July 31, 2007

July 2007 Net Worth Update (+$2,039.64)

July was our lightest net worth increase month yet. Our net worth increased $2,039.64 over last month, to a new total of $15,062.84 (click spreadsheet below).

Still, we had a better month than I expected, primarily because a $1,000 business expense has not posted yet . Here are the highlights from July:

  • In an effort to sock away a bit more money, we increased my 401(k) contribution from 2% to 3%.

  • My wife received an additional $1,674.68 in income in July that greatly helped boost our savings account balance.

  • Our retirement investments were doing very well most of the month, but plummeted last week, resulting in end of month balances that are lower than June.

  • We paid down our liabilities by their standard monthly rate with the exception of our credit card, which we paid a little extra on.

August should be an interesting month. I will receive an extra paycheck ($1883.49 + an additional $76.33 to my 401k) and will also possibly receive my annual company profit sharing (~$550). However, my wife's 1st paycheck at her new job will only be for one week’s pay. We also have some large bills due in August including $716.53 for a new mattress, $300 for a seat we are sponsoring at our church’s new location, and $1,000 for a business expense that I was already reimbursed for. Our August net worth increase may look very similar to July’s, but as long as we’re headed in the right direction, I’m not complaining.

July 30, 2007

Wife's Multiple Paychecks

My wife received a lot of extra income at the end of July as a result of leaving one company and starting with a new company. Here’s the breakdown:

  • Her old company gave her a paycheck for 3 weeks (instead of 2), since they needed to cash her out for her final week that would have normally fallen in the next pay period. This added $635.20 after taxes to her normal paycheck.
  • Her old company gave her an additional 27 days of fuel reimbursement, which totaled $479.47 after taxes (she would normally be reimbursed in August).
  • She was paid $560.01 after taxes for 4 days of training at her new job. She was able to do the training while concurrently working at her old job.

We used this extra income to buy new business clothes for my wife and increase our savings account balance. Her next paycheck on 8/10 (at her new company) will only be for 1 weeks worth of work, so we also keep some of the extra money in our checking account to cover August expenses.

The fun doesn’t stop there, my wife is also expecting a final commission check (~$1,000) from her old company the second week of September.

July 29, 2007

Bought A New Mattress


My wife and I have been sleeping poorly on our old lumpy mattress, and have been keeping an eye out for a good deal on a new mattress. My wife found a queen size Sealy Posturepedic mattress at Costco for only $699 + tax (delivered). A great price, but the mattress is only available in a pillow top version that my wife and I find sleeps too warm.


We visited our local Sleep Train Mattress Center and found the same mattress without the pillow top, but they were asking $1,599 + tax (delivered). While chatting with the salesman, my wife mentioned Costco's great price and the gentleman said they can beat it by 5%.


So, with that one comment, my wife got us the mattress we wanted (non-pillow top Sealy Posturepedic) at a great price $665 + tax (delivered) - a 58% savings. Plus, God willing, we should be able to sell our old mattress for ~$100.

July 27, 2007

Market Ups and Downs

I update our net worth in our spreadsheet almost daily, but only post updates to this blog on the 1st of every month.

That being said, it drives me a little crazy when the stock market does great all month, and then, just as I get ready to post our new net worth on the 1st, the market drops. I know it doesn’t matter long term, and in fact, it is better for us because we are buying mutual funds at a lower price. However, I wish it would just wait until after I post the update on the 1st. The numbers would have looked great.

Oh, well, the market can always rebound before then. . .Dang it, I just checked and it’s down again today.

July 23, 2007

Wife's New Job Benefits

My Wife's new job compensation and benefits are awesome. Here they are at-a-glance:

Salary
$40,000 base salary during 12 months of training + bonuses + commissions + travel + expense account + laptop

Insurance (starts in November)
Health insurance:$48.00/month vs $84.01/month previously
Detal insurance: $3.23/month vs $8.08/month previously
Vision insurance: $2.08/month vs none previously (paid 100% of contact costs)

401(k) (starts in January)
401(k) match of 50% up to 6% of her salary (4 year vesting schedule)

Misc (starts immediately)
Less driving will save us ~$100/month
Better training
Nicer/more qualified boss
Exciting new field

July 21, 2007

Considering Adding Another Dog To The Family

I just returned from my business trip and am happy to be back home. Our neighbor's dog is over our house and our dog and him are having a lot of fun playing. My wife and I have been discussing getting another dog so that our dog has a playmate and to help with home security while I am away on business.

My wife's old job allowed her much more time at home to entertain our dog. We're blessed that her new job will as well, but not for another 1+ years. The new job is going to keep her in the office 10+ hours a day for the next 7 months. Once she's back out in the field, it is likely that she will have to spend considerable time away from home initially to set up accounts.

We've always wanted to get another dog, especially one that would be suitable for home security. Our little dog (13lbs) is very protective of the home, but the most he can do is sound the alarm, he doesn't have much to back up the bark with.

We plan to spend a couple of hours online tonight researching breeds and discussing the pros and cons. A new dog will cost us a considerable amount of time and money to purchase, train, and care for. Our condo is pretty small, so we're debating whether or not to wait until we have a house.

