My Personal Finance Journey

Personal finance observation, musing and decisions in a journey toward financial independence by 36 with at least $1 million.



By Topics

Overall:
| Progress (84)
| Key Analysis (113)
| Resources (119)

My Finance:
| Credit (61)
| Insurance (11)
| Car & Home (21)
| Services (11)
| Savings (27)
| Tax (28)
| Others (31)

My Readings:
| Credit (45)
| Insurance (11)
| Car & Home (43)
| Services (5)
| Savings (21)
| Tax (44)
| Investments (71)
| Economy (16)
| Others (70)

My Portfolio:
| General (64)
| Transactions (44)
| Analysis (31)

Everything Else:
| About PFBlog (49)
| My Accounting (7)
| Misc (12)


MONTHLY ARCHIVE

Jun 2008 (2)
May 2008 (2)
Apr 2008 (5)
Feb 2008 (3)
Jan 2008 (15)
Dec 2007 (32)
Nov 2007 (6)
Oct 2007 (8)
Sep 2007 (9)
Aug 2007 (24)
Jul 2007 (2)
Jun 2007 (1)
May 2007 (3)
Apr 2007 (4)
Mar 2007 (4)
Feb 2007 (13)
Jan 2007 (6)
Dec 2006 (3)
Nov 2006 (7)
Oct 2006 (7)
Sep 2006 (6)
Aug 2006 (4)
Jul 2006 (10)
Jun 2006 (1)
May 2006 (3)
Apr 2006 (2)
Mar 2006 (6)
Feb 2006 (6)
Jan 2006 (3)
Dec 2005 (1)
Nov 2005 (9)
Oct 2005 (8)
Sep 2005 (13)
Aug 2005 (25)
Jul 2005 (16)
Jun 2005 (17)
May 2005 (19)
Apr 2005 (20)
Mar 2005 (24)
Feb 2005 (23)
Jan 2005 (36)
Dec 2004 (40)
Nov 2004 (34)
Oct 2004 (17)
Sep 2004 (21)
Aug 2004 (59)
Jul 2004 (37)
Jun 2004 (31)
May 2004 (29)
Apr 2004 (52)
Mar 2004 (49)
Feb 2004 (49)
Jan 2004 (31)
Dec 2003 (48)
Nov 2003 (52)
Oct 2003 (29)
Sep 2003 (8)
Aug 2003 (5)
Jul 2003 (2)
Jun 2003 (2)
May 2003 (5)
Apr 2003 (2)
Mar 2003 (2)
Feb 2003 (3)
Jan 2003 (29)

HOT DEALS

Best Cashback Card:
Citi CashReturns(SM) MasterCard®
5% off EVERYTHING during introductory period. (review)

Best Sign-Up Bonus:
Citi Professional Card
$100 gift card after 1st purchase (review)

Best 0% APR Card:
Discover More Card
0% APR for purchase and balance transfer for 12 months (review)

Best Business Card:
Business Gold Rewards Card from American Express: Up to 40,000 bonus points in the 1st year (review)

Best Student Card:
Citi® mtvU™ Platinum Select® free music, gift cards and more (review)

Best Savings Account:
ING Direct Savings Account (4.30% APY)

Best Interest Checking:
Electric Orange from ING DIRECT. (Free Bill Pay. Earn up to 5.00% APY)

Free Stock Trading:
100% Free Stock Trading from Zecco.com

Free Credit Score:
Free Credit Report and Score from Experian



 

Monthly Review - January 2005 ($200,696, +$5,175)

Contributed by mm | February 4, 2005 4:38 AM PST

Finally, the $200,000 psychological milestone is behind me: the $5,175 monthly gain in January pushed my net worth to $200,696 in a largely uneventful month. For the record, my net worth passed the $100,000 mark in May 2003 -- that is 20 months ago. I expect the next $100,000 should take me less than 15 months, thanks to the increased earning power and more passive income from my warchest.

BALANCE SHEET RESULTS

(Starting from 2005, I am comparing monthly results to balance sheet one year and one month ago for better visibility of progress. Please refer to definition of balance sheet line items.)

