Archives for Net Worth Update category
1
Mar
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Wow, February went by fast, didn’t it? I suppose this is to be expected, since it is the shortest month, but dang, twenty-eight days never seemed to move so quickly. It’s probably a sign that I’m getting old; when I was younger, it seemed to take forever for each day to go by, let alone an entire month.
I suppose this is part of growing older, partially because it puts time into perspective, and partially because we inevitably get busier. Yes, the carefree days of youth are long since past, and even when I’m between jobs, there is inevitably so much to be done. In fact, it seems like I’m even busier now; looking for jobs is nearly a full-time job itself, to say nothing of trying to keep my blog running, doing chores around the house (I’m the official dishwasher and dog walker at home, among other things) and doing other hobbies. Pretty soon, the whole day is gone. Plus, apparently the day is literally getting shorter; NASA notes that the recent earthquake in Chile actually shifted the Earth’s axis, shortening the day.
Alas, such is life, I suppose. We have to adapt to whatever life throws our way, even shorter days and more work to be crammed into them. With that out of the way, let’s get to the real fun; it’s time to go over how my financial situation has changed in the last month:
Money-wise, February was pretty good; I increased my net worth a bit, decreased my outstanding debt a little (although, since I pay off my credit cards each month, this means I spent nearly as much in February as I did in January, when I spent more than I was planning to spend), and my investments did alright overall.
You’ll also notice an interesting addition on the bottom of my net worth chart. Since I joined the Financial Samurai Alexa Challenge last month, I thought it might be fun (and informative) to start keeping track of my Alexa ranking right along with my net worth. In the course of a month (actually, less than a month; the starting number was taken on February 5th, and of course, February is the shortest month) my ranking jumped up more than 100,000 ranks, putting my humble little blog solidly in the top half-million websites IN THE WORLD!
Most incredibly, more than half of the gain occurred over this past weekend; I went from 515,000 on Friday to 480,000 on Saturday to 460,000 on Sunday. I’m not sure what exactly what made this weekend so special, although my post on death taxes brought out more responses than I usually see. A few more weekends like that, and I’ll make my goal of 200,000 by July 4th easily. Banzai!
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31
Jan
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Well, it’s the end of January already. Funny, I’m still having trouble remembering to put ‘2010′ on my checks rather than ‘2009′, and already the new year is more than 1/12th over. Is there anyway we can, as a society, call a redo and turn the clocks back to January 1st? I can’t be the only one who could use a whole new January just to get their act together.
Well, I suppose getting a replay on the year is very unlikely. I’ll just have to keep moving ahead, trying to get my finances in shape as best I can as I travel forward in time. While this year certainly gotten off to the best start, I have faith that things will improve in the near future. Call it optimism, call it faith, call it pure hope, but I have the feeling that February’s going to be a good month. If not, I’ll have to redouble my efforts into my time machine project.
Alright, enough of my optimism; it’s time to look at my finances:
So, not one of my best weeks; with the end of the month coming up, I’ve been spending quite a bit to cover various bills, which did not make the American Express happy. Add in investments falling (in spite of adding over four hundred dollars to my Roth IRA, my account showed a net loss this week), and it’s been a rough week. Still, my optimism remains intact. Come on February; I’m ready for a new month to come!
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24
Jan
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Well, I made a mistake this past one, one that could cost me a pretty penny. I didn’t pay my American Express bill on time this month. Unfortunately, with all the trouble I had with getting unemployment benefits, I didn’t schedule a payment for Amex when it closed for December, and didn’t think to double check this month. I realized my mistake this Saturday (when the payment was due on Thursday), paid the bill, and had the payment credited to my account.
Well, today, I re-checked my account, and I was both charged a fee, and credited an equal amount to my account. I’m not entirely sure what happened; I was expecting (and prepared to pay) a fee because of my mistake, but perhaps because it was my first time failing to pay on time and because I corrected the situation within two days, they gave me a pass this time. If so, I’m thankful, and will have to try even harder to prevent this event in the future.
In either event, I’m taking the initiative and setting up automatic payments for my credit cards (and will see if I can do so with my student loans, as well). I’m also making notes on my net worth table to keep track of which automated payments are scheduled to be paid, so I can add any other payments that are needed. So, with all that in mind, let’s see where my finances stand this month:
It was a bad week for my investments, which got hammered. That went a long way to dragging my net worth down, but hopefully the markets will pick back up soon. Until next week, here’s to an increasing net worth (and no stupid credit card mistakes) for everyone reading!
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16
Jan
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
One of the things that happens when you lose your job is that you start to consider the next step you take in your life. You think about what you really want to do, and whether you are on the path to achieve your goals. You ask questions about where you wish to be in life and what you want to do in the future.
