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Financial Snapshot

Combined Income:: $93,700.00
Assets:: $57,866.36
Liabilities:: $152,271.60
Combined Net Worth: -$94,405.24

Apr 2006 breakdown

Latest Comments

Blogs

Holy Crap That's Us!

posted by Him on 8 November 2006, and tagged: humor wtf

Hilarious.

EDIT: Yes, the language is cleaned up. No, the people on the referred-to post aren't really us. Seriously.

Call for Relationship and Finances Posts - Again

posted by Him on 8 November 2006, and tagged: finances relationship

A few months ago, we had a call for entries for posts by bloggers, financial or otherwise, on the topic of relationships and finances. That project was sidetracked a little, but we're hoping to revive it.

The point of the project was to create a repository for all things relationships and finances. The list would be constantly updated with new posts. Visitors would then be able to scan the list for a particular topic and go to whatever blog it may be at.

Here's the deal:
If you're a blogger, we would like for you to email to us the link to your posts that discuss relationships and finances. If you have a category that just deals with those posts, go ahead and send that in.

If you're not a blogger, you can email to us a testimony of how you deal with relationships and finances, which we will then publish on our blog and link to that post.

We will also keep tabs on the pf-blogosphere, collecting any posts that deal with relationships and finances and listing them as well. We'll email you to let you know that it was included.

Example topics include, but are not limited to:
- Joint finances
- Dividing up the financial duties
- Who picks the stocks
- Fighting over money
- If you and your partner aren't on the same financial page

We'll post the list as soon as we get a good number of responses.

Please email a link to your entry to us at lovenotdebt@gmail.com with the subject line of "Money and Relationships Post"; alternatively you can go to our contact page and fill out the form, again with the subject line of "Money and Relationships Post." I've closed comments so that you EMAIL all entries to us.

October '06 Net Worth

posted by Him on 6 November 2006, and tagged: net_worth

	September 2006	October 2006	% Change
TOTAL NET WORTH	-$79,013.54	-$76,811.85	2.8%
TOTAL CHANGE FROM JAN 2006		+$21,803.54	21.4%
Assets
Savings	$11,288.69	$11,734.31	3.9%
Cash*	$550.00	$550.00	0.0%
His SIMPLE IRA	$4,824.39	$5,353.93	11.0%
His Roth IRA	$6,374.96	$6,162.98	-3.3%
His HSA	$935.77	$821.84	-12.1%
Her 401K	$8,300.50	$8,762.37	5.6%
Her Roth IRA	$1,643.34	$1,684.52	2.5%
Upromise	$12.00	$12.00	0.0%
Automobile ?	$10,230.00	$10,170.00	-0.6%
Household Items ?	$25,000.00	$25,000.00	-0.0%
TOTAL ASSETS	$69,159.65	$70,251.95	1.6%
Liabilities
Credit Cards	$13,523.20	$12,802.33	-5.3%
Student Loans	$134,649.99	$134,261.47	-0.3%
TOTAL LIABILITIES	$148,173.19	$147,063.80	-0.7%

Because this is the new-fangled internet, I've linked certain categories to posts that explain how we got those numbers.

UPromise has changed the way they report the balances accrued, so I've listed this balance the same as last months. In future net worth posts, this will probably disappear.

I've added the change from January 2006, and will continue to do so in future postings. Since household items, automobile, and cash haven't really changed, this gives a pretty accurate picture of how far we've come along. We tend to get a lot of "drive-by" visitors who don't click through the archives to see where we started from. Looking at that number pleases me, but I know that in the future we can do much better.

DIY Computer Saves a Lot of Money

posted by Him on 3 November 2006, and tagged: computer finances

Warning: This post has much geek speak. Those who are offended or more likely, bored, can look away.

Our computer at home is dying. Lately we've been getting spontaneous reboots, freezing, and general slowing down. It has trouble with more than 3 tabs open at once in Firefox. Itunes can't play songs without it being choppy. Photoshop takes forever to open.

That's okay though, it is an archaic 8 years old. I'm surprised that it has even last that long. The original computer was a Dell XPS-R450 - it had a Pentium 2 processor (a screaming 450mHz), 64MBRAM, NVIDIA 32MB RIVA Video Card, Turtle Beach SoundCard (are these guys still in business?!?), a DVD-ROM drive, and a 6GB hard drive. And Windows 98. Shiver.

