Monthly Review - May 2005 ($226,743, +$6,465)
(Jun 2) May is just another good month in my journey toward financial independence. With $6,465 monthly net worth improvement, my net worth sits at $226,743, or more than $31,000 better compared to where I started this year. And if you still remember the Month-To-Retire measure, the reading is now July 2015. Storyline for the month: • ... Read (22 Comments)
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #7
(May 16) The Personal Finance Bloggers' Network is almost two months old now. For the first time, the weekly traffic to the network is higher than that to my original pfblog. To me, this underscores the power of having more than one voices sharing diversified opinions with a central theme. As usual, I'm providing a weekly summary ... Read (2 Comments)
73 Accounts and Counting
(May 15) I mentioned in my previous post that I have Microsoft Money managing more than 70 accounts. It might sound like a lot, but I have to say it is not excessive, and I don't find it to be difficult to manage all these accounts. Read (6 Comments)
Phishing Advancing To The Next Level
(May 14) Should you be nervous if someone tells you people from Poland or Romania are peeking at your bank account? Not if you receive the news via email. And here is why. Read (5 Comments)
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #6
(May 9) Another fruitful week at PFBlog! In week 6, more than 50 articles had been added to the network -- a weekly record! PFBlog Network now boasts over 1,000 posts in 14 channels. Enjoy! Here is a summary last week's highlights: Recommendation for the Week • Free Money Finance offers two-part series of how to get ... Read
New Savings Bond Rates: EE = 3.50% (Fixed), I = 4.80%
(May 5) This week, the Bureau of the Public Debt announced a set of new rates for savings bonds. The Series I Savings Bonds to be issued in the next six months will earn a fixed 1.2% above prevailing inflation levels, making the effective rate for the next six months to be 4.80%. For Series EE Savings ... Read
My Offline Excel Models #1: Monthly Snapshot
(May 3) As many of you know, I use Microsoft Money to manage my personal finance -- I believe personal finance software like Microsoft Money and Quicken is essential to family money handling. On the other hand, I also use Microsoft Excel on top of Microsoft Money to produce certain reports/models that are beyond the scope of ... Read (12 Comments)
Monthly Review - April 2005 ($220,278, +$11,945)
(May 3) What a month! $11,945 is the second strongest monthly net worth improvement in my lifetime. (My best month so far is August 2004, thanks to a big annual bonus.) Although the April result is, to a large degree, helped by $4,000+ gain in my employee stock option account and other investments that is of a ... Read (2 Comments)
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #5
(May 2) PFBlog Network is officially one month old! Including my original blog and our newest addition Prospect, there are 14 gold channel in our lineup as we are getting bigger. This week marks the first time we have more than 50 new posts produced in the network. Enjoy the best posts of the week! Bloggers' Personal ... Read
Citi Backpedaling Popular Credit Card Offer?
(Apr 29) Citibank's Driver's Edge is probably the best credit card deal we have in recent memory. In case you don't know, the card offers 5% rebate on every single purchase you make in the first nine months and 1% after that up to an annual cap of $500 (plus no annual free and 12-month 0% APR ... Read (8 Comments)
Budget Does Not Have To Be Bottom-Up Only
(Apr 28) Sorry for the relative quietness at my blog recently. Between April and May, all Microsoft finance professionals, myself included, are celebrating the annual ritual of budgeting by working tremedous amount of overtime. Believe me, the process is excruciating. After all, Microsoft will become a $40-billion-plus company next year in terms of annual sales. Read (1 Comment)
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #4
(Apr 25) Welcome to the week #4 summary of Personal Finance Bloggers' Network. We introduced two new gold channels in week #4: Free Money Finance is written by FMF, who has tremendous experience managing personal finance and teaching personal finance. Take a look at why you should listen to him. Reasoned Investing is very much investment-focused. In ... Read
Facing Bankruptcy? Weigh Your Options.
