Gamecock's Mind over Money

Over the weekend BB's grandparent's came to visit us for a nice vacation.

Yesterday, BB's grandfather pulled BB aside and gave BB a $50 bill and a newsletter. He told BB to invest in a government gas rebate program and that he would get $300 every month if he signed up. (Or something like that- this is second hand information as I was busy in another room and never saw any of it.) BB just shows me the newsletter and money this morning and tells me his grandfather gave us a great tax break tip.

I took the newsletter to work to read it, and because I was too lazy to even open the 16 pg document I went straight to the CPA in our office asking if he has heard of a tax rebate on gas. The CPA has not heard of it and asked to see the newsletter.

Immediately there are alarming headlines in it... "The Best Kept Secret in this $1.6 Trillion Dollar Industry"..."Collect Fat Monthly Checks Thanks to the Government"..."How You Can Start Receiving Your Extra 3 Checks Every Month." ...with graphs and so so many propaganda paragraphs from "quotes" from current members who talk about retiring early and doubling portfolio's to talk of "$126,850% Gains...on This Global Retail Giant."

I look The Oxford Club up online and there are alot of personal opinions on forums that it is a scam, and there are a lot of personal talk on forums that it is a legitimate investors club. (I know that scammers will pose as legitimate members to improve their credibility.) It is NOT listed in "rip off report" as a scam.

I think it is a Ponzi scheme of some sort. I think I will send in my $50 for a membership and receive a booklet of what "Gas" companies to invest in and I will invest into a Ponzi scheme.

Here's the kicker: I told BB all this and he goes: "So what it if it is a scheme? We send in $50 and invest some money and get a check for $300? We just made huge returns! Why not do it?"

I responded: "Because they only give you those returns upfront- then they disapear and you never get any more checks."

BB said: "So what? We still made a ton of money even if we only get one check. What is the harm?"

I said: "Because then they give you a huge return so you will take all that return and also more of your own money to get more shares. It's not a big deal sending them $50, but then after we get a check we will want to send them $500. And we may never hear from them again."

BB then tells me "Ohhh...I see. Ok, well how about we just do it this one time for the big upfront return and then never again?"

How do I argue with that logic? It almost makes sense!

Anyways, BB can do it if he wants to use his grandfathers $50 that way. Although I think the $50 is only a membership fee and then we need to actually invest in the stocks they suggest.

My concerns are: I assume that BB's grandfather has been doing this for 2 months. The newsletter is dated September 15, 2009. I am scared about how much the grandfather has invested in this club. He told both BB and BB's father to invest in it and is a big believer in it. The grandfather is a big stock market believer and has always put his earnings into the market with careful consideration and precision. Over the course of his life, while working as a telephone operator for his whole life, BB's grandfather has managed to earn somewhere (family guestimates) in the million dollar or more range from the stock market. The whole family trusts the grandfathers judgement when it comes to stocks. I am concerned that this club could end up taking advantage of the whole family when it stops returning dividends.

I am concerned because there are a few financial advisors "quoted" in this newsletter about advising clients to use this club. I have a financial advisor...I am frightened that financial advisors could fall into this trap without their clients even knowing what is going on. I know it happened with Madoff...I worry it would happen to my financial advisor. Is there a way I can upfront tell my advisor that I do not want my money invested in a "too good to be true" fashion? Even if he becomes a believer in whatever program he gets swept up in? Or am I just at the mercy of his judgement?

I am grateful that the Bernie Madoff thing was such a huge newsbreaking story. I had previously never heard of a ponzi scheme and otherwise probably would have invested in this club and then REALLY invested in this club when I saw the returns.

So...anybody using The Oxford Club? If I get a positive response from a long term member of this forum- I give that responce a lot more credibility than any of the online searches and "quotes" from this newsletter. Should I even do it BB's way and invest an initial amount for a big upfront payoff then stop using the service? How can BB or his father break it to the grandfather that this is most likely a scam without crushing the grandfather's ego?

Brinks is here! We picked him up from the pound yesterday. He is very sweet and well behaved.

Animal Control found him tied up in an abandoned building a week ago- but I think he came from a breeder and was somebodies pet at some point.

