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Archive for May, 2007

Thoughts?

May 18th, 2007 at 01:22 am

Since starting my new job I now have a new retirement account. I still have my 403B account from my last job. I only have about 7K in the 403B and it is currently increasing by about 3-4% each quarter. I kinda like the idea having a seperate account--the whole don't put all you eggs in one basket mentality. Should I leave it in the 403B or put it somewhere else. And if so where?

RMRP and misc ramblings

May 16th, 2007 at 12:11 am

Wow, I start off like crazy with multiple entries for a few days and then the wheels fall off. I guess mostly because not too much interesting has happened.
I did finally open my 401K for the new job. I wanted to get it started so I just quickly picked an account. It is an account designed to adjust risk the closer to retirement I get. Once I have some time I will go back and make any changes neccesary.
Right now I am only putting in 3% since my first priority is to pay off the credit cards. the 3% is the limit of the 100% company match.
Today in the mail I recieved the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program newsletter. When I lived in Colorado I volunteered there. I still feel so connected to them. They are some of my best friends and some of the most admirable people I have ever met. In fact when I was in college and volunteering for them the experience actually changed my career path. When I got my new job one of the things I did with some of my signing bonus money was to donate it to the Raptor center. It made me feel so much better to give that moeny to them than to blow it on something useless or (for me) even put it in the bank. If you want to check them out the website is www.rmrp.org. They are in the process of building their new dream rehab center.
Another thingk I have been able to do now that I live in a house versus an apartment is have a bird feeder. Its fun to watch the birds come to the feeder but it has become a bit of an expense since I have become the diner for the neighborhood. I recently added mulch around the tree that the feeder is in. Sinc it is now harder for the birds to find the seeds that drop down on the graund I have now apparently started growing sunflowers around the tree.

the ickies

May 10th, 2007 at 01:32 am

I have had the pleasure of catching a cold the last few days. As a result my spending is a bit out of whack. My Birthday was Tuesday and coupled with being sick and not feeling like cooking I have bought lunch at work everyday and have had sushi every night.
It is what it is.

Major change of circumstances

May 4th, 2007 at 01:52 am

My how things can change drastically and quickly! Due to a family emergency I have had to clean out my savings completely. I will be getting all the money back in a month or two. I will take a hit on interest but it has to be done. I am going to keep my totals set at pre w/d because technically the money is not gone for good.

6.00%

May 3rd, 2007 at 01:22 am

Well semi contrary to my last post I have opened an additional on line account. I found that FNBO Direct is offering 6.00% until 9/28. As soon as all the paperwork and misc is done I will move my car fund over there. Since that account is just going to be added to for the near future it can just sit and mak a few bucks extra.

May is also a 3 paycheck month for me so I will be able to plump up all my accounts and reduce the cc debt quite nicely as well. I am hoping I can pay off the 1st visa by the end of the year. I will be a stretch but I think I can do it. As soon as the cc are paid off I will roll that money to the car fund for a few months to have a healthy down payment.

Interest is good

May 2nd, 2007 at 10:34 pm

Well since I recently moved it has been a while since I have had a decent amount of money in the savings. Now that I have had a chance to repay my savings I am back to earning nice interest. I currently have an account with ING. Yes, I know they are currently the least interest earning online bank. I am thinking about moving some of my money to HSBC or Emigrant to earn a bit more. But only a portion of my overall savings. I have been with ING since 2001 and I haven't had any problems with them so I am not inclined to leave them.

A big thanks

May 1st, 2007 at 11:08 pm

A big thanks to Nate who gave me a crash course in setting up my blog.

Need blog help

May 1st, 2007 at 10:25 pm

I would like to know how to place information on my sidebar. I see that most everyone has it set up with either personal or financial info and I can't seem to figure out how to do it.

Attitude adjustment fund

May 1st, 2007 at 09:57 pm

One strategy I am using to help me on the road to avoiding overspending is what I call an attitude adjustment fund. It works like an emergency fund but for the sole purpose of blowing the money on frivoulous items and/or fun things. I know how I am and I have to have retail therapy from time to time. By having this attutude adjustment fund I can still have my fun but not back slide farther into debt.
Does anyone else have a similar fund? One negative(positive?) thing about this fund is that the longer the money sits in the savings account the less inclined I am to want to spend the money--or rather I carefully consider what to spen the money on.