After doing much of this sort of soul searching, I’ve decided that I should go back to grad school and get my Master’s degree (and possibly a Ph.D., eventually). Besides opening more doors to me in my field (in biochemistry and similar fields, I’ve noticed that an advanced degree can easily substitute for experience when applying for a job), it’s also a major requirement for becoming a professor, which is something I’ve wanted to do for quite a long time (ever since I noticed a fondness for teaching when helping my classmates during my undergraduate career).
In order to do this, I need to get into graduate school, and to do that, my first step is going to be studying for and taking the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). So, if am not around quite as much on everyone else’s blog in the following few weeks, don’t think that I’ve gone off a partyin’; more likely, I’m spending my spare time studying up on the GRE. But for now, let’s get onto the fun of going over my finances (I can hear the joy in your voice at the thought):
Not too much to report; I’ve settled my investment shifting in my Roth account, so now I’ll be able to just track my progress. After reading some of the commentary from Financial Samurai, I’ve decided against converting my 401(k) to a Roth; instead, I think I’ll just roll it over to a traditional IRA, and try to diversify my retirement accounts a bit (it’s good to be prepared for whatever tax changes the future might bring). I need to cut down on my spending even more; but other than that, not too much wrong with this picture, I’m happy to say.
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9
Jan
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Sorry to quote David Bowie, but is seemed pertinent to my net worth update this week. With the coming of the new year, I’ve been doing what I can to get my finances better organized. As with any type of major clean up project, though, things are going to get messier before they get cleaner.
Take my investments, for example. I’m currently in the process of selling some funds and buying others in my Roth in order to get my allocation to my desired levels. I’m also trying to roll over my 401(k) into my Roth, although going from a pre-tax account to a post-tax account always involves quite a bit of paperwork (as well as plenty of money in taxes). Hopefully, by the end of the month (or by the end of February, at the latest), I’ll have everything consolidated and close to my desired allocations. Until then, it’s going to be a bit of a mess with my investment portfolio.
My savings accuounts is a much different (and happier) story. As you might tell from the two thousand plus dollar increase to my savings, I have gotten my unemployment benefits paid out, as well as past benefits, which have swelled my accounts. For the first time since I lost my job, I’m not worried about meeting my bills, and have enough money to start building my emergency fund back up and continue my investment plans. It’s always nice to have some breathing room.
Spending is an uglier picture, although it’s not as bad as it might seem. I’ve spent quite a lot on my American Express this last week, but many of the expenses are one time things (books for me, books for Sondra, gifts for my mother and her sister) or were things that I put on my card but was compensated for with cash (spending on groceries that Sondra and I split, for example). As a result, while I added much more to my card than I was planning, I’m pretty confident I’ll be more frugal in the near future.
Anyway, enough about my budget, let’s get to the meat of my personal finances:
Overall, not too bad; a nice boost to my net worth, one that I hope I can maintain over the next several months. But I’m happy for now.
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2
Jan
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
I discovered something good and uplifting yesterday when I called to check on my unemployment filling status. Apparently, while I wasn’t looking, I was approved to receive unemployment benefits! It’s not a cure all for my current lack of employment; I only have six months worth of benefits before I stop receiving any money, and even during those six months, I’m getting less than I would from working full time at my previous position. But still, it gives me several months where I don’t have to worry about tapping my investments or spending absolutely nothing in order to make ends meet.
All of that said, however, my new good fortune is not reflected in this week’s net worth update; the earliest I think I will get the money is on Monday. I’m trying not to count my chickens before they hatch, as far as unemployment benefits are concerned, since this whole ordeal has taught me that forces beyond my control can drastically affect how much I can get in terms of benefits. Better to treat it as money I’m likely to get rather than money I already have. On that cheery note, let’s go to the tape to see where exactly my finances stand:
So, not too bad; I managed to keep my spending to a minimum (helped by a storm that’s kept me home-bound most of this week), and my investments didn’t do half bad. If I can keep my spending low, I should be able to start putting money away again when (or if) I start to get unemployment benefits again, which will be a nice change from recent days.
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27
Dec
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
I have a problem. It seems that the Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation Bureau is in the process of reviewing my claim to verify if it is legitimate. While I remain confident that I will be getting unemployment benefits in the not too distant future, this is proving to be a bit of sticky situation, as I am not receiving any benefits during the review period (and may not receive anything, if they decide I’m ineligible). I have been spending money as if the money I would be getting from unemployment was already in my account, not bothering to cut my spending to be more in line with my significantly reduced earnings.
In a nutshell, I’m running out of money. My liquid savings are rapidly being depleted, as I dip further and further into the money I have in order to cover things like credit card bills, rent and regular spending. While technically this is the whole point for this saved money (most of the cash I’ve been using had been explicitly set aside as my emergency fund), my spending has been much higher during the past two months than it really should have been, even taking the holiday season into account. I will do everything in my power to cut down my spending, but unfortunately I have to deal with my spending over the past two months without the money I was expecting to receive.