He knows sit, give paw, and walks on a leash very nicely.

Comparing him to our previous rottie (pictured in the upper left hand corner of your screen)- he sometimes looks exactly like her. Some of his expressions are just identical. And since it has been over a year since she passed- looking at him and almost thinking it's her is not making me sad- it makes me happy that she is still so strong in my memory and heart.

Tomorrow he gets microchiped and neutered. He was given all his shots yesterday at Animal Control.

I recommend Animal Control as a place to look for a new pet. There were lots of purebreds there and they are all on a short time limit.

BB and I are getting another dog.

This wasn't planned at all, but we are very excited.

We went to the Humane Society's "Mutt Strutt" Saturday. An event where you bring your dog and walk a mile around the perimeter of a big downtown park. It is really quite a sight to see over 100 dogs being paraded around.

The Humane society brings several dogs that are up for adoption as well.

While there, I saw a huge white American Bulldog named "Boss" wearing the "Adopt Me" jacket and couldn't believe he needed a home. I spent a lot of time looking him over, testing him with my dogs and trying to think of reasons why adopting him would be a bad idea.

BB and I had never considered getting a 3rd dog but we have often talked about future dogs we want to get down the road. An American Bulldog is on our "one day" list.

Getting our next dog was going to be a struggle because BB wants a purebred. And a puppy. I have told him many times that I refuse to go to a breeder when so many homeless animals live in shelters and are put down.

I was dreading the time when we would get our next dog because it was going to involve a lot of arguing or compromise.

But this dog is a purebred and on our list of "we would love a..." breeds. So it seemed like too good of an opportunity to pass up. BB got mostly what he wanted, and we would get the dog in the manner I wanted.

After the Mutt Strutt we went to the shelter. The dog was there but he was bombarded with interested families. There were no completed applications on him yet but he would probably be adopted by the end of the day. If we wanted a purebred American Bulldog- this was our chance but we had to act quick.

BB and I talked about it and we both felt the same way. Boss was going to find a home. We did not want to stretch our resources thin for an animal that would sooner rather than later be taken into a loving home by a family that really wanted him.

BB surprised me. And surprised himself. He wanted to save a dog no one else wanted. Although he wants a purebred he cant actually bring himself to get a purebred when another animals suffering might be prolonged because they are less desirable.

We didn't find a dog at the Humane Society yesterday. On a whim we stopped in at Animal Control next door. Neither of us had ever been to an Animal Control center.

It was similar to the shelter but the dogs are on a 10 day time limit. They have 10 days from the time they come in to be adopted/ claimed or they will be put down. These dogs need a home quickly.

And it is cheaper. The shelter wants $150 per dog and Animal Control only asks $60 per dog. They will give him his shots if he is adopted out.

BB and I walked around and in one of the cages was a rottweiler. Many of you know we lost our first dog, a rescued rottweiler to cancer 1.5 yrs ago and it was awful. BB immediately wanted another rottie, but they are hard to find at shelters and I couldn't get another rottie right after our last died. BB has told me many times that he really wants another rottweiler and since they are hard to find in shelters then he is going to a breeder whether I like it or not.

It was kismet. BB and I both dropped to our knees to pet the dog through the cage. I just said "if he gets along with our dogs then we will bring him home-right?" And BB nodded and went to find a person to find out what the next step of the process was.

So now we wait. We filled out an application to adopt him. We tested him with our dogs- and once he is nuetered they will be fine. We have to wait till Tuesday when his 10 days are up to make sure his owner does not claim him to pick him up. The staff said they were pretty sure no one will claim him.

The staff at animal control know nothing about him. He was picked up as a stray and they just feed/water him till his 10 days are up.

So I guess the Humane Society's "Mutt Strutt" is effective. BB and I thought we were only there to Strutt around the park- and we ended up adopting a dog.

BB and I have decided to name him after the home security alarm system Brincks. (Because he is our security system.) But how should we spell it?

Brincks? or Brinx? or Brinks?

It seems that many of my hard working friends are suddenly getting hit hard with the economic recession. I in turn feel bad and want to help somehow.

