Yup, for the first time in two years we've got credit card debt again.

But as you can probably guess, there is a reason for such silliness - I finally booked EUROTRIP! And I didn't want to dip into our cash savings ;)

Financially it's not that smart because we'll now be accruing a few dollars in interest fees, but I'm totally cool with that. I know myself well enough that if I just xfer cash from one spot to another I won't work as hard to get that money back. But if it's on our credit cards for all to see, you better BELIEVE we'll be focused to get rid of it ASAP! :) I don't recommend this for those who have trouble managing their cards, but for us it works. I know it's temporary and that it will be cleared away in 2-3 months, if not sooner.

That's the biggest difference in Feb's net worth update. The rest has to do with me throwing 90% of my paychecks into 401(k) and just waiting for it to hit. It's kinda off-balance right now and makes us look all spendy-spendy, but I assure you that's definitely NOT the case ;)

Net Worth break down: February, 2010

CASH SAVINGS (-$1,984.48): Still getting my $75 paychecks until I max out my 401(k) for the year! When your company matches 100% up to 100% of your contributions (up to the legal match), it tends to change the way you invest ;)

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Same $10,000 this month as it was last month, and the month before, and the month before that. I think we're rolling on 2 years of having this $10k fund, haha... The good thing about reaching your goal here is that you can then concentrate on all the others you've got brewing!

ROTH & TRADITIONAL IRAs ($373.40): Just the market doing its job here, we haven't increased any extra funding this year yet. We'll do that once the 401(k) is maxed out.

401(k)s ($2,624.50): Nice to see it up again! And one day soon it'll be even BIGGER once all my deposits hit (I can barely contain myself!). It's so crazy to me, though, that you can do absolutely nothing and your investments can ear $2.5k just like that. Of course, last month it lost $5k "just like that" but you get what I'm saying. Your money is out there working for you even while you sleep :)

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$75.00): A little more off the ol' car values, but nothing unexpected. MUCH better than back in the day when my SUV was losing $900 a month! Bleh... Here's where our car values stand right now:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,995.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $8,885.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARDS(-$2,480.20) : No longer at zero! But one day soon ;) As I mentioned in my summary up at the top, we put our 10-day Eurotrip package on our credit card instead of paying in all cash. We lose a little with the interest charges, but it'll motivate me a lot more knowing it's up there for everyone to see. (don't try this at home, kiddies...)

MORTGAGES (-$4.48): We stopped paying off principal to deal w/ the above, and have already paid $400 of it off! It doesn't bode well for this section of our net worth, but we'll be back to chip away at it soon enough. As for refinancing, we're still pretty much screwed on it. Here's the breakdown:

• Mortgage #1: $286,818.64 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,554.62 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

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*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars. And my excitement for Zoolander II

Labels: credit cards, net worth

Yo, what's going on stocks? Tired of the rally already?

It sucks going back like that, but I suppose it's gotta take a break some time ;) Have to take it like a man when most your money's in the market - all part of the game.

We had some decreases in other categories as well - not related to the stock market - but they can all be explained for ;) The one area I WAS pretty happy with was regarding our mortgages. While $160 towards our principal isn't a crap ton of money, it does decrease or future debt and nasty interest! I just wish I had the balls to throw in $400 or $500 a month, but you all know my 401k & Roth are my first priorities. Gotta hit that $1 million mark, baby!

January 2010 Net Worth break down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$346.05): Yup, we're starting to burn through a little cash now that I'm gearing up for 90% contributions to my 401(k). It doesn't accurately reflect yet into these calculations, but you'll be seeing some nice jumps in the near future ;) That also means, however, that I'll be pulling from my savings account every pay period for a while to "pay myself" until I max out and can start taking 100% paychecks again. I'm not bad ass enough to live off of $69 yet. Haha...

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Same $10,000 this month as it was last month, and the month before, and the month before that. In fact, I think we've had this $10k for almost a year and a half now :) Let's hope we keep it that way!

ROTH & Traditional IRAs (-$277.34): Same story here as with the 401k drop-ness. The markets are losing momentum again and taking the country's accounts down with it. Until the 401(k) is maxed and my savings gets a healthy does of cash injection again, we'll be holding tight on our IRAs. I DO plan on maxing out the Mrs and I's Roths this year, but it just won't get done until mid-to-later this year. One step at a time.

401(k)s (-$5,173.26): Down down down in a burnin' ring of fire! That's how Mr. Cash likes it anyways ;) But interestingly enough, as I write this up the market is on a rally and I'm seeing some nice increases! We'll see if it carries on throughout the month though. In the meantime, I'll be continuing to push 90% of my salary here so I can max out and get them as cheap as I hopefully can. Gotta get that employee match and hit my #1 goal for the year!

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$150.00): My Caddy's still alive! haha...I still have this red "scary" light on but I've been told it's "just" my suspension. I could get 'er fixed for a nice little sum, but I'm gonna see what happens if I don't :) If it gets bad I'll try and find a deal, but I really don't think it's going to last many more years anyways. I hope it does though!!! Love my baby. Here's where our car values stand right now (the decrease this month was from Toyota):

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,970.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $8,985.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARDS ($0.00): Still at Zero! I just really don't want to take this out of the equation as it makes me so damn happy looking at it. So we continue leaving it in for now...maybe I'll go crazy and put something on it! haha...only if it's a benz. Or a trip around the world.

