and spend. Since I know exactly where every dollar goes, it keeps me from ever feeling like my money just disappears. Plus, it gives me historical data of my spending patterns, and that should be really fun to play with for a numbers geek like me!
Thus, I'm very happy to report that, as of May 1, I've now kept up my budget and expense tracking for a full 3 months! It's a truly great feeling to know, not just guess or hope, that I'm spending less than I make and putting aside money for longer term goals. Also, the budgeting and expense recording is actually much easier and less time-consuming than I had originally thought - and after 3 months, has now become a habit.
I'm using a tool called You Need A Budget (YNAB) for the budgeting and tracking - basically a souped-up Excel sheet with some budgeting philosophies built-in. YNAB costs $20 for the basic version, but the built-in functionality has made the process much quicker and less painful - and thus easier to keep up! - than it could have been. However, a homemade Excel sheet or free pre-built tool will also get the job done. (One tool I have heard good things about is PearBudget, although I've never used it myself.)
For those who are fortunate enough to not be in debt or living paycheck-to-paycheck, maintaining a budget and keeping track of all expenditures may seem like overkill for a problem that doesn't exist. However, the process itself is invaluable as it forces me to actively think about and manage my finances, and take ownership of everything I make and spend. Since I know exactly where every dollar goes, it keeps me from ever feeling like my money just disappears. Plus, it gives me historical data of my spending patterns, and that should be really fun to play with for a numbers geek like me!
Thursday, May 1, 2008
Financial Update - May 2008
Assets:
Cash - $13.00
Banking - $5,501.52
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $6,955.23
Roth IRA - $12,832.21
529 - $3,376.40
Brokerage - $426.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $613.29
Rent (outstanding check) - $973.67
Net Worth: $32,517.42
+9.15% change since last month!
==
It was a very good month, thanks to the rebounding stock market and no big-ticket purchases. I was aiming to pass the $30k mark, so it's a great feeling to just blow by it with nary a glance.
My (measly) 401k company match for 2007 posted this month, but since I have only been here a year and a half, I am not yet vested in any of it! I've adjusted the 401k number this month to only show my vested balance.
Also, my much-anticipated I bonds purchase (electronic, via TreasuryDirect) went off smoothly on the 29th. Although the annual limit is $10k, I only purchased the $5k of electronic bonds this time, both to avoid depleting all of my liquid funds in case of emergency, and also to still have the chance to purchase more in October if the rates remain high.
Checking the TreasuryDirect site today, I see that the new fixed rate for I bonds has dropped to 0.00% (wow!) so I'm glad to have locked in the 1.2% rate from before!
Cash - $13.00
Banking - $5,501.52
Savings bonds - $5,000.00
401k (vested) - $6,955.23
Roth IRA - $12,832.21
529 - $3,376.40
Brokerage - $426.02
Liabilities:
Credit Cards (PIF every month) - $613.29
Rent (outstanding check) - $973.67
Net Worth: $32,517.42
+9.15% change since last month!
==
It was a very good month, thanks to the rebounding stock market and no big-ticket purchases. I was aiming to pass the $30k mark, so it's a great feeling to just blow by it with nary a glance.
My (measly) 401k company match for 2007 posted this month, but since I have only been here a year and a half, I am not yet vested in any of it! I've adjusted the 401k number this month to only show my vested balance.
Also, my much-anticipated I bonds purchase (electronic, via TreasuryDirect) went off smoothly on the 29th. Although the annual limit is $10k, I only purchased the $5k of electronic bonds this time, both to avoid depleting all of my liquid funds in case of emergency, and also to still have the chance to purchase more in October if the rates remain high.
Checking the TreasuryDirect site today, I see that the new fixed rate for I bonds has dropped to 0.00% (wow!) so I'm glad to have locked in the 1.2% rate from before!
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