  1 Yr Ago 2-Mo Ago Last Month This Month monthly Monthly
  Jan-04 Nov-04 Dec-04 Jan-05 Change Change %
Cash & Equivalent  $            953  $         4,611  $         4,916  $         2,967  $        (1,949) -39.6%
Saving  $       15,548  $       33,653  $       35,675  $       39,750  $         4,075 11.4%
Brokerage  $       21,577  $       16,650  $       17,964  $       17,284  $           (680) -3.8%
Roth IRA  $       10,822  $       13,449  $       13,819  $       18,435  $         4,616 33.4%
401(k)  $       12,005  $       28,562  $       31,234  $       33,186  $         1,952 6.2%
Stock Option  $         2,268  $       13,252  $       12,892  $       12,435  $           (457) -3.5%
ESPP  $         1,291  $         2,278  $         3,798  $         1,746  $        (2,052) -54.0%
Home Equity  $       67,193  $       74,917  $       75,767  $       76,618  $            851 1.1%
Other Assets  $         9,550  $       15,247  $       14,972  $       14,722  $           (250) -1.7%
Receivable (Payable)  $         3,558  $         1,273  $         1,159  $         1,182  $             22 1.9%
Reserve Funds  $        (1,693)  $        (4,451)  $        (4,750)  $        (5,170)  $           (420) 8.8%
Loans  $        (2,959)  $        (7,206)  $        (7,301)  $        (7,194)  $            107 -1.5%
Tax Liability  $        (3,860)  $        (3,864)  $        (4,625)  $        (5,265)  $           (640) 13.8%
Net Worth  $     136,252  $     188,372  $     195,522  $     200,696  $         5,175 2.6%
Liquidation Value  $     110,156  $     156,847  $     163,548  $     168,349  $         4,801 2.9%

IMPORTANT BALANCE SHEET MOVEMENT DISCUSSION

1) Cash/Saving: Cash and savings, combined, continue to increase as a result of regular saving and the sale of ESPP shares from the last quarter.

2) Roth IRA and Brokerage: I made a contribution of $4,000 to my Roth IRA account. Roth IRA balance is also improved due to individual investment performance, which is washed by offsetting performance in brokerage accounts.

3) 401(k): Most 401(k) balance increase is from continued contribution and employer match to my wife's and my account. We expect to do so in the foreseeable future.

4) Stock Option: Stock option suffered from uninspiring MSFT performance, albeit Microsoft delivered a great quarterly earning release. Without a small batch of stock option newly vested this month, the balance would decline even more.

5) ESPP: ESPP balance declined due to the regular quarterly sale of acquired ESPP shares, offset by new contribution in January.

6) Tax Liability: Tax liability increased a bit primarily due to insufficient tax withholding for my wife's salary (as a result, I had to add a journal entry to increase my tax liability to reflect the true net worth status). The balance of tax liability also includes about $800 unpaid tax for 2004, which I will pay in April using credit card.

BRIEF DISCUSSION OF EXPENSES

Our monthly expense for January is only $5,475, the lowest in five month. The favorable variance from last month's $6,764 is driven by the one-off December spending associated with a short holiday trip, plus cost control on dining-out and groceries in January.

IMPORTANT PERSONAL FINANCE ISSUES IN MONTHS AHEAD

- After adding $4,000 to my Roth IRA account this month, I still plan to add $5,000 to my wife's Roth IRA account (she still has $1,000 unused quota from tax year 2004). As Roth IRA allows hassle-free tax-free withdrawal of principal, there is no reason I choose not to contribute.

- With many tax forms coming to my mailbox every day, the tax season starts. I will start to work on my tax returns in February using TaxAct.

More PFBlog Articles You Might Find Interesting ...