(Apr 21) If you are unfortunately in a financial rathole, make sure you are up to speed on bankruptcy-related news. For one, President Bush just signed a new bankruptcy bill into law, making bankruptcy much harder. For another, Supreme Court ruled that IRA is eligible for creditor protection in a bankruptcy proceeding. Read
Citigroup Brings Rewards to Banking
(Apr 20) We have been convinced that Citi is the most generous in giving out credit card rewards. Now, in a bid to improve customer retention in its banking departments, Citigroup is bringing reward programs to banking products. As reported by this WSJ article, "Citibank customers can now earn the same type of rewards points for using ... Read (2 Comments)
Homes of the Billionaires
(Apr 20) Ever want to see a billionaire home? Forbes did the legwork for you. Enjoy the tour of 15 billionaire homes! 1. Bill Gates (Medina, Wash.): "The estate includes 11 surrounding properties that Gates bought, which goes some way toward explaining his local taxes. The properties are valued at nearly $140 million" 2. Warren Buffett (Omaha ... Read (2 Comments)
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #3
(Apr 18) Personal Finance Bloggers' Network just wrapped up its third week with over 40 quality posts. Let's first welcome the 10th addition to our gold channel portfolio: Money Garden. Fg, the blogger behind this new gold channel blog, decided to "tend to my money the same way I would a small garden" -- as "a patient ... Read
Personal Finance Savviness: Bush vs Cheney
(Apr 16) A tax return is great reflection of one's overall personal finance picture, but it is also telling the story of one's capability to control personal finance issues. Yesterday, the Whitehouse released the 2004 tax returns from the President and the Vice President. (Full tax returns in PDF format are available from TaxHistory.org.) What does it ... Read (5 Comments)
What's In Your Financial Diet?
(Apr 16) Starting from next Monday, USA Today will run a six-week series "Financial Diet." The goal? Allow Americans to follow some easy steps to achieve better financial health. I have no doubt that USA Today will be able to deliver it -- I am always an admirer of the newspaper's down-to-earth style. Read (1 Comment)
Getting A Tax Filing Extension Is Easy, Part 3
(Apr 12) Does it sound strange that I choose the pay-by-credit-card option with the understanding that a convenience fee is in effect? Earlier in this tax season, I wrote a post about it ("Pay My Tax By Credit Card"). In short, I am counting on 5% rebate from my Citi Driver's Edge card to more than offset ... Read (2 Comments)
Getting A Tax Filing Extension Is Easy, Part 2
(Apr 12) So, once you decided to apply for an extension, how should you start? If you search for "tax extension" at Google, you might be attracted to a number of sponsored links that advertises "$19.95 IRS Tax Extension", "$19.95 1040 Tax Extension", etc. You don't need them -- requesting an extension is much more painless than ... Read
Getting A Tax Filing Extension Is Easy, Part 1
(Apr 12) There are two important days every year in terms of personal finance. December 31 is the official year end and it closes the door for many (although not all) deductions and tax tactics. The other is April 15, the tax filing deadline. If you haven't filed your tax yet, you have two options: either you ... Read
A Week's Worth At PFBlog Network #2
(Apr 10) Now that we are at the end of week 2 at the Personal Finance Bloggers' Network, our network now includes 9 gold channels and many other startup channels. Be sure to visit our latest gold channel addition, Financial Cognition, a 10-day old blog but already with impressive content. In the past week, PFBlog Network brought ... Read
VirtualBank Fought Back, Yielding 3.05% Now
(Apr 8) The news: in response to ING Direct's offensive move, VirtualBank raised APY of its eMoney Market account to 3.05%, an inch higher than ING Direct's 3.00% APY. To be exact, the 3.05% APY is awarded to accounts with a balance less than $10,000 balance. Anything above, the slightly lower 3.00% APY applies. Gee ... it ... Read (3 Comments)
Credit Card Rewards Distort Price System?
(Apr 7) The cheapest gas I purchased in recent years was at $1.10/gallon. Nowadays, I will be lucky to find a gas station that is willing to sell me at $2.30/gallon. With the BMW purchase and its unique taste of premium gasoline, I now have to get used to $40 a refill. So, between two neighborhood gas ... Read (8 Comments)
Treasury Rewrites Series EE Savings Bonds Rules
(Apr 5) Yesterday, the Treasury Department announced one of the biggest changes to the Savings Bonds in recent memory. The change is specific to Series EE Savings Bonds, which, since 1982, has been earning an interest rate that is adjusted every six months and is pegged to 90% of the average 5-year treasury note yield in the ...
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