The guys who replaced our roof a few months back called yesterday offering us a great deal to get our windows repainted (They know we have some rotting panes and just need a new coat on the rest- and they are generally handy guys who specialize in roofing). Seems they have not been able to find work since our roof job months ago- the roofer has resorted to selling off personal items to friends just to try and stay afloat (I learned this from the mutual friend who purchased some of the items). When the roofing team called, BB told them that he would need to ask me about their offer. Before hanging up the phone the roofer suggested just hiring him to do a few windows at a time if cost was an issue. Then BB calls me asking if we can get our windows fixed because he feels so bad. I feel bad too- but windows were not in our short term plan. I went and tried to run numbers to see if we could even get the guy $400- but that would mean upcoming christmas would put us in CC debt.So I had to tell BB no. I feel so bad.

Our other friend is a realtor. He has had 4 closings in a row fall through due to financing issues and he has watched his savings account drain- drain- drain over the last few months. He is down to $400 and had a mini breakdown in front of BB today because of it. He doesnt know how he is going to pay his own mortgage this month. I feel so bad. I heard about it and tried to think if there was anything I could hire him to do for us around the house- (the realtor has a construction background)...but we are pretty done with our projects. And besides- this realtor has a very grand house and my $3-400 I offer him would not make a dent in his mortgage. I feel bad.

I just feel bad.

okay, we decided not to jump on the rental property. You guys clarified a lot for me. It is risky- and it is foolish to take a financially solid life- and put it in a gambling type of situation.

The whole situation did force me and BB to talk and we did reach some agreement points:

We do want to eventually buy another rental property. We are not sure when, but decided we will do it when everything "feels" right. The deal has to be great (as this one was), and we have a solid downpayment (that we saved).

So that means we want to start actively saving money for the next downpayment. Do we have any way to squeeze more money from our turnip buget? Not really. We are pretty maxed out as far as my paycheck goes- but it is good to know we want to do this- it feels good to have goals and know what we want our future to look like.

We know that when BB gets a full time job-we will be in a position to take this step. It was nice to put some responsibility on BB, and to finally get some of his skin in the game.

We thought of partnering with our friend who wants to buy a rental property. That way we could split the down payment and only need to come up with $10,000 which would be much easier. But the profits would be split and I didnt think the return was worth the headaches. We would need to get lawyers involved, form an LLC, and put a good friendship on the line.

So as of now- it's a vehical we want to pursue to build long term wealth- but it's not in our 6 month plan. If BB gets a job- it might be in our 1 year plan- who knows- so we will prepare for the possibility by continuing to live a thrify lifestyle and saving as much as we can- but stop considering it as a viable option for right now.

One thing learned; buying a second property seems easier than buying a first property. I now understand the differences between major expenses, and minor fixes. I am not so attached to "finding my dream home" and can look at the building more objectively. Deciding if a property will work seems like a much quicker decision process this time around. I am glad- because the stress associated with finding the first one is not something I want to do again.

A new opportunity has come up that has caught my interest. I have been tossing the idea around in my head for the past day or so and need to kind of vent about it to see how I really feel.

A foreclosure has come on the market in my town. It is not advertised for sale yet- my realtor friend told me about it because I have a friend who is interested in investing in the area. The friend is interested in this property too- but I don't think it will work out for him.

I kind of want think it is a very good deal and am not sure if I shouldn't invest in it.

This is a 2 unit property- very similar to my own- but a little smaller. Shotgun style with a double balcony-one unit upstairs and another unit downstairs. Foreclosure asking price is $115,000. It is bringing in $1600 a month in rent.

Pros:The property is similar to my current property and asking price is $85k below what I paid less than a year ago.
The house is in good condition. Same condition as my current house. The property is in a better location than my current home. The property is currently rented with existing leases. The property is about a 10 min walk from my current house.

Cons:
Although the unit is in good condition- It might need 5-10k for hidden fixes/non emergency stuff I would want to take care of. Wont know that till an inspection.

BB is not very handy and fixing stuff is not his forte. I will need to hire out for any fixing problems.