06/03/08 | Monthly Update - May 2008 ($885,297, +$12,932) | (67)
05/10/08 | Monthly Update - April 2008 ($872,365, +$39,068)
04/08/08 | Monthly Update - March 2008 ($833,298, +$5,976) | (10)
04/08/08 | Monthly Update - February 2008 ($827,321, -$25,287) | (1)
02/09/08 | Monthly Update - January 2008 ($852,608, -$42,790) | (10)




Subscribe to Our RSS Feed:      Add to Google      Subscribe in Bloglines

This Post Has Received 3 Comments. Share Your Opinions Too.


jason Commented on February 5, 2005

Stock Option Query

Hi MM,

Congratulations on surpassing 200! My 200-300 occurred over 2 months, but that was a very strong month for my heavy weighting in my employer's stock. I definitely welcome that kind of performance going forward, but view it as unlikely to move like that anymore (though I still keep too heavily weighted in the stock and have suffered from the 20% haircut this past month, of which 20% causes a loss of greater than 20% net worth due to stock options basing from a non-zero value).

I have a question about your employee stock options as I am in a company that has 8 billion in cash and has announced they are likely to revise the dividend upwards in the future.
When MSFT did the special dividend of 3$/sh did they revise the cost downwards on the employee stock options granted? I have a feeling that as dividends increase and special dividend likelihood increases, these actions will work against the stock options I have acquired and vested through the years. As the time approaches where it becomes a more immediate concern (2007-2008), I think I will address with HR or IR, but was wondering if you had any insights for this?


jason Commented on February 5, 2005

Sorry one more comment in a statement that caught my eye.

Looking at your approximate income, I am curious how you are able to contribute to a Roth IRA. It seems that your combined income exceeds the allowable contribution to a Roth and exceeds the amount you could write off for a traditional IRA. As is similar to me, I would think you would only be elegible to contribute after tax earnings to a Traditional IRA in order to defer taxes. Just kind of curious if I am missing something that may apply to my situation that caused me to miscalculate my IRA eligibilities.


mm Commented on February 5, 2005

Congrats on getting 100 grand in 2 months! When MSFT issued the $3 special dividend, employee stock option was repriced downward to make employees even. I blogged about it briefly but details can be found here (search "Proposed Amendments to Stock Plans"):

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/SEC/FY04/proxy2004.mspx

Microsoft set a good precendent so there should be no reason other companies will not follow suit if they issue special dividend as well.

On your second question, Roth IRA contribution will phase out between AGI of $150,000 and $160,000. I assume you get my approximate income from my 2005 Financial Plan. However, AGI is my top line income after 401(k) contribution, FSA contribution and many other items, and I am confident by the end of the year my AGI will come under $150,000. Actually, in the tax section of my financial plan (to be posted), I will discuss how a tax analysis will help to find and avoid this trap. Good question Jason!