MORTGAGES (-$162.98): Another excellent month knocking down some principal! We're still screwed w/ the refinancing option, but it doesn't mean we can't pay parts off bit by bit. Every dollar against the principal cuts down on your interest payments! Here's the breakdown:

• Mortgage #1: $286,818.64 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,559.10 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

Here's to a better February!

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*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars. And my excitement for Jersey Shore II.

Labels: net worth

A most excellent year ending in the $144k figure. Daddy like!

What a contrast from last year's December review when we were hovering around $64k. Pretty crazy how 1 year makes a difference, eh?

But as I've mentioned time and time again, consistently saving and sticking to your goals is all it takes! Well, that and the stock market cooperating, but we don't have control over that like we do our personal finances ;)

What I'm most excited about in 2010, though, is that we all have another chance to contribute to our 401(k)s and Roths! WOOHOO! Can we say Money, Money, Moneyyyyyy! I know not everyone cares for them like I do, but they really are the key to my success so far (well, that and not shopping, bringing in some side income, & getting rid of debt). Those two guys alone account for almost $40k in my savings - $16,500 401k contribution, $16,500 employer match, and $5,000 Roth. It may not be sexy in a general sense, but it sure is when you see your net worth increase like that! Hot girls like money, right?

December 2009 Net Worth break down:

CASH SAVINGS (+$2,592.31): Nothing much to say here except it was nice while it lasted! Haha... we've done an excellent job of increasing our extra cash in the past few months, but come next month it'll soon break even or possibly turn red. That's because I'm doing the whole Max out my 401(k) fast by contributing 90% of my salary for a while :) A while being when I a) run out of all this money saved up in my savings, or b) hit the $16,500 limit - whichever comes first. I'm not joking around this year, baby!

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): This will stay put @ $10,000 unless we need to dip into it at some point (which would suck, of course, but that's what it's there for). We have enough extras in our personal savings accounts as well we can hit first, but knowing there's $10k sitting there (earning interest) for a rainy day sure does feel good!

ROTH & Traditional IRAs (-$82.63): I'm not sure how we lost a little here, but no matter as we'll be pumping in more now that the new year has come around. Def $5k in my personal Roth, and then we'll see what we can do about upping the Mrs' too. We've already xfered over 2 accounts of hers into USAA (a Roth from PNC & a Traditional from UBS), so next on the list is to convert the Traditional into a Roth - which is a very cool change for this tax year! I'll be writing about it soon, but for now you should check out a recent article from the LA Times on converting.

401(k)s (+$5,367.51): No additional contributions on my behalf, BUT we did see a $500 jump in dividends, as well as a nice $4,600 in market increase. Come NEXT month though we'll be seeing some purrty numbers!!! I'll be contributing 90% of my salary again ;)

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$975.00): Well, my Caddy is now 17 years old and keeps on tickin'! I did see a weird light come on a few weeks back though, so I'm hoping all is kosher when I bring it in for a check this weekend. The idea of having car payments again blows! Here's where the values stand:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,970.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $9,135.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I charged on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt. Here's a post I did on the 4 steps to mastering your credit card too if you want to know how we keep ours paid off at $0 every month ;)

MORTGAGES (-$167.15): Another month of paying extra towards our principal! We still screwed with refinancing, but we do what we can to weather the storms and keep moving forward. Even an extra $20 or $30 cuts cuts down your interest payments! Here's how our mortgages line up:

• Mortgage #1: $286,884.69 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,656.03 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

And that wraps up all of 2009. Very, very pleased with how it came to a close, and excited to see how 2010 pans out too. I can't wait to say we're millionaires! That'll still be a good 10+ years away, but ya gotta start somewhere ;) Doesn't it seem like every year goes by faster and faster anyways? Now tell me - how did your finances round up for 2009? Hope you experienced awesomeness as well!

God Bless,

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*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars for 2010.
*** As well as my mohawk. Just kidding. (Or am I?)

Labels: net worth

I'll put an extra $7k in my pocket any day. And month, too.

As I mentioned in last month's update, we're pretty much on autopilot 'till the end of the year (when it's time to max out the 401(k) and Roth all over again). This is great financially, but perhaps a bit boring to read so my apologies in advance ;)

With most of you guys, the stock market pretty much controls the major changes these days - with the exception of us storing away as much cash as possible. We gotta start the new year off right, and nothing says stable like a nice pile of money ;) Although I was pretty excited we paid off over $250 of our mortgages for once! We've been slacking on that for a while now, so it's good to be back on track again. (We could obviously use more of the free cash to pay it down, but we're gonna hold off until more secure waters lie ahead. Which, if you think about it, is pretty conservative for such a risk taker, eh? I must be getting old. I do turn 30 this month!)