Having 2 more rental units increases our chances of getting sued. We have 2 rental properties now and knock on wood we are all good- but adding 2 more might mean I will need to start an LLC and there would be legal/financial/stress costs around that.

Having 2 more rental units kind of throws the "stay diversified" rule into chaos. I don't know how to measure what my diversification will equate too- I will have 5x as much real estate value as stocks/bonds...

I will be getting into further debt. I mean, it will be a mortgage- so that's good I know. But I will be taking on $95k of additional debt (assuming I put $20k down- around 18%). It seems kind of insane to be walking around $200k in debt (including my house mortgage) when I earn just over $30k a year.

I was not prepared or expecting to go in this direction. We bought our home less than 1 year ago. We have just barely started to get back on our feet recovering from the purchase of our home. We talk of buying another property- buying rentals as our way to financial freedom- but talk about it off in the future. I wouldn't even consider this if it wasn't such an insanely cheap deal.

Financially we are strapped-BB is "in the market" for a job- but not employed- don't know if he will even have a job in 2010. If he does get a job- it will be starting around $30k which would push us into such a good financial position we could afford this property easily. Right now my income covers our expenses but not much left for savings. The money for the down payment would come from my inheritance that has been earmarked for retirement.Currently the inheritance has $200k in stocks and bonds it could come from- but I worry that it wouldn't be the right thing to do.

I worry because we have already made so many big purchases in the past year. First we had the wedding about this time last year-then we bought our house and put in about $25k to "make it ours"(including a new 10k roof). I worry that if we buy this...we are just getting in the habit of buying big ticket items and maybe getting high off the excitement or something. I worry that we will spend ourselves broke if we are not doing a financially smart thing- but telling ourselves we are because we like spending money.

I worry because there are all those real estate investors declaring bankruptcy because they over-leveraged. Why would I be any different? If I lost the renters I would have to pay for the mortgage out of savings. Right now MY emergency savings would only cover a month or two- then I would have to go to those stocks and bonds. But that's because my savings is only cushy enough for our current situation- I could beef it up by scrimping more pretty easily in a few months to cover the possibility of needing to cover a 2nd mortgage.

What would this do for us in terms of our goals? We wanted to convert our current 2 unit property into a single family home within 5 years- eliminating the rent we earn off it. We also want to do some home renos in the $50k range when we convert the property. We wanted to have the 50k saved up to pay in cash. We wanted to be in a position to pay the mortgage ourselves (right now the renters upstairs are paying it.)

BB has 130,000 miles on his truck. We have not started saving for a new car for him yet. I guess a car is an insignificant expense when you are talking "$15k car or $115k rental property"...but a car is also a necessity and a rental property is not.

We also wanted to have a child within 5 years.

So will buying this property put us in line to accomplish those goals- or make us unable to achieve those goals?

I don't know- I don't think it is a good idea with BB unemployed. I keep thinking we shouldn't do this "now". If we could just wait till BB had a job and was working a few months...but then who knows what the real estate market will look like and if we will be kicking ourselves regarding missing this deal. No. I think we should wait, save up the 20% ourselves and then look around for a good deal. We might not get the best deal from waiting- but we will be using our own money to spend.

A family member of mine has been trying to change her image from a high maintance, consumer-ish type girl to a smart, financially savvy woman.

She has been trying to project this image for about 2 years. I could never really tell if she was trying to project this around me- or to me- because those are my values - or if she really understands the concepts behind what she says she wants. I know the family knows I am a hard ass about saving money, thats kind of my reputation. But she has been quick to say she bought this on sale, or that at a discount store...and I have never really known if she was "fronting" to earn respect, or if she has genuinely changed.

She has done some pretty big doozys over the last few years in regards to mis-handling, being immature about money- and once labeled- it's very difficult to change peoples perceptions.

Anyways- recently she was put to the test. Her car was totalled in a wreck and she was forced to get a new one. I watched this whole thing go down intently. This was a big test for her. Would she be smart or blow it? Does she really want to be frugal or just be trendy? Let's judge:

She was given her brand new car in high school and has driven it for almost 10 years now. (thrifty!)

