Weekly Update: Salad Table Edition

Thoughts on Money, Investing and Life

28 Mar

Posted in Weekly update by Roger, the Amateur Financier No Comments

I’m feeling rather manly. As I write this, I’ve just completed constructing a salad table for my girlfriend and her mother. My girlfriend got the idea from Martha Stewart, and I, um, ‘volunteered’ to help her out.

A salad table, for those who don’t know, is a wooden frame (similar to a table) with compartments lined with mesh underneath. The mesh keeps the soil in the compartments from falling out, while allowing water to pass through. This makes it ideal for growing plants, particularly vegetables, in situations where you don’t have much access to soil.

If you do build a salad table, I suggest you stick with the directions as given, and use screws. I built my table using nails, and it seems somewhat unsteady. It’s still stable enough to use, but screws would make it more secure.

Even with that caveat, I do feel proud of my accomplishment. It’s nice to able to make something with my own hands, and to have that item be put to good use. I’m especially glad, as I had never heard of a salad table before, so it’s been a learning experience all around.

Onto my finances:

Offline Savings

PNC (Checking Account) $ 100 -$1229
Susquehanna (CD) $ 2542 +$0

Online Savings

ING Direct (Checking) $ 55 +$0
ING Direct (Savings) $ 1118 -$220
ING Direct (Orange CD) $ 1016 +$0
HSBC Direct (Savings) $ 23 +$0
Smarty Pig (Savings) $ 1398 +$450

Total Savings $ 6252 -$1900

Investments

Vanguard (Roth IRA) $ 6935 +$281
- Small Cap Index (NAESX) $ 3470 +$144
- High Dividend Yield (VHDYX) $ 2917 +$121
- Foreign Total Market (VGTSX) $ 547 +$15

Share builder (ETFs) $ 2948 +$177
- Total US Market (TMW) $ 960 +$55
- Extended Market (VXF) $ 811 +$55
- Total Foreign (VEU) $ 575 +$25
- Small Cap Value (VBR) $ 277 +$21
- Emerging Markets (VWO) $ 324 +$20

Other Investments

Lending Club $47 +$47
Vanguard (Money Market) $ 901 +$0

Total Investments $ 10831 +$1406

Total Assets $ 17,083 -$494

Debts

MasterCard (JCPenney) ($ 28 ) +$0
American Express ($ 813) +$161

Student Loans ($ 11,882) -$8

Total Debts ($ 12,723) -$169

Net Worth $ 4360 -$663

I shifted the organization of my investments and savings around. I’ve also added the funds I’ve had in Lending Club to my investment list. This arrangement more accurately reflects how I actually view my accounts, and should help me to monitor things more readily. There’ll be more changes next month, as I’m closing out my two CDs and reinvesting the money.