Here's how November's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (+$2,471.92): It's amazing how much more you bring in w/out those retirement deductions ;) As I explained above, we'll be sitting on a lot of this extra money for a while until it's time to start funding our retirement accounts again. And in 2010 we'll try and get Mrs Budgetsaresexy's Roth maxed out too! (she has no 401(k) while in grad school)

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): $10,000 still sitting in our money market account earning little by little. I'd list the interest amounts but we have other funds in the same account so it's all mixed in. Emergency Funds remain boring as can be, but my goodness do they come in handy when you need 'em!

ROTH IRAs (+$882.84): Since we're all maxed out, this increase is 100% up to the market so I can't claim any level of skill here ;) I will say that we've started the process of rolling over the wife's Roth IRA and TWO other IRAs into one main USAA account though! It's very exciting stuff, let me assure you. Especially when PNC bank (where 1 of her 3 accounts lie) like to xfer you into their voicemail during hours of operation - only to tell you later you can't access any of your info online since you only have one account! What if that one account "only" had $300k? Very frustrating & annoying, but it'll soon be all over and back at home with our other accounts. Thank you for being wonderful USAA!!!

401(k)s (+$3,966.35): $0.00 deposited, $0.00 matched, and 100% up to the markets. I'm still debating on how to best max it out for next year (do we divide it up into 24 pieces? frontload it all in the beginning?) but it's all a good problem to have. The nice part here is having the OPTION to contribute at my own choice since we're storing away so much cash right now. If I do decide to go down crazy land again @ 90% contributions, I'll have enough money to pay all the bills & survive in the meantime ;) It's all about the options my friends!

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$450.00): I much prefer this "normal" valuation over my latest updates of +$250 and +$50 (so weird?!). It all feels back on track now. haha...and a huge shout out to my Caddy! I hope you last me many a years my friend - freakin' love pimping you around.

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,045.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,035.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I charged on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt.

MORTGAGES (-$260.83): No refinancing anytime soon, but we're back to paying off more every month! I know one in a row doesn't seem like much (unless you're the Redskins- hah!) but every last penny you apply to debt really does save you lots more down the road - even just $25. Not only that, but getting into the rythm can help you stay motivated and on track too, so I'm pretty happy w/ my one in a row right now ;) Here's how both our mortgages line up:

• Mortgage #1: $286,950.36 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,757.51 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

That's it for this month, friends. I hope you guys are doing well too! Any major ups or downs going on? Anything we can help out with? You're welcome to holler any time, we gotta do what we can to back each other up ;) Here's to a great month of family time and positive cash flow!

God Bless,

-----------------
*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars.
*** As well as my mohawk. Just kidding.

Labels: net worth

Nothing crazy exciting to report, but we're moving along nicely.

October's net worth grew an extra $4.5k and I'm happy as a clam :) We had a few change ups this month (which I'll get into during the breakdowns) but we're pretty much on auto pilot.

2+ years ago this graph would be all over the place, so it's nice to be financially settled these days. In fact, this is probably the most secure I've ever felt. I'd be even more so without the house, but we always need something to work on, right?

It's just nice to know that game plans DO work out if you stick with it. Some months are easier than others, and some just sucks balls, but if you play to win it's just a matter of time until you get there :)

Here's how October's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (+$3,183.60): Always a fan of more cash! The bump this month was due to the Mrs. getting paid for her TA gig. She gets it in chunks every 4-6 months I want to say, and then nothing in between. So I'm sure she's squirreling it away for this financial (and literal) winter ;) I don't foresee another spike like this anytime soon.

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our money market is still holding onto this $10k as normal. I'm pretty sure there's a better place to put it with the lack of high yield interest going on, but then again we prefer to keep it pretty liquid "just in case." Emergency Funds are boring, but they sure are good for the mind!

ROTH IRAs (+$2,540.44): While I did max out my Roth & 401(k) last month, most of this comes from a not-as-sexy reason ;) The Mrs. was forced to convert over her old 401(k) from her previous employer into a Traditional IRA - so we now have a surge here, and a decrease in the 401(k) dept. And I should probably clarify "forced to convert" too. There were a few diff. options for her to take, but we slacked a bit (*gasp!*) and we went with the Traditional until we formulate a better game plan. Eventually, we'll probably throw all her accounts into one main retirement fund for her so it's easier to track, but we'd like to check in with a financial planner first.

401(k)s (-$1,265.71): The last 401(k) deposit of $4,970 ($2,485 contribution, $2,485 match) hit in October and we're nice & 100% maxed out now! It doesn't look all that fun since $2k of the Mrs. was converted into the IRA as already mentioned, AND the stock market bit off $4,400 in the last trading days, but J's a happy man. Pumping this fund really is one of the best things you can do, so if possible go for it! And if you can't, try poking around an IRA instead.

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (+$50.00): Last month we were "up" $275, and now $50? I don't buy it, but if I were to sell any of these cars today you better believe I'd list it at the KBB price :) They're both in pretty decent shape, esp the Caddy for its age, but for now we're holding onto them since they're running great (even if I DO get tempted by that damn Benz dealership down the street!). Here's their breakdown:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,045.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,485.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I charged on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt.