She has wanted a replacement car for a few years now but has always said it is stupid to get a new car when the one you have works fine. (thrifty!)

She went to a car show a few months ago "to see what kind of car she would want when the time comes for a new car." (thrifty!)

She insists her fiance start driving her car to and from work an hour away "because her car has better gas milage", while she used his brand new truck to go back and forth to her own work. (thrifty? spoiled? I cant tell.)

Her fiance totals the car going to work and goes to the hospital for minor injuries. The car is towed to an impound lot. Once out of the hospital they go directly to a dealership to look at new cars. She skips informing her insurance company of the wreck- she skips finding out about her coverage options- if she can get a rental car or money for the car. (bad)...and a few days later it is determined the car has no value, and she does not have rental car insurance either.

She does not come home with a new car that night. (thrifty!)

She has narrowed her choice down to a certain American brand and model. The dealership tells her there are no '09's left and she can only buy a '10 model. She refuses to believe them. (thrifty!)

It actually turns out to be true. An internet search reveals that cash for clunkers has cleared out the inventory. A family member finds her one '09 with 3k miles on it for 10k below an '10 price. She turns her nose up at it and says "she does not want to buy someone elses car." (BAD!)

She finds out that her car that has been sitting in impound for 3 days is charging her by the day. She is furious no one told her. (just funny)and has it towed to the house.

She negotiates a deal for a fully loaded brand new '10 for $38,000.00 -no money down- 0% financing for 3 years. (good credit=thrifty...)

She earns $45k a year, her fiance $50k a year, and they both live at her parents house under the agreement that it is the best way for her to save money for a house and their wedding next year. Her fiance contributes $800 a month to the wedding fund- and she was paying $600 a month on her student loans, arguing that her student loans make it impossible for her to save money herself for a house or wedding.

It is unclear where the rest of her money goes. It is unclear how much money they have saved for the wedding or a house. She has no other bills besides car insurance and clothes.

Recently it was determined that she cannot pay both student loans and her new car payment so her father is currently paying her student loans. I dont know if this is a long term or temperary arrangement. (bad)

Overall- what do we grade her at? Maybe a C+? She seemed to have good intentions- but when it came down to doing the responsible, smart thing (buying a used car)- she just couldnt do it.

I think BB is going to be ok. Together we are getting him some leads.

I have been posting weekly on craigslist an ad for his baseball lessons and after 3 weeks- BB finally got a phone call. The first lesson was tonight and it was a success. The player is pretty good and is very responsive to BB's teaching style. The father watched the entire lesson and was impressed. The father arranged for another lesson next week. The player is going to be in a game on Saturday, and once the other players notice his improvements- the parents will start asking about BB. It always works that way- being patient and waiting for it to happen is what frusterates me.

But the snowball is beginning.

Last night I structured an email for BB to send the head coach of a local university asking to be considered for a pitching coach position. This is a division 1 school and they do not have/ never have had a pitching coach on their staff. BB is asking them to basically create the position. I feel good about the email- but BB said it can be tricky when you are dealing with coaches egos and especially because BB has much more experience than this head coach. I guess sometimes coaches dont like really experienced people under them because they worry about people second guessing them and trying to take over the program. Which BB would make a concious effort not to do- but the coach doesnt know that.

Plus money is tight- and the athletic program may not have money in their budget for another coach- but in all reality- a pitching coach on staff would do alot to improve their program. -so maybe BB has a shot. I dont know. We will see.

And we are still waiting to hear about the MLB job.

But things are starting to turn around. I am really proud of BB right now. At least the lessons will keep him afloat for a while.

At my job, I have been given the fredom to take initiative and help market an MBA program we are offering. The MBA program is 1 year long and students attend classes 2 Saturdays a month- completing the rest of the work online. Each class is 1 month long (12 classes in total). It is offered here in Savannah, as well as in Atlanta.

Any ideas? The department already spent it's advertising budget on direct mailers- so I am trying to think of cheap or free marketing.

I have been calling some of the larger retail businesses to set up a 5 min instore presentation to the workers during one of their regularly scheduled meetings...but not having any luck.

