MSN had a great article about “Secret Millionaires: Addicted to savings“.  It talks about how compulsive savers whose habits can take a dark turn.  Savings can become such an addiction that it’s hard to spend, enjoy, or give away your money.
The author, Brent Kessler calls people “savers”.  People who only buy things that are on [...]

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Well I’ve discussed borrowing money from family in times of need, boomeranging home, and finances for a young couple starting out.  But the next logical step for many is accepting a down payment for a home or even having your parents pay for your wedding.  Should you do it?  Should you accept a potentially large [...]

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This month we took a huge hit in our investment accounts from last month. In last month we lost on average about 15% in the 401k and IRAs.  We only stopped the bleeding because we increased our cash haul.  I hope things start to turn around sooner rather than later.

 
October-08
November-08
Dollar Diff
% Diff

Assets
 
 
 
 

BofA
$1,868.03
$3,023.52
$1,155.49
61.86%

HSBC
$1,147.44
$1,152.03
$4.59
0.40%

MM
$5,392.82
$7,035.84
$1,643.02
30.47%

401k
$21,689.39
$18,736.73
-$2,952.66
-13.61%

Rollover IRA
$33,113.59
$28,988.95
-$4,124.64
-12.46%

DH Roth IRA
$15,951.39
$13,982.92
-$1,968.47
-12.34%

DW [...]

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Well this month I decided to try something different.  It’s been a bad month all around.  Investments are down. Cash savings are down for a few different reasons.

September-08
October-08
Dollar Diff
% Diff

Assets

BofA
$4,931.00
$1,868.03
-$3,062.97
-62.12%

HSBC
$5,434.00
$1,147.44
-$4,286.56
-78.88%

MM
$8,674.00
$5,392.82
-$3,281.18
-37.83%

401k
$22,720.85
$21,689.39
-$1,031.46
-4.54%

Rollover IRA
$34,754.67
$33,113.59
-$1,641.08
-4.72%

DH Roth IRA
$17,413.03
$15,951.39
-$1,461.64
-8.39%

DW Roth IRA
$16,585.75
$15,522.06
-$1,063.69
-6.41%

Home
$575,000.00
$575,000.00
$0.00
0.00%

Total
$685,513.30
$669,684.72
-$15,828.58
-2.31%

Liabilities

Mortgage
-$436,335.00
-$435,618.23
$716.77
-0.16%

Student Loans
-$21,250.00
-$21,250.00
$0.00
0.00%

Total
-$457,585.00
-$456,868.23
$716.77
-0.16%

Net Worth
$227,928.30
$212,816.49
-$15,111.81
-6.63%

So our overall networth went down by 6%. Right now we have $4k in savings [...]

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What happens when you trade up?  Is there a right and a wrong way to trade up a home or car?  I mentioned earlier this week that we’re “bumped up in class.”
But are we stuck on what we think we deserve or want?  That we can’t imagine living in a one bedroom condo and so [...]

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This month we rolled over DH’s old 401k into a Rollover IRA.  It took us a year to do it. Mostly because my DH said he would do it, but never did so I finally did all the paperwork and arranged everything online. 
However our net worth increased by a miniscule .10%.  Why?  Well we increased [...]

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Last night I watched Barack Obama’s acceptance speech of the Democratic Party Nomination.  Of course he was very eloquent and moving.  Obama is an excellent speaker and orator.  Will I vote for him?  I don’t know, I initially voted for Hillary Clinton because she is much more liberal than Obama. 
But this past week Obama has [...]

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Okay time for another book review and book giveaway!  This time I have a hard copy of the book Net Worth Workout by Susan Feitelberg.  Want to win the book?  Leave a comment and I’ll be drawing it next week Friday again 8/23/08!
This book is a very fun, easy, yet informative read.  I have to [...]

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Overall our our networth for July 2008 increased by $3229 or 1.3%.  We have a net worth of $236k.  This month our retirement accounts actually went up to $91,733, probably due to contributions mostly.  We’re still down from a high of $95360 in May 2008 and total networth of $237k. 
We only owe one more tuition [...]

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So what happened this month?  Things were not good for our networth that’s for sure.  We kept our cash steady mostly because we still owe another $3k for DH’s next summer course paid for yesterday.  But we unfortunately lose $5k of 5% of our retirement portfolio.  Not a huge deal when you look long term, [...]

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