MORTGAGES (-$9.61): We're still interested in refinancing our first mortgage, but unfortunately we're still too under water to do anything right now. And sadly enough we're still slacking on the extra payments every month to knock it down even more. We were going strong for a good 4-5 months there, but our "house budget" keeps going over so I have to tighten up the ship again and see where our problems lie ;) Once we get that back on track, we'll start throwing an extra $100-$200 against it again. For now, here's how our mortgages are lining up:

• Mortgage #1: $287,150.36 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,818.34 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

Another month, another happy report! You all do good as well? I hope so. Tracking your money and watching it grow (or decline) really keeps you on top of things. It's awesome when you can look back and compare it to where you were a year ago :) If you haven't been tracking it yet, find a free spreadsheet or site & start! You're the only one watching over your money.

God Bless,

-----------------
*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars.

Labels: net worth

I'll take 6 G's any month :) Or any increase for that matter.

Not as sexy as a previous month's $27k power charge , but it's nice having 100% of our money invested or saved once and for all (we had some outstanding issues that have since been taken care of).

And now that I've maxed out both my Roth AND 401(k), it's all up to the markets 'till the new year starts! The only category that should continue to grow by my own doings are our cash savings. I'll be storing away as much cash as possible for the rest of the year, getting our padding back up, and then it'll be back to retirement investing all over again ;) I don't intend to bring home *that* much more every month, but needless to say my reserves aren't where they used to be after all those 10% paychecks the past cple months...

As always though, these monthly updates just go to show that healthy management and patience goes a long way! As you can see from the newer graph up on the top right corner it's been a nice momentum straight into the $100k's. There's no way we could have done all that by dicking around and spending freely - it's all about finding that groove.

Here's how September's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (+$323.57): My "regular" paychecks hit mid-month, so we're now back up to positive territory here - even WITH our drop in cash reserves by $1100 every month (to "pay" for the Mrs. part of our mortgage/house stuff while in Grad School). Eventually, this Pay it Forward money will dry up and force us to tighten up even more. But for now we enjoy what the Big Man upstairs has provided us :)

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still sleeping away in our Money Market account. There are some other funds mixed in there (like that pay-it-forward $ I just mentioned) so I can't tell how much interest our Emergency Fund is gaining, but it's surely adding up. At the end of the year I'll have to take another look at this $10k number and see if it's still the right amount....me thinks we may have to up it.

ROTH IRAs (+$387.37): My Roth IRA is maxed out and just flowing with the economic waters...It'll be left alone until 2010 when I can begin investing again. I owe all my success here to Operation Buffett. Well, him and the recent surge in markets ;)

401(k)s (+$5,406.85): We're all maxed out! One more deposit will hit in October, but other than that it's time to take a break and feel happy about hitting the $16.5k mark early this year. This is my 3rd year in a row maxing it, but the first doing it so early. Pumping this fund really is one of the best things you can do, so if possible go for it! It's one thing I preach AND actually do myself. haha...

SAVINGS BONDS ($0.00): Deleted from net worth since cashing in all my bonds...

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (+$275.00): Don't even ASK me how this came about...either I f'd up while tracking them (probably the case), or there's a new demand for 16 y/o Cadillacs ;) Here's how both our cars break down in value:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,045.00
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,435.00
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt lined up. I'll get rid of this category one day...

MORTGAGES (-$4.80): We'd love to refinance our first mortgage, but unfortunately we're still too under water to get anywhere with it. We've also been slacking on paying extra towards them the past couple of months, which I really blame on not doing a good job managing our "house budget" (where we get this extra money to apply to them). Some recent traveling and beer store splurges have eaten it away I'm afraid...I'll have to get back on that. Here's the breakdown of both our mortgages:

• Mortgage #1: $287,150.36 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,808.73 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

There you have it. Another month come and gone. How did September treat you all? Anything juicy to report? I hope so, I could use a cool story this morning :) Been a bit hectic at work and haven't been able to catch up with some of you as much as I've liked. So here's to a productive and relaxing October! May your pockets be full of coin, and your mouths stuffed with muffins.

God Bless,

-----------------
*My budget has now been updated.
**And so have my sidebars.

Labels: net worth

We're back to automation - and at the mercy of the markets ;)

The recent $18k spikes of 401(k) were incredibly exciting while it lasted, but like all things "normalcy" must come back and be embraced to keep the momentum going.

And you know what? I'm totally fine with that (as long as normalcy means steady increases every month!). I'm ready to start padding our cash reserves back up and getting REAL paychecks again.

Seriously, it's crazy hard to keep doing your thing when you see 2 week paychecks coming out to $69. If my calculations are correct, my 401(k) should be maxed out any day and I'll no longer need to contribute to my retirement funds for 2009 (my Roth IRA is already maxed out). This means my paychecks are back to $2400+!!! For the first time in a year and a half too - I can't even remember what that's like but I'm excited to find out ;)

Here's how August's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$496.63): Most of this still has to do with my wonky paychecks, but even so I'm totally fine with it. Every month we take out $1100 in cash reserves to "pay" for the Mrs. part of our mortgage/house stuff (she's currently in her 2nd year of Grad School - woohoo!), so anything under a $1,100 drop is favorable. Eventually, however, this Pay it Forward money will dry up and it'll REALLY affect us more than we're used to. I'm still devising a plan to curb this ;)

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still tucked away (and left alone) in our Money Market account. It's mixed in with other funds so I can't determine the amount of interest our Emergency Fund is gaining, exactly, but it's definitely adding up.