I was thinking of trying the police department but dont really know the infrastructure of who to ask, or how to ask.

Really, I am just trying to raise awareness of the program. The 1 year MBA is brand new, and holding classes 2 Saturdays a month was designed for working professionals.

...any ideas of how to best tell the community about it?

The stock market is doing well. Phew! I survived the crash and didnt wind up homeless. This was my first experience with a stock market dip and I learned somethings about myself:

1. I get more sorrow/stress from losing than I gain/feel from increases.

2. I would have pulled out the day after the stock market dropped way way down if it were not for this blog and everyone telling me it will come back.

3. That alot can happen in less than a year. If I have 30 years till retirement- I really dont need to be concerned right now.

4.That my parents money is very important to me. Being responsible with it is a way I honor their memory.

5. That when the news, people and everything is predicting hard hard times to come, and a recession or impending depression- my fears of whatthat means are not nearly as bad as the reality.

6. Karma. People who are irresponsible with money and keep up with the Jones's with money they dont have really do get what they have coming to them. No need for jealousy- let reality play out.

7. Diversity is really the way to cover your butt. Even though stocks are doing great right now- I know I need to get more in bonds to maintain a healthy diversity.

I myself have recovered significantly. I am going to rebalance my holdings so I am a in a little bit of a safer position. Today I am moving 30% of my stocks into bonds as a way to safeguard my heart in the event of another decline. Hopefully it will work out.

...why cant somebody invent a floor to ceiling refrigerator???!

Dont laugh, I have thought this through. I hope someone on this board likes my idea and runs with it (and it is only fair I get a discount on it).

refrigerators are lovely. They do wonderful things and American kitchens all have them.

But they are fat. They are big, bulky and jut into the middle of the kitchen.

Why has a floor to ceiling one not been invented? Take the extra 2-3 inches that juts out of the front and add it to the top. I know they make counter-depth ones now- but they dont seem to add the loss inches to the top! So you are left with a shorter/thinner fridge that is aestetically pleasing but holds less items.

Now to answer your questions:
"But Gamecock...no one can reach so high up beyond the 6 ft they make fridges now-it is all wasted space." -No its not!! They make cabinets that go above refridgerators and nobody can reach those! People can store excess items such as frozen meat/water bottles/whatever up there. Besides that, why do they make extra long cabinets that go up to the ceiling if no one can reach?- Because humans are resourcesful and will never turn away storage space! I dont mind getting out a stool- I do mind a huge refridgerator that takes up 5-6 inches of floor space beyond the counters. They can even add in a little stool that pulls out for people to step on to reach the upper limits of the fridge.

"But Gamecock- people dont need so much storage space." ....my inlaws have 4 (4!!) refrigerator/or freezers in their home. People need the extra space.

If it gets built- people will buy it.

I WANT it!

BB and I are slowly evolving into a more comfortable place.

He is still in the market for a job since retiring from baseball. I say "in the market" because "looking" is the wrong word. He gave up after one solid day of craigslist looking. He has pinned all his hopes on an MLB job that was told to him in confidentiality that will open up once a whole long line of firings/rehirings happens that if 1 friend off BB's is hired for then he promises to hire BB. Sounds like a long shot. A super long shot.
Nothing like putting all your eggs in one basket there BB.

And we know nothing until the season ends in late October.

I have given up with the whole BB looking for a job thing. He's like a stone. Always has an answer for why he wont get hired/shouldnt apply for any job but this one that might/might not open up in a month.
Talking/writing about it gets me angry.

In the meantime BB has settled into being a very good house-husband. He runs all my errands for me and does an ok job keeping the house clean. And he is not costing a lot of money either. I must say having him around to take care of house stuff/chores has been great.

When I am not thinking of the goals, responcibilities and money aspect of everything- I am very comfortable having him home unemployed. It has been nice having dinner cooked and all that.

But I do hope to hear one way or another about this MLB job soon.

I am ready to be a real 2 income family for a little bit.

Here is where I show my ignorance.

I have heard about this "homestead tax exemption" but never really knew what it was. People would talk about getting it when I lived (rented) in Florida and I never really understood it. Here in Savannah, People have mentioned they dont know what current property taxes are now because of the homestead exemption.