In order to lengthen the lifespan of this computer, here are the modifications that I did to this computer:

Swapped out the measly 64MB RAM for 512MB. Cost: $100. Go expensive PC133!
Replaced hard drive (it died anyway) with an 80GB one. Cost: $60. Go rebates!
Replaced the video card to a Radeon 9500 Pro. Cost: $200. Go keeping up with the geeky joneses!
Installed Windows XP Home. Cost: $100. Go Upgrade Edition!
Installed a CD burner. Cost: $50. Go, uh, burning CDs!
Upgraded the 450 mHz Pentium 2 processor to a Celeron 1.3 mHz. Cost: $150. Go Powerleap for coming up with the technology that allowed this upgrade!

Total cost for keeping an 8 year old computer alive and able to keep up with today's software: $660.

Instead of completely discarding the poor computer, I'm going to gut it for parts - namely all of the ones listed above. I figured out that all I need is to buy a new case, power supply, motherboard, RAM, and processor. We have budgeted around $300 for these new parts, and I'm pretty sure we'll go a little bit under since I'm only going to buy the parts if they go on sale. The best part about building my own computer is that I am going to choose parts that will allow me to easily upgrade it in the future.

I'll also be able to sell the RAM and processor upgrade on eBay - and get around $100 for all of that stuff.

The total amount spent on a "new" computer: $990, spread over 8 years. Not bad considering I know people who have purchased at least two computers in this same time span. I hope to keep this computer for at least 4 more years before I have to upgrade anything else.

Let's just hope the 8 year old clunker can hold out until we get all of the parts.

Car Maintenance = Free Airfare

posted by Him on 1 November 2006, and tagged: automobile credit rewards

This past weekend we went out to the 'burbs for dinner with some of Her's family. Shortly after pulling out of their driveway, we heard thwump thwump thwump thwump thwump coming from the back of the car. I got out of the car to see what was wrong and discovered that one of the tires was flat. We pulled into a K-Mart parking lot down the road to change the flat tire and found there was a philips head screw neatly lodged in the tire tread.

It was a little past due for us to do some maintenance anyway, so I brought the car in to get the tire replaced and have a bunch of other stuff done. The total cost of everything was a little over $300.

Instead of this being a major financial headache, we're looking at it as sort of a mixed blessing. Last week, we received in the mail a special promotion for one of my rewards credit cards: spend $300 from now until the end of the year and they'll give us a free plane ticket. Fortunately for us, that card has a zero balance on it. We were going to pay for the services with cash, but now we'll just use the rewards card and then pay that off as soon as we get the bill.

We believe that credit cards can be used as a great tool to complement our financial plan. We've learned our lesson about overspending and credit card abuse. In this case it makes sense to use a card for the free plane ticket. Hopefully we can use it for Her to join me on one of my business trips sometime next year and we can have a cheap vacation.

The Cost of Clean Clothes

posted by Him on 30 October 2006, and tagged: finances laundry

Laundry, like finances, is often one of those things that I wish would just take care of itself. While I love our apartment, it doesn't have a washer/dryer in it, nor does our building have a community laundry room. That means that every three weeks or so, we have to carry 3 lampers (Yes, lamper - a cross between a laundry basket and hamper. We didn't name it, that's what the label said it was...) full of clothes down to the laundromat, which is thankfully less than half a block away. Another two hours there watching the clothes go round and round. Then the multi-trip exodus back to our apartment where the clothes are vomited onto disheveled piles on our bed, to be robotically folded neatly or hung on hangers for another half an hour. All in all, about a three hour ordeal.

Sounds like a great time, doesn't it?

This weekend at the laundromat, I calculated that every time we do laundry ourselves, it costs $16.00. I then asked the woman who works there how much it would cost if we dropped off our laundry and had them do it for us. She replied that it would cost 0.60 per pound of laundry.

I estimated that we have at least 60 pounds of laundry every three weeks. Let's compare the math...

Doing laundry ourselves:
$16.00 X ~18 laundry days per year = $288

Paying someone to do our laundry for us:
60 pounds of laundry X 0.60 per pound X ~18 laundry days per year = $648

Money we "save" by doing laundry ourselves: $360

We spend about 54 hours a year doing laundry. That's over TWO FULL DAYS.

Do you think that our time is worth the extra savings?

Battlestar Galactica > Retirement Plans

posted by Him on 26 October 2006, and tagged: friends humor retirement

A few weeks ago I was out having a few drinks with few coworkers during happy hour. One of my coworkers (CW1) noted that in a few weeks he will have been at the company for six months. Another coworker (CW2) remaked that he was then eligible to participate in the company retirement plan. Both of these coworkers are my age, maybe a little younger. The conversation went a little like this...

CW1: Hey, I'll be at the company for six months in a few weeks!