ROTH IRAs (+$760.34): Already maxed out, my lovely Roth IRA is just sitting pretty and eating up any market gains that comes its way ;) It'll be left alone 100% until 2010 starts and I can begin investing in it again. Operation Buffett has been a great success so far!

401(k)s (+$6,355.44): A few more thousand deposited, and a few more thousand gained by the market going back up. I'll be one happy camper when this is totally maxed out and the recession becomes a full-blown recovery! Once your money is invested, you have years and YEARS for it to build up and use all that time on your side - seriously one of the best things you can do. (Check out this cool 401(k) comparison chart and see where your own 401(k) matches up.)

SAVINGS BONDS ($0.00): Will delete from future updates since I cashed all my savings bonds out!

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$25.00): Sounds good to me - much better than last month's $350 loss :) Although it's just a matter of time until they reach rock bottom here, kinda like my Caddy already:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,045
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,160
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com as well, but they fluctuate so much that I never can tell what's real and what's hype.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt lined up. I'll leave this category in until I'm tired of looking at it ;)

MORTGAGES (-$4.81): We're still eager to refinance our first mortgage, but unfortunately we're still too under water to get on it. We've been using any leftover funds from our "house budget" to chip away at it, but this month we ended up socking it into our "House Savings" account as we needed it for travel. Here's how the mortgages breakdown:

• Mortgage #1: $287,150.36 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,813.53 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

That's about it. How did you guys fair? This is always one of my favorite things to do every month as it keeps me on track and accountable for my entire financial life. Lately the numbers have been going up which is nice, but even when they went to $hit it was rewarding ;) You should totally give it a shot if you haven't already, you might be surprised how confident you start feeling.

God Bless,

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*My budget has now been updated.
*And so have my sidebars.

Labels: net worth

Ever since I started tracking my net worth I've had the value of our home in there. I've often considered tweaking it and coming up with better methods of calculating it, but the concept of taking OUT your home (or cars for that matter) 100% boggles me. After all, the definition of "net worth" is the total of all your assets minus the total of all your liabilities, right? At least that's what I subscribe to.

So why do I bring this up? Because the main man himself Trent, from The Simple Dollar, recently decided to take out his mortgages AND cars from the equation. But interestingly enough, he left the mortgage on it. Huh?! You'll have to read his article for all the dirty details, but he basically feels that he can't just cash out his house & cars as he'll always need them to live - thus, they shouldn't be calculated into his net worth. And I suppose the mortgage on it is a liability no matter how you slice it, so he's def. still keeping that in there (although at that point, wouldn't it be more like "rent"?)

I find this interesting in a number of ways, but mainly that there are SO MANY different methods one can go about calculating this stuff. So out of curiosity I thought I'd play around with our most recent net worth and see what it would look like after playing with this house variable.

Our Net Worth (w/out home value): -$186,789.11

Damn, I'm not liking that too much. In theory I like the idea of not counting on the value of your home, but the optimistic part of me says that it WILL sell one day, it's just a matter of when and at what price. Needless to say, I'm not crazy/smart/comfortable with taking out my home value anytime soon - it's still an integral part of the "big picture".

(for all not familiar with our house's value, we calculate it @ $300k - the price our realtor set it at a couple months back. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living in) in our area for 20+ years. I also keep an eye out on Zillow & Redfin.com, but sometimes they fluctuate a bit too much for my taste.)

Our Net Worth (w/out home value & mortgages): $163,179.59

I'm liking this number a bit more ;) But while I'd love to sell our underwater house more than anything and break even, it's just not going to happen. Because of this, I still need to include our mortgages in there to keep things more realistic.

Current Net Worth: $113,210.89

For me, this number still works. It gives us a pretty accurate snapshot of our overall finances, and includes all real estate and autos. It's not as sexy as taking out the house situation altogether, or as hardcore as wiping out the value of our house, but it keeps me on track and motivated.

There really isn't ANY "right" way to calculate your net worth, you just have to do what works for YOU (kinda like most other financial situations, eh?). I do, however, give Trent mad credit for standing up and sharing his opinion. He knew he'd get slammed for it (which he did), but he also brought a fresh new way to consider tracking our financial snapshots.

How do you guys feel about it? Ready to nix your biggest assets? ;)

Labels: home ownership, mortgages, net worth, personal finance

A 19% increase in Net Worth! And reached my $100k goal :)

True I've had this goal for 2 years now, but still - I accomplished it! I don't place this out there to brag or show off or anything, but more to prove that patience and hard work really DOES pay off.

When it comes down to it, there's nothing all that complicated about it:

We save more, spend less, and we bank a $hitload into 401(k)s and IRAs. It's not the easiest thing to do at times, but it's still simple.

