Bill's Personal Finance Blog

$4802.78 PAID IN JANUARY - RECORD MONTH!!!

(Bill M.) — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 06:43:21 PST

Well, while the entire is bracing for a recession, I'm in the process of vigorously paying down debt as soon as possible. I have managed to pay down about $4,802.78 for the month of January, I have cut every expense that I had some control over it.

The credit cards that are left...

$2815.39 PAID IN DECEMBER

(Bill M.) — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 17:11:43 PST

December was overall a slow month for me, I took a week one vacation on the beginning so I was not able to pay more debt that I wanted. I did meet my goal to be under $40,000 in total debt.

This month I need to finish paying off Lowe's which the free ride expires and start tagging...

$3657.04 PAID IN NOVEMBER

(Bill M.) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 14:09:04 PST

November has been a good month for me overall. I managed to decrease my debt by $3657.04. I am starting to feel really good about ending 08 being under 40k, maybe even in the low 39s.

My AMEX is totally gone. I have zeroed and only using for budgeted expenses including cell phone/gasoline...

Back on Track!!! $4732.34 PAID!!!

(Bill M.) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:32:23 PST

I am finally getting my wheels rolling again, this month i was able to do beans and rice and rice and beans. Traded in my expensive BMW gas consuming 6 cylinder twin-turbo for a Toyota Hybrid SUV that does an average of 30 MPG. My gas consumption went down 60% in October alone.

My...

$3275.99 AUGUST

(Bill M.) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 10:12:18 PST

Well, here goes another month and i finally finished reconciling the month of August and the results was a little under of what i expected, I was going for $5000.00 as this was a busy month for business wise. Lets hope september gets to be a great month and i am almost where i was...

$3978.91 PAID IN JULY

(Bill M.) — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:54:05 PST

Hello Everyone,

July has been an outstanding month Spending wise. Monthly expenses was down because of alot of cutting back due to wife's surgery. August & September will be good months also spending wise because not alot of time to go do grocery shopping and buying extra stuff....

DERAILED!

(Bill M.) — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 08:03:30 PST

My debt reduction plan had a slight de-railment, $10,635.00 in Medical Bills for Wife's Surgery.

My Debt has increased to $55,516.79 but i still continue attacking....

$3385.02 PAID IN JUNE

(Bill M.) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 13:42:18 PST

I'm picking up momentum in this debt thing and have surpassed $10,000.00 in debt paid off this year. My next bench mark is $20k and hope to have that in another few months.

My Chase Freedom is on a Use/Pay system. I am using to purchase groceries as i receive 3% back in form of...

$2954.06 towards Debt

(Bill M.) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 08:48:10 PST

This was a month that i tried to save as much as I can and not let temptation lead my way.

For the first time in a long time, i am now under $50k in debt. Hopefully if i can continue this track i'll be somewhere around $30k at the end of the year.

I am now attacking my American...

Roth Ira Update

(Bill M.) — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:50:55 PST

My 2008 is now fully funded to take advantage of this down market. My new allocation is as follows.

Large Cap - 21%
Mid/Small Cap - 35%
Fixed Income - 10%
International - 34%

So far so good.

The end of this month, my Lowes will be completely paid and my next target attack is AMEX...

I Saved $2004.00

(Bill M.) — Sun, 04 May 2008 09:30:25 PST

I saved $2004.00 by switching to progressive insurance. I made the switch on their first day here in Massachusetts and when the rep read my quote, i could not believe it.

I'm going to be paying $588 for every 6 months of policy which is about $1176.00 a year.

I was with commerce...

Free $250.00

(Bill M.) — Sun, 04 May 2008 09:26:19 PST

I have accumulated an enough points to cash in my $250.00 check from my Chase FreeDOM card.

Its going right back into paying it off.

My next target is the Lowe's CC that i used to do some bath remodelling.

People usually say go with the highest interest first. the truth is,...

Two More CC's paid

(Bill M.) — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:20:25 PST

I have manage to pay another two credit cards.

I have paid the Juniper and Best Buy.

I have another $1000 to receive from my rent payment will will probably send that to the Lowe's with this weeks salary to pay off the lowe's.

I have also taken the emergency fund to pay off...

Roth Ira 2k8

(Bill M.) — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 08:43:11 PST

My first year with an IRA and i am pushing on all cylinders...

2007, Fully Funded $4000
2008, 65% at $3241

I have diversified my portfolio more. thanks to some advice from SA readers.

U.S. Stocks 29.82%
International Stocks 38.80%
Fixed Income 26.93%
Cash 3.85%
Other...

EF Funds Update/Real Estate

(Bill M.) — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 19:36:35 PST

Funds
----------
I have started to streamline my financial life.

I have combined my Funds to one big EF/LT Fund. I have transfered all the balances into an EmigrantDirect acct that is paying a misly 2.75% APR.

The total amount I have in the account is $909.01

Real Estate
------------
I...

Fully Funded 2k7 IRA

(Bill M.) — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 07:37:33 PST

God is good.

I was able to fully fund my 2k7 IRA with 4k. I am now working on a goal for the 2k8 for 5k

My portfolio breakdown as follows.

U.S. Stocks 0.12%
International Stocks 87.62%
Fixed Income 11.72%
Cash 0.47%
Other 0.06%
Not Classified 0.00%

Regional...

March Contribution to Funds

(Bill M.) — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:44:40 PST

Income was a little bit less then February, i was able to allocate $93.16

Emergency Fund got $14.94
Short Term Fund got $17.49
Long Term Fund got $60.73

I am still on track for my 36 month dead line on having everything fully funded.

IRA Contrib 2007

(Bill M.) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 16:46:07 PST

I was able to fund my IRA $2k today for 2007. hopefully next year i can do $4k.

Investing very heavily in Emerging Markets.

2k7 Tax Update

(Bill M.) — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 09:31:12 PST

I am almost finnaly through doing my taxes. I been using TurboTax for the past 5-6 years and i simply love the interface. It took me about 3 hours to gather everything and put it and make sure everything is correct. I am go over once more just to make sure i didn't miss any deductions...

One More DOWN!!!!!

(Bill M.) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 08:16:26 PST

CC#1 is completely paid off. 1527.34 with fin charges... Next Target is CC#7...

I am so proud...