This week’s report is surprisingly upbeat, given all of what I’ve just told you; in the next few weeks, as various bills and other expenses come due, the red ink will start to spread. (Unless, of course, the issues with unemployment get resolved soon and in my favor, in which case I’ll have a lot more breathing room to get my financial boat in order.) With that understood, let’s go to the table:
I realize that all of this not the sort of thing you expect (or hope) to hear from someone writing a personal finance blog, but I felt it was important to point out where I currently stand, financially. Hopefully, if nothing else, there can be a learning experience from my troubles, and I can serve as an object lesson about what NOT to do when you are awaiting unemployment benefits. In any event, thanks for reading, and I hope I can keep providing interesting, solid information here on the Amateur Financier. Thanks for reading!
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20
Dec
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Well, well, well, it’s nearly the end of the year, and that means it’s time to start planning for next year. As part of getting my finances and my blog ready for the coming new year, I’m in the process of making some changes. That includes here on the Amateur Financier.
Some of the first changes I’m making are on my net worth statements, like the very one you’re reading through now. I’ve added two rows of data that should help to clarify my current financial standing. First, I’ve added a ‘Total Investments’ row to my investment list (look at the bottom of the first box below). Both my retirement accounts and non-retirement accounts are quite similar in how I treat them (that is, I don’t intend to pull any money out of them until I reach retirement), so why not look at them in aggregate?
The second addition is ‘Available Funds’, which is my saving minus my debts. Basically, if I cashed out all my savings accounts and used the proceeds to pay off my current debts, the ‘Available Funds’ total is my remaining cash (or currently, how much more I would still owe). If I can get that value positive, it’d be the functional equivalent of getting out of debt (to my mind, at least). You can call it my net worth, if you choose want to completely discount the value of my investments. Now, let’s see where exactly I stand financially:
Well, in a word, crud. Unfortunately, all the shopping I’ve had to do in the past week, as well as things like eating out, has really, really blown my budget out of the water this month. I’ll have to do my best to keep my spending in check in the new year, as well as specifically saving for Christmas (and possibly a major trip sometime in the summer, as we did this year). Definitely something I need to improve on in the future.
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12
Dec
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
It’s been a hard week for The Amateur Financier. Besides spending the middle of the week as sick as a dog (and having to make the six hour trek across Pennsylvania twice), I’ve also discovered that I had to refile for benefits from the Pennsylvania unemployment system. Not to get into all of the details in this post, but the short version is that it’s been a year since I was downsized from my job in 2008, and they were still paying me from that filing with the check they sent me two weeks ago. Unfortunately, now I’m stuck dealing with bureaucracy as the most expensive holiday of the year rapidly approaches.
There’s a lesson or two to be learned from all this: don’t count your chickens before they’re hatched. I had been assuming that I would get a biweekly check of seven hundred some dollars, and planned my saving (and more importantly, spending) accordingly. Now that there’s been a change in my situation, I need to change what I’m doing and try to spend much less. The other lesson is that the government can be fickle; even when you are owed money, there are any number of rules and regulations that you can run into which will affect how much you get, and when it makes it into your hands. Until you actually have the money in your hands, being sure to check on and follow up on government action is vital.
Anyway, enough of my travails with the Pennsylvania unemployment system; let’s see how my net worth is doing without the expected boost from an unemployment check:
Not too bad; my investments and savings stayed mostly flat, and it’s only spending that really knocked my net worth down. Luckily, though, I should be able to keep my spending more under control in the near (and distant) future. Until, that is, I have kids…*cue money flying away.*
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6
Dec
Posted in Net Worth Update by Roger |
Ah, the Christmas shopping season. I enjoy shopping to find the perfect gift for other people, although having to make up a list of things that I want is less enjoyable. Ever since I started making money on my own, I’ve just been able to buy whatever I wanted to without having to ask. It makes it troublesome to have to sit down, come up with an list, and try to get other people to get things for me.
So, now I need to figure out what I should add to my list of potential Christmas presents. I’ll have to find something that will be useful, fairly inexpensive, and easy to find during this Christmas rush. Frankly, I don’t know what to suggest to my friends and family. Maybe I’ll just comb through my Amazon wish list for some books I’ve hankering to read. Then, it’s back to shopping for other people!
On that note, let’s see how much expenses look, so I know how much I have available to spend:
Not too bad; my net worth declined, but it was also the start of the month, which means rent time. Frankly, if it weren’t for a stock market that’s still going strong, I wouldn’t be doing as good as I am right now. I’m pretty happy about the way things are going right now, financially, which is always a good place to be.
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