CW2: Yeah dude, you'll be eligible for our 401k. (but we have a SIMPLE IRA...or am I just being nitpicky?)

CW1: Yeah that's cool.

Him: Yeah, I was thinking of rolling over my SIMPLE IRA to a Traditional IRA because I don't like our investment options. I won't be eligible to do that until May, though.

(blank stares)

CW2: Yeah, my boyfriend works at Morningstar, so he handles all of that stuff for me.

CW1: I don't have a clue when it comes to that stuff.

CW2: Yeah. You guys watch Battlestar Galactica?

Sigh.

Finances and Dating: Coupons

posted by Him on 24 October 2006, and tagged: coupons dating food

Since we're engaged, I will never be able experience dating as an adult in a big city. Many bloggers talk about the financial dynamic that they have between them and a long-term significant other. But what about the bloggers who are looking for love?

A few weeks ago I ran into a guy I knew in college on my way to work. There weren't that many things that I remembered about him, but one stuck out. He wasn't exactly smooth around the ladies, so naturally he was teased about going out on a date with a girl. On top of that, he announced that he was taking her to Steak and Shake - and had a coupon! Now I'm sure he didn't invest the saved money, but rather spent it on beer later that night.

Her and I use coupons for restaurants all the time, but we've been together for a long time. It is one of the ways that we can justify eating out once in a while at some of the more expensive restaurants in Chicago.

You're on a first date. Do you use a coupon? What do you think about the person who uses a coupon?

We Know Many Disapprove

posted by Him on 20 October 2006, and tagged: humor wtf

Many across the tubes of teh interwebs disapprove of our money management.

But NOBODY disapproves like disapproving rabbits.

Like OMG, they do not approve. (via Cute Overload)

Enjoy your weekend, everyone.

Bonus Whoring: A Critical Review

posted by Her on 19 October 2006, and tagged: reviews rewards

As consumers, we are constantly bombarded with enticing bonuses/gifts/rewards for joining/opening/using a product or service. We've completed several of these offers with varying degrees of success. Here's how the cookies crumbled.

What we did:
Opened an unnecessary checking account
What we got:
$125 cash, deposited into the account in $25 monthly increments
Degree of hassle:
High. Completing this offer required us to change our direct deposit at work, maintain two accounts at a bank with no local branches, tie up a hundred dollars a month, sign up for a complicated online banking access, and wait half a year for the rewards.
Would we do it again?
Maybe. But next time we'd make sure we have a use for the bank's services and access to a real teller.

What we did:
Purchased a winter's worth of canned vegetables (on sale and with coupons) in one grocery trip
What we got:
Two free movie passes
Degree of hassle:
Minor. The biggest challenge was hauling it all in from the car.
Would we do it again?
Absolutely. The free movie certificates worked like cash and allowed us to have a guilt-free date night. And we made good use of the bargain vegetables too. Two movie tickets would have cost more than we paid for the vegetables!

What we did:
Transferred a big balance to a credit card that requires two monthly purchases (no minimum dollar amount required)
What we got:
Zero percent interest on the transferred balance and the new purchases until we completely pay it off (or forget to make two purchases a month)
Degree of hassle:
Huge. Keeping track of the purchases is tricky because you have to hit that sweet spot in between billing cycles to make sure they both get credited in time. The enormity of the consequences for missing a purchase is so great that it causes stress.
Would we do it again?
Probably not. In our case, it allowed us to save hundreds of dollars in interest, and we have a timeline of when it will be paid off. But even with careful management the stress level is just too high for my taste.

What we did:
Opened a low-interest, low-minimum-balance-required savings account
What we got:
$50 cash bonus
Degree of hassle:
Medium. Opening the account was easy, but shuffling money around at every payday was annoying. And after the initial bonus was awarded, the interest was too low to make it worthwhile and we had to close the account.
Would we do it again?
Yes. The bonus we earned initially offset the low interest rate. Because we closed it early and kept only the bare minimum in the account, we came out ahead.

What we did:
Spammed our friends with credit card offers and similar promotions through a referral website (one of those "get five friends to complete offers, and you get a prize! websites)
What we got:
An ipod
Degree of hassle:
Low. It didn't take long to get five friends to complete offers, and we received the ipod shortly thereafter
Would we do it again?
Absolutely not. Even though it was easy, we felt kinda dirty afterward. It isn't cool to ask your friends to sign up for crappy offers just so you can get a prize. Nobody seemed to mind, but we know it wasn't the right thing to do.

The bottom line: there are some things (like your time and some minor annoyance) that are reasonable trade-offs. But you should never sacrifice your relationships or morals for an easy buck.