Read More ... 84 Posts In The Same Category


06/03/08 | Monthly Update - May 2008 ($885,297, +$12,932) | (67)
05/10/08 | Monthly Update - April 2008 ($872,365, +$39,068)
04/08/08 | Monthly Update - March 2008 ($833,298, +$5,976) | (10)
04/08/08 | Monthly Update - February 2008 ($827,321, -$25,287) | (1)
02/09/08 | Monthly Update - January 2008 ($852,608, -$42,790) | (10)
01/11/08 | 2008 Financial Goals | (9)
01/05/08 | 2007 Net Worth Growth Goal vs. Result (and Brief Annual Income Statement) | (3)
01/02/08 | Monthly Update - December 2007 ($895,398, +$19,549) | (1)
12/30/07 | Financial Plan 2008: Net Worth Growth Goal = $220,000 | (7)
12/27/07 | Financial Plan 2008, Part 3: Spending and Tax
12/24/07 | Financial Plan 2008, Part 2: Investment Income
12/21/07 | Financial Plan 2008, Part 1: Earned Income | (1)
12/14/07 | How Accurate Are My Predictions of 2007? Part 3: On Expense and Closing Comments | (3)
12/11/07 | How Accurate Are My Predictions of 2007? Part 2: On Investment Income
12/07/07 | How Accurate Are My Predictions of 2007? Part 1: On Earned Income | (4)
12/01/07 | Monthly Update - November 2007 ($875,850, -$33,806) | (5)
11/01/07 | Monthly Update - October 2007 ($909,656, +76,911) | (6)
10/01/07 | Monthly Update - September 2007 ($832,745, +$39,275) | (14)
09/18/07 | What's Next After Five Years Of Gains? | (12)
09/07/07 | Monthly Update - August 2007 ($793,469, +$31,328) | (7)
08/04/07 | Monthly Update - July 2007 ($762,141, +$5,217) | (9)
07/07/07 | Monthly Update - June 2007 ($756,924, +$3,438) | (9)
06/03/07 | Monthly Review - May 2007 ($753,486, +$30,033)
05/01/07 | Monthly Review - April 2007 ($723,414, +$45,748) | (9)
04/02/07 | Monthly Review - March 2007 ($677,666, +$24,212) | (3)
03/03/07 | Monthly Review - February 2007 ($653,454, -$7,582) | (7)
02/01/07 | Monthly Review - January 2007 ($661,036, +$29,785) | (6)
01/02/07 | Monthly Review - December 2006 ($631,251, +$26,716) | (7)
12/30/06 | Financial Plan 2007: Strategic Intentions and Financial Goals | (5)
12/23/06 | Financial Plan 2007: The Landscape | (11)
12/02/06 | Monthly Review - November 2006 ($604,535, +$28,543) | (20)
11/01/06 | Monthly Review - October 2006 ($575,992, +$29,210) | (16)
10/01/06 | Monthly Review - September 2006 ($546,782, +$29,283) | (12)
09/02/06 | Monthly Review - August 2006 ($517,498, +$38,185) | (13)
08/03/06 | Monthly Review - July 2006 ($479,314, +$18,101) | (2)
07/20/06 | 2006 Mid-Year Review | (6)
07/08/06 | Monthly Review - June 2006 ($461,213, +$10,941) | (3)
06/11/06 | Monthly Review - May 2006 ($450,271, -$5,489) | (4)
05/05/06 | Monthly Review - April 2006 ($455,760, +$6,667) | (8)
04/03/06 | Monthly Review - March 2006 ($449,093, +$16,267) | (5)
03/04/06 | 2006 Personal Finance Goals | (5)
03/02/06 | Monthly Review - February 2006 ($432,826, +$6,073) | (12)
02/27/06 | The 2006 Financial Plan: The Footnotes
02/11/06 | The 2006 Financial Plan | (8)
02/02/06 | Monthly Review - January 2006 ($426,753, +$26,206) | (10)
01/01/06 | Monthly Review - December 2005 ($400,548, +$6,250) | (7)
12/03/05 | Monthly Review - November 2005 ($394,298, +$40,622) | (13)
11/05/05 | Monthly Review - October 2005 ($353,676, +$89,790) | (10)
10/04/05 | Monthly Review - September 2005 ($263,886, +$1,832) | (4)
09/07/05 | Monthly Review - August 2005 ($262,054, +$23,273) | (3)
08/03/05 | Monthly Review - July 2005 ($238,781, +$7,662) | (5)
07/07/05 | Financial Goal Restated | (21)
07/05/05 | Three Years in Five Charts | (6)
07/03/05 | Monthly Review - June 2005 ($231,119, +$4,376)
06/02/05 | Monthly Review - May 2005 ($226,743, +$6,465) | (23)
05/03/05 | Monthly Review - April 2005 ($220,278, +$11,945) | (2)
04/05/05 | Monthly Review - March 2005 ($208,333, +$2,991)
03/02/05 | Monthly Review - February 2005 ($205,342, +$4,646)
01/26/05 | Year 2005 Financial Objectives | (2)
01/21/05 | 2004 Performance Grade: C+
01/07/05 | Monthly Review - December 2004 ($195,522, +$7,150)
01/03/05 | 2004 Savings Scorecard | (1)
12/02/04 | Monthly Review - November 2004 ($188,372, +$11,947)
11/01/04 | Monthly Review - October 2004 ($176,425, +$3,150)
10/01/04 | Monthly Review - September 2004 ($173,275, +$4,418) | (6)
09/02/04 | Monthly Review - August 2004 ($168,857, +$12,062)
08/01/04 | Monthly Review - July 2004 ($156,795, +$4,577) | (2)
07/01/04 | Monthly Review - June 2004 ($152,219, +$3,209) | (1)
06/01/04 | Monthly Review - May 2004 ($149,010, +$4,384)
05/02/04 | Monthly Review - April 2004 ($144,626, +$2,334)
04/02/04 | Monthly Review - March 2004 ($142,292, +$2,287)
03/04/04 | Monthly Review - February 2004 ($139,905, +$3,653)
02/01/04 | Monthly Review - January 2004 ($136,252, +$3,668)
01/06/04 | Year 2004 Financial Objectives
01/04/04 | Results of Year 2003 Financial Objectives
01/04/04 | Monthly Review - December 2003 ($132,584, +$8,123)
12/31/03 | Year-End CFI Summary
11/30/03 | Monthly Review - November 2003 ($124,461, -$105)
11/01/03 | Monthly Review - October 2003 ($124,556, +$4,663)
10/01/03 | Monthly Review - September 2003 ($119,902, +$10,576)
01/16/03 | "Retirometer" | (1)
01/02/03 | Year 2003 Financial Objectives
01/01/03 | Backgrounder | (2)