If you were around for last month's update, you'll notice a rather large theme going on here with our 401(k)s. Some of this has to do with an issue of tracking this from months ago (now 100% fixed), but most comes from my 2 month challenge of setting the contributions to 90% of my paycheck! I'll describe it more below, but unfortunately I've had to quit this as I ran out of extra funds ;) Next month's update won't be nearly as glamorous, but for now, I'm flying high!

Here's how July's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$797.65): For the last two four paychecks I've been contributing 90% of my paycheck to my 401(k) in hopes of maxing it out while everything's still low. I had to stop contributing for a few months, so this is also making up for lost time. In doing this, however, I literally only got $69 per check and had to dip into my remaining $2.5k side savings to pay the bills and stay "on budget".

As I mentioned though, I finally ran out of extra money and now it's back down to 30% until I can finish maxing it out (which should be pretty soon). If at all possible, I highly recommend you maxing out yours too! Or at least up to the company match (3%, 6%, etc). Taking advantage of the perks given to you is one of the easiest ways to build up that net worth and invest in your future.

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still tucked away (and left alone) in our Money Market account. It's mixed in with other funds so I can't determine exactly how much interest is accruing on this Emergency Fund in particular, but it's definitely adding up.

ROTH IRAs (+$2,056.14): I haven't been able to blog about it yet, but I finally maxed out my Roth IRA! I've been slowly applying money made off this blog into it (as well as other funds, like the recent cashing of my bonds!), and I'm happy to report it's another goal to cross off the list. And since the economy is doing a lot better, along with Operation Buffett, I can already see some healthy upticks.

401(k)s (+$17,927.09): So that's what 90% of my paychecks + a happy market looks like ;) There's nothing else much to say about it, so I'll just reiterate what I've already been saying: Patience and automation pays off! Spend a few mins & consider upping your 401(k) contributions a % point or two.

SAVINGS BONDS (-$749.74): I finally did it - I cashed in all my savings bonds! When it came down to it, I just couldn't take the measly pennies accumulating every month so I used it to help max out my brokerage Roth IRA. Plus, I was afraid I'd lose them one day (they were in paper form) and I didn't feel like holding on to them any longer. Had I known it only takes 15 mins at a bank I would have done it much earlier!

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$450.00): I always expect this category to go down, but the last too months have resulted in $350+ losses over the previous $50 amounts. Not sure what's going on, but it's really out of my control anyways :) Here's how they line up this month:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,045
  
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,185
  

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up again later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living in) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com on the side too to see what else is happening out there. Zillow just fluctuates so much that it drives me crazy. It currently has our house estimated at $370k+?! Up from $340k last month. I don't get it.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt lined up. I'll leave this category in until I'm tired of looking at it ;)

MORTGAGES (-$75.94): We're still eager to refinance our first mortgage, but unfortunately we're still too under water to get on it. So in the meantime we chip away with any extra money we have left from our "house budget". Here's how they breakdown:

• Mortgage #1: $287,150.36 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,818.34 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

Another month gone, another update done! How'd you all do? Anyone come across something crazy last month? Whatever the case, remember to judge your success off of YOUR goals only. It's hard sometimes, but it's really the only thing you have control of. If you don't already, try tracking your progress every month and look back to see what works and what doesn't :)

God Bless,

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*My budget has now been updated.
*And so have my sidebars.

Labels: 401k, net worth

Our net worth is up 40% from last month - now at $95k!

And we owe it all to my 401(k), baby! I've hinted at some problems with it in the past - we were waiting for it to show correctly in our accounts (long story) - but the good day has came and we're back on track! A whopping $30k on track.

I know I've harped on it before, but it just goes to show that consistent saving & investing DOES ADD UP over time. And hopefully you'll be able to watch it grow every month instead of getting a huge sorta-but-not-really surprise in your account one day ;) The point is, you have to start TODAY - not tomorrow, not next month or next year, but today. Start small if you have to, whatever it takes. And while I recommend the 401(k) for all that free money your company hopefully matches you on, it's certainly not necessary. An IRA or savings account would work just as nicely.

So yeah, the 401(k) stuff is the biggest change this month, with a major decrease in cash reserves being second. I'll explain more below, but this was also connected to the 401(k) stuff - and something I consciously decided to do. Only $5k more to hit that $100k mark! Woohoo!

Here's how June's net worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$3,586.80): For the last two paychecks I've been contributing 90% of my paycheck to that same 401(k) so I can make up for some lost time. In doing that, I literally only get $69 and change per check now! Ouch. Thus, I've been dipping into my $5k+ side savings account to make up the difference each period to continue paying all bills & to stay "on budget". As you can imagine, this will only last another check or so before I run out ;) But if YOUR company matched 100% of 100% you put in up to the yearly maximum allowed, wouldn't you find a way to make it happen? It's all about taking advantage of the perks given to you and finding a way to make it work.

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still sleeping away nicely in our Money Market account. It's mixed in with other funds so I can't determine exactly how much interest is accruing on the Emergency Fund in particular, but it's definitely adding up.

