I mentioned last week that a friend is allowing her bridesmaids to select their own dresses for her August wedding. There are 7 or 8 little black dresses hanging in my spare bedroom, but I don’t love any of them. Two of them are ok - I’m keeping at least one for work, but I’ll […]
I just finished calculating my second quarter net worth, and I’m less than pleased with the numbers. As you can see, my net worth has actually decreased since first quarter end.
Here’s how my mid-year financials have shaped up:
Q1 & Q2 2008
12.30.07
3.31.08
6.31.08
$ ∆ QE
$ ∆ YE
Total Debt
268,162.17
265,553.60
263,747.75
-1,805.85
-4,414.42
Credit Card Debt
17,050.40
15,669.88
14,298.95
-1,370.93
-2,751.45
Savings
1,709.07
7,330.96
9,393.00
+2,062.04
+7,683.93
Net Worth
-40,517.00
-26,860.00
-31,928.00
-5,068.00
+8,589.00
There are a few of things going […]
“Retirement” seems to have a much different connotation than “financial independence” within the world of personal finance. In my opinion, a true “retirement” seems a long ways off, however, the goal of ”financial independence” seems to be within reach for most (especially the frugal among us) - but even after all of the debt is paid off and savings has […]
I don’t typically write reviews of other people’s articles, but I came across this New York Times piece by Ron Lieber today, and I feel that some of his points should be discussed. Mr. Lieber offers the five following basic financial principles:
1. Investing is Simple
The best way to score big points with me is to […]
If you’re nearing retirement age and panicking about the fact that you don’t have enough saved to enjoy a comfortable retirement, you’re not alone. Generally, those between the ages of 50 and 65 are in denial about how much they’ll really need to have saved to maintain their current lifestyle after they retire, and much […]
I am cheap (frugal?) about some of the strangest things. I haven’t wanted to pay for DSL because there are so many places (restaurants, coffee shops, parks) in my town where an enterprising blogger can get wi-fi for free. I was pretty resigned to the fact that I needed to leave the house if I […]
SmartyPig, the new savings tool with a social networking component, has utilized some interesting marketing tactics to create brand awareness. I’d be hard pressed to name a bank product developer or personal finance blogger who isn’t aware of the product (seems like every other blogger out there has done a $50 SmartyPig giveaway at some point in the past month). […]
Here are the “answers” to the acronym quiz.
If you want to sound like a banker or financial services professional, get to know these well. The trick is being able to use them without sounding like a complete jackass. I was actually in a meeting the other day and said, “I want to see the CBA […]
The first three months of 2008 have been kind to me. Things started out rough in January, but in mid-March I received my annual bonus as well as a nice little tax refund, so on the whole, this quarter has been a good one. Since the end of the year I have fully funded my […]
About a month ago I signed up for the beta version of Quizzle, Quicken Loans’ free financial aggregator that provides users a snapshot of their personal financial situation, including home value. Quicken Loans is providing consumer access to Quizzle free of charge as a way to become the “top-of-mind” mortgage lender and capture additional mortgage […]