Recommended Offers


•  Citi® Professional(SM) Cash Card
•  Chase Free Cash Rewards(SM) Visa® Card
•  Capital One® Platinum
•  Continental Airlines Business MasterCard®
•  Eufora™ Elite Credit Builder Prepaid MasterCard®
•  Eufora™ Associate Prepaid MasterCard®
•  Borders 3.2.1(SM) Visa®
•  Chase Freedom(SM) Cash Visa Signature® Card
•  CitiBusiness® PremierPass(SM) Card
•  New Millennium Bank Gold Visa® / MasterCard®








This page was last rebuilt at September 30, 2008 11:54 PM PST.
  

RSS FEED



PREMIUM SPONSORS

Car Loans
Business Cash Advance
Injury Claims
Car Finance
Bad Credit Loans - Free Quote
Homeowner Loans
Payday Loans
Used Cars
Car Leasing
Payday Loan
Personal Loan
Secured Loans


SITE REVIEWS

Low Cost Loans
Cheap Loans


PERSONAL FINANCE BLOGS I READ

Consumerism Commentary
Get Rich Slowly
My Money Blog
All Financial Matters
The Simple Dollar




SELECTED POSTS

Credit Cards:

• Best 0% APR Intro Offers

• Citi CashReturns MasterCard

• Citi Payment Partner Program

• American Express Blue Cash

• Free Credit Report

Banking:

• Emigrant Direct Savings Account

Investing:

• Opening A Self-Employment 401(k) Account

Real Estate:

• Most Affordable Housing Markets

Insurance:

• Auto Insurance Saving Tips

• Vehicle Insurance Ratings

Other Services:

• ooma - free domestic calling for life

.

Featured Sites


• Student Loans - Confused about student loans? Have a professional education finance advisor assist you with all of your federal and private student loan questions. Also find free college financing tools and resources at NextStudent.com.

• Protected.co.uk compare over 300 life insurance plans to find the best deal from their providers.

• Search 300 life insurance plans from 12 leading providers.

• With real time markets you can trade with confidence.

• Payday Loans - Avail payday advance, payday loans to fulfill your requirement with Payday.

• Bad Credit Auto Loans are loans for people who have a poor credit history and cannot qualify for an auto loan. If you are able to secure a bad credit auto loan, you should consider it to be a second chance to improve your credit rating by making all auto loan payments on time.

• Car Finance - The Uk's leading online car finance company. Buy any car from any UK dealership. Bad credit not a problem.

• Find a fast personal loan in the UK. Even if you have a bad credit history, arrears or CCJ's, Loansite's top lenders can help you compare loans and find a low APR secured loan, homeowner loan or tenant loan with fast approval in principle.