ROTH IRAs (+$358.32): The good thing here is that I was able to scrounge up a decent $550 to put into the pot this month! The downside was that the markets already sucked out $200 of it. But like everything else tied to this roller coaster economy, it has its ups and its downs. But Operation Buffett is still in effect...

401(k)s (+$30,304.58): Is there anything more to say about this? ;) I was contributing a butt load. It wasn't showing up properly. But now it is. Actually, there's a little more to it than that but I can't really talk about it here. But no, mr. punch debt in the face, I was not funding a crack house on the side - you silly goose, you.

SAVINGS BONDS (+$0.20): Oh Joy! This will actually be the last time you see this category here though, so wave it goodbye (byyyyeeee). I finally listened to Ishan's advice to unload the bonds and invest the money elsewhere. You'll hear about it soon as I didn't have the time to incorporate it all here.

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$375.00): A little more than the $50 devaluation from last month, but whatever - no one ever said cars were an investment ;) Here's how they line up this month:

• Pimp Daddy Caddy: $3,495. Down the $50 buckaroos.
• Gas Ticklin' Toyota: $10,185. Booooo.

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I hit him up again later for another review. He's the master in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and living in) in this area for 20+ years. I keep an eye on Zillow & Redfin.com on the side too to see what else is happening out there. Zillow just fluctuates so much, it's crazy. I love the site, but it's seriously nuts.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt lined up. I'll leave this category in until I'm tired of looking at it ;)

MORTGAGES (-$386.01): We're still eager to refinance our first mortgage, but unfortunately we're still too under water to get on it. So in the meantime we chip away with any extra money we have left from our "house budget". Here's how they breakdown:

• Mortgage #1: $287,235.91 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
• Mortgage #2: $62,808.73 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

Well, that's it for this month. How'd you all do? Anyone win the lottery or take on a major mortgage? Whatever the case, remember to judge your success off of YOUR goals only. I know it's hard sometimes, but it's really the only thing you have control of. So if you're meeting or exceeding your goals, you're on the right track!

God Bless,

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*My budget has now been updated.
*And so have my sidebars.

Labels: 401k, net worth

Another monthly increase for the BudgetsAreSexy Family :)

The funny part here is that our net worth is back to where it was a year ago in June of '08! A lot of changes have occurred since then (the crazy economy, the combining of our finances, the plummeting of our house value), so I'll take being in the $70k range again a good sign.

What's also cool is that everyone should now have all that crap above factored into your numbers! So instead of being pissed about losing $100k+ myself, I can't help but smile for the fact we're staying on budget and doing our best with what we have control over :) We can't change the market or the economy out there, but we sure as hell can stay on top of our own finances.

On a side note, I've also updated those sweet & sassy sidebars over there on the right. Two of my goals for '09 were met early on (paying off car loans & reaching $10k in our emergency fund - woohoo!) so I figured it was about time to update them with some new challenges. You'll now see I'm working on maxing out both my 401(k) and my Roth IRA in their place. Not sure how easy this will be, but it's certainly worth a shot. Now onto last month's stats!

Here's how May's Net Worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (+$568.39): We're still going through a good $1200 a month while the Mrs. is in grad school (this covers her mortgage and housing-related portions) but luckily we still have that pay-it-forward chunk set aside for exactly that :) All the rest of the money that would normally be pumped into our savings here has gone into my recent stock picking adventure which will be ending as I get ready to jack up my 401(k) contributions again.

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still sleeping away nicely in our Money Market account. It's mixed in with other funds so I can't determine exactly how much interest is accruing on the Emergency Fund in particular, but I promise it's adding up.

ROTH IRAs (+$1,823.68): Another fan-f'ing-tastic month! I'd say about $1500 of that was deposited myself, with another $300 courtesy of the market rebounding and Mr. Buffett's stellar recommendations ;) These jumps won't last much longer though as I get closer to maxing it out.

401(k)s (+$3,106.87): What comes down, must come up right? Seems to be the plan of the stock market lately at least, which is fine with me! Haven't contributed a single dollar here lately (long story) but I'm hoping to start doing so in the near future, esp while everything is still so cheap.

SAVINGS BONDS (+$3.28): I still haven't taken up Ishan's recommendation of unloading these and finding a better place to store the cash, but it's still on the list! I'm gonna do my best to knock it out this month...just takes so LONG with the way the Treasury has it set up online. What happened to the days when your friendly local bank still handled them? Jeesh.

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$50.00): As to be expected - no one ever said these piles of metal were income producing ;) A little will be knocked off every month for sure. Here's how our cars line up :
* Pimpin' Daddy Caddy --> $3,620. Down the $50 buckaroos.
* Gas Sippin' Toyota --> $10,435. Stayed the same? weird.

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I get more word from him in a few months. He has a fantastic eye in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and even lived at one point) in this area for 20+ years. I also keep an eye out on what Zillow & Redfin.com show it listed for every month, and the $300k is usually where the average falls.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): Still at Zero! And should be stuck at that amount for a while...I might have to get rid of this category at some point, but I'm just not tired of staring at it yet! haha...The previous debt here was an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - effectively setting my interest @ 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but the method works well if you know what you're doing and don't have outstanding debt lined up.