July 19, 2007

The Big Idea


I really enjoy watching Donny Deutsch’s television show, The Big Idea. This show introduces you to men and women who have made millions with their Big Idea. It is truly inspirational to hear about entrepreneurs that had a great idea, saw it thru to an actual product, and did not take no for an answer.

My “Big Idea” is to create a show called The Big Idea That Failed. Just like it sounds, the show would highlight great ideas and hard working entrepreneurs that fell flat on their faces. With most businesses failing within the first year, there is an endless supply of material for the show.

I picture the show segments flowing something like this:

Explanation of the big idea
This segment will be very much like Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea, with the entrepreneur discussing the hope and excitement of making their idea a reality (most viewers will think “dang, why didn’t I think of that?”).

Step-by-step business analysis
This segment will go over the business model, distribution network, cash flow, etc. The first hints that there are problems with the business will crop up in this segment.

Melt Down
This segment will give the why, when, where, and how of the business failure. Essentially, it will be 15 minutes of the entrepreneur crying uncontrollably and explaining what went wrong in nonsensical gibberish.

Where is he/she now?
This segment will show the hopeless state that the entrepreneur is in after dumping their life savings, time, blood, sweat, and tears into a failed business. The closing statement will be, “Well, at least they tried”.

Okay, I was just having a little fun. I am totally impressed with people that have the guts to follow thru with an idea. If everyone were afraid get an idea off the ground, where would we be today? If you get a chance, check out the The Big Idea website. You can click on entrepreneurs they have highlighted on the show and read the details of their success.

July 15, 2007

Target Retirement Date Update

It’s been a half a year since we first started down the path towards our goal of early retirement. While our goal of retiring in 2027 may still be a stretch, I’m more optimistic than ever. We have enjoyed great success thus far in growing our net worth, while having fun along the way.

There are still many years and major events between now and the possibility of early retirement. We would like to purchase a house and have kids in the next few years, both of which will impact our goal. We hope to offset these costs by increasing our earning potential and investing more each year. Oh, and it would be great if the housing market turns around and we can sell our condo in a few years for a profit.

Maybe I should say that we’re cautiously optimistic.

July 13, 2007

Busy Week Next Week



I will be out of town from next week for a business trip. It will be nice to get out of the office for a few days, same some money on food and gas, get some cash back rewards for charging business expenses to our rewards card, and rack up a few more frequent flyer miles.

My wife starts training at her new job next week, while finishing up the first of her last two weeks with her current employer. They are going to be long, but exciting days for her.

July 12, 2007

Airline Credit

My wife was planning to join me on a business trip next week, but is unable to now that she is starting a new career. We had purchased her plane ticket online and received special pricing, so I was sure we would have to just right it off. I was wrong. She called the airline yesterday and they told her that we can apply the value of the ticket to another flight as long as we did so within 12 months. I'm going to miss her on the trip, but it's good to know that the money spent on her ticket was not just thrown away.

July 10, 2007

Career Change

My wife has been eager to leave her current company because her new sales manager is difficult to work with and doesn’t know anything about their industry. She also has seen indications that the company’s profitability is way down and there may be major problems ahead.

My wife has been interviewing with a great company for the past 1-1/2, and completed her 3rd and last interview with them today. The final interview was with a panel composed company upper management. As part of the interview, she was required to give a detailed sales presentation to the group. She nailed it. The group told her that she was one of the strongest candidates they have ever had. Needless to say, they offered her the job and she gratefully accepted. She starts with the company in 2-1/2 weeks, just enough time to tie up loose ends with her current company and give them proper notice.

The new job offers a much greater commission/bonus potential and better benefits than her current company. She should know more about the benefits next Tuesday, when she completes new hire paperwork. However, she has already learned that the health insurance is great and they offer a company matched 401(k).

I’m so proud of her. Not only did she get the job, she is joining the company as one of their top candidates, having already caught the eye of upper management.

July 6, 2007

So Far, So Good


We're about 1/4 of the way thru July and my wife and I have done a good job thus far in keeping our expenses down. Our goal is for July to be our lightest expense month yet. That shouldn't be too hard since we've spent an average of $7,110/month in the last four months. I'm hoping we can keep our July expenses in the vicinity of $6,500.

My wife and I are treating ourselves to a dinner date tonight, but to keep true to our goal, we're taking advantage of a buy one, get one free coupon at an Italian restaurant in our neighborhood that we haven't been to. We ordinarily spilt a meal when we go out, since the servings sizes in restaurants are usually huge. So, with a buy one, get one free deal, we’ll have a nice meal tonight and leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Got to love a deal.

July 3, 2007

Let Freedom Ring


Happy (early) Independence Day! My wife and I are spending tomorrow on the lake with her father and step-mother. We'll be enjoying lots of sunshine, boating, and BBQ.

As I get older, I realize more and more how blessed I am to live in America. This country offers priceless freedoms, amazing opportunities, and unending inspiration.

Have a safe 4th of July.

July 2, 2007

June 2007 Income Statement

We had a lot of money flowing out in June, going over our budget in almost all categories (click on spreadsheet below). I’m beginning to sound like a broken record when it comes to our budget.

My wife and I have committed to doing a better job of watching expenses in July. In fact, we have already declined a couple of social events to help us get July off to a solid start.

Working on it.