• Legal Helpers experienced bankruptcy lawyers can help you out of debt. Take advantage of our Free debt consultation. Our bankruptcy lawyers will help you understand your best option to eliminate your debt. Ask about our 100% guarantee.

• Cheap Car Insurance - Provides Cheap Car insurance. Receive an instant quote online

• Womens Car Insurance - Specialises in cheap car insurance for women

• Have a Personal Bankruptcy Lawyer assist with filing bankruptcy for a chapter 13 or chapter 7 bankruptcy case. Free bankruptcy evaluation tool.

• secured loans - Any purpose low Cost secured Loans.

• The Internet's most trusted credit card resource directory.

• Frigidaire Parts

• Fleet Dealer - Ford Fleet trucks and vans, cargo vans, cutaway vans, LCFs, work trucks, commercial trucks, ambulances, tow trucks, police squad vehicles, and other commercial vehicles like box vans, delivery vans, box trucks and dump trucks.

• Bad Credit Auto Loans - Auto loans bad credit, bad credit auto loans, guaranteed credit approval, auto financing, credit lenders, car credit, automobile lenders, bad credit auto loans seattle, auto loans bad credit seattle.

• Ford Dealer - One of the World's largest Ford Dealerships. Over 3,000 cars and trucks to choose from. Mega Volume Dealer. $1,000 price guarantee. Large Special Finance Store. Ford Dealer Seattle. Mustang, Edge, Explorer, F150, f250, fleet, build your own Ford.

• Auto Loans Bad Credit - Bad Credit Auto Loans, auto loans bad credit, guaranteed credit approval, car credit car loans, automobile financing, credit lenders, bad credit auto loans seattle, auto loans bad credit seattle. (Home | Apply | Inventory | Credit Help | Contact Us)

• PayDay Loans

• moneyeverything.com - Find the right credit card to suit you with our guide to the right card in the UK

• airaid.co.uk - Looking for credit cards in the UK? Find the right credit card to suit you with our guide to choosing the right card in the UK

• Bad Credit Loans - find out some tips about improving your credit score and choosing the best bad credit lender.

• Consolidate debt with Bad Credit Personal Loans online or Personal Loans, consolidate Bad Credit Personal Loans or apply for Credit Cards including 0% deals.

• You may also want to look at UK Bank Accounts and get a Credit Report before comparing UK Credit Cards or finding out about UK Mortgages to refinance or move house.

• We provide personal loans for debt consolidation, home improvement, bad credit loans at cheap rates in the UK.

• If you are buying a car you may want to search for UK Car Insurance to get a car insurance quote online.

• Accepted.co.uk compare over 100 secured loans to find the best deal from their lenders.

• Accepted.co.uk compare over 100 secured loans to find the best deal from their lenders.

• Sending money to family and friends has never been easy. Use iKobo, secure way to send money worldwide

• Payday loan tips at paydayloanreport.net helps you to defeat cash-checking and payday loan traps.

• MM Money is an interesting money blogthat covers many aspects of personal financial matters.

• This insurance weblog covers all major types of insurance, including health, life and car insurance

• Bestcardguide.com offers independent review of best credit cards

• Real Bankruptcy offers excellent tips of bankruptcy and how to avoid them

• Small Business Loans

• Credit Card Debt Relief

• Online Credit Card Processing

• Stock Investments

• Bad Credit Auto Loans - washington state's bad credit auto financing leader.

• fha loan - Hud approved lender, FHA Home Loan Services provides 1st time home buyer loans & fixed rate mortgage refinance options for borrowers with bad credit.

• Credit Repair
repairmycreditnow.com/Credit_Repair_Advice.htm - repair my credit now credit services offers credit repair, restoration and education through our exclusive "v" phase process ™


Want to See Your Ads Here? Claim Your Ad Space at Personal Finance Weblog by Writing to Webmaster. Starting at $49/month, see your text ads in thousands of indexed pages at PFBlog, the Best Personal Finance Blog. Full Rate Card Available Here.

Copyright 2003-2006, PFBlog.com. All Rights Reserved. (Privacy Policy)