MORTGAGES (-$73.81): We actually knocked off around $280 from these mortgages this month, but the #'s don't always match quite well depending on the days I check them. We're still eager to refinance as well, but unfortunately we're just too under water to do so right now. It won't stop us from using our leftover House Budget money to chip away at 'em though! Here's how they breakdown:
*1st Mortgage: $287,612.32 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
*2nd Mortgage: $62,818.33 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

That's it for this month. Hope everyone's seeing some pretty numbers on their side as well! Don't let these Summer months distract you and steal all your money ;)

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*My budget has also been updated.
*And here are all the Net Worth Updates.

Labels: net worth

Nothing but love for April! The market was happy, our budget was happy, and life in general was pretty happy :) What more can you ask for?

As you can see, the majority of changes this month were pretty positive, and helped us break back into that $60k range.

But the coolest part of the month was converting over my Roth IRA into a Brokerage Roth IRA so I could start investing in individual stocks again! I won't be able to take that money out for quite some time, of course, but even better. The less temptation I have, the less opportunity for rash decisions ;)

You may also notice a small blemish in the cash & car department. The first has its reasons which I explain below (and is actually a GOOD thing!), and the latter is just pretty much expected. After all, when it comes down to it they're cars - not investments. And then we have a wonderful uptick in the Mortgage department! More on that to follow...

Here's how April's Net Worth breaks down:

CASH SAVINGS (-$224.86): This is awesome! It may not look it, but we actually xfered out around $2,000 into other areas ;) So the fact we're down only $200 is killer. Most of the money went into my new stock picking adventure, and then the rest into paying down part of the mortgages! Not as fun as hoarding it all, but i guess you have to pay them down at some point.

EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): Our $10k is still sleeping away nicely in our Money Market account. It's mixed in with other funds so I can't determine exactly how much interest is accruing on the Emergency Fund in particular, but I promise it's adding up.

ROTH IRAs (+$2,754.05): Blowin' up baby! Now that I've converted my old Roth into a Brokerage Roth IRA, and the market is still behaving, this area should be seeing some green going forward. And most of it going into hand-picked stocks courtesy of Mr. Warren Buffett ;)

401(k)s (+$4,562.72): Same awesomeness here, except solely based on the market right now. Whenever this goes up, the biggest part of our Net Worth goes up too! I love it. Of course, the opposite has been known to happen as well...

SAVINGS BONDS (+$0.20): I've had this collection of bonds hanging out since I was a wee lad 20+ years ago. And up until last month, I never thought twice about it. BUT, a fellow blogger (Ishan@ Save Few Bucks) pointed out that it would make *more* sense to cash them in and use the money to pay off our mortgages since they're charging us a much higher interest rate (6.875%). And you know what? He makes a valid point. Why the hell am I still holding onto these? Sure they're sexy as hell to look at - all "old school" and all - but when it comes down to it, that money could in fact be used better. So Ishan, this month I plan on doing something about it. Much love for pointing it out brotha.

AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$475.00): A bit sucky, but always anticipated. Although I had a brain fart while trying to recall the mileage on the Mrs' car and was too lazy to call her, so i'm hoping i was way off there ;) Here's how the values breakdown:
* Pimpin' A$$ Caddy --> $3,670. Went up $75? haha...I'll take it!
* Gas-Sippin' Toyota --> $10,435. Down a minor $25 buckaroos, gotta love that.

HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): This will remain @ $300k (the price our realtor set it at) until I get more word from him in a few months. He has a fantastic eye in our particular neighborhood, and has been selling (and even lived at one point) in this area for 20+ years. I also keep an eye out on what Zillow & Redfin.com show it listed at every month, and the $300k is pretty much where the average falls, maybe a tad bit lower.

CREDIT CARD (car loans) ($0.00): ZEROOO!!!! Yup, the last time it was at zero was back in August when we paid off all 3 store credit cards. This previous c/c debt was really just an "auto loan" that I happened to charge on my credit card - dropping a 5.5% interest rate down to around 3%. I don't recommend this for everyone, but this method definitely works well if you know what you're doing and don't have much outstanding debt lined up.

MORTGAGES (-$309.08): We just recently started paying extra towards these mortgages, and will continue doing so going forward. We'd love to take a big portion of our cash reserves and knock a big chunk of it away, but I don't think we're at that point yet. For now, we'll be using any extra money left over from our House Budget to pay it down.
*1st Mortgage: $287,835 - 30 year fixed, interest-only @ 6.875%.
*2nd Mortgage: $62,669.46 - Maxed out HELOC w/ 2.8% interest.

That's it for April! Time to concentrate on May and try and get that net worth back into the $70k's again ;) Stupid house values and economy. Oh well, it'll be that much better when it all turns around again. Hope you all had a fabulous month in finances as well! Time to go play some online monopoly now, I'm freakin' addicted. (and not afraid to admit it either)

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*The sweet & sexy side bars have been updated.
*My budget has also been updated.
*And here are all the Net Worth Updates.

Labels: net worth