I just kind of assumed it was something that was offered a long time ago and did not effect me.

Then I got a bill in the mail from my mortgage company. They have been under charging me for my taxes. They plan to increase my payment by $31.00 a month!

That directly eats into my $100 a month additional payment to the principal!

I got angry and motivated. I pulled out a "tax assement" that had been sent to my house a few months ago that listed alot of values that did not make sense to me because they were valueing my house at about 1/2 of what I paid (so I was hiding the paper in shame), and told BB to march his way over to the courthouse, mortgage company or somewhere and FIX THIS while I was at work the next day.

BB did. I am still not sure what he did, but he locked in our taxes using this homestead exemption so they can never be raised. ?? I think. He was told it was locked it in at $50,000 below the stated value of the house. ?? So we essentially locked in paying taxes on a $50,000 property? That does not really make sense to me.But BB is saying its true. But BB has been plenty wrong before.

So I am not getting my hopes up- but am faxing over the documents to the loan company today and I hope they return my payment back to it's original number. I'll keep you updated.

Well I have had a retirement 401k account for 2 weeks now. I have lost .27 so far.

I was checking the account because I was getting a head start on my monthly net worth stats. I was having trouble opening the website and asked a coworker (CPA) to help me. He saw my pie chart of all my stocks that I chose and cautioned me they were all very very safe. I guess I am in mostly mutual funds.

I must tell you I had no method to my madness when setting up the account. I was presented with a list of 3 catagories (agressive/moderate/cautious) consisting of about 15 stocks to choose from for each catagory. I decided to go moderate and chose 8 different stocks and alloted somewhere between 10-15% to each stock.

I never really looked up the stock- what it did- or anything. I knew I wanted variety so I got some foreign stuff in there.

Now my co-worker warns me I am being very cautious. In this market I am ok with that. I dislike losses more than I like gains. I still think another big stock crash is coming...a loss of .27 is okay by me.

We'll see how I do next month.

My company took away the facilitator job oppertunity. My boss's boss told my boss it was a conflict of scheduling because she wanted me available on Saturdays (news to me) for when our program gets really busy. The facilitator job is on Saturdays.

I am sooooo disapointed. I am sooooo annoyed. My boss is annoyed too because that means he has to do the job- only he wont get paid.

So I told him to keep me in mind if we could work it out and he asked me to keep in mind anyone I know with a masters degree who would be willing to do it.

grrrrr....$1200 a month income taken away from me so I am available to work Saturdays with no extra pay.

Whoohooo! My Masters degree is worth something!

The job I currently have requires a bachelors degree. My collegues all have bachelors degrees. Although I was the first person hired for the new "team" that the company was creating, my higher degree was not necessary for the job. Though I do believe my masters degree gave me the edge over the 300! other applicants.

And I really enjoy my job. Even if I am overqulaified.

But! My company has recently had an opening for a "class facilitator" position that requires a masters degree.

The facilitator position is only 20 hours a month, but it pays nearly double my hourly wage! I jumped on it and my boss gave it to me!

Whoohoo!

In response to Whitestripe's entry , I am posting my own recent thought process in a different area.

My friends have all bought horses this year. Seems odd given the economy- but that made these "golden" oppertunities.

One friend paid $225,000 for 2 horses. The owner was divorcing and was behind on her horse bills- so she sold her 2 imported horses at a "bargain basement" price. My friend snatched the 2 up even though she was planning to first sell her current horse before buying a horse (not 2). So now she has 3 horses. And she is suffering. The bills have gotten much higher than she was expecting and she cannot sell her original horse (horse went lame at about the time the 2 new horses were shipped in).

My other friend got a horse from a racing farm that was "going out of business" and foreclosing. The owner told the barn staff to "get rid of the horses". In order to save the horses from the slaughterhouse- the barn staff spread the word that the horses are free and need to be gone within a few weeks. My friend heard about it and picked herself up a horse for free. Forget that she didnt need another horse- cant ride this horse- and a thoroughbred was not what she wanted for her next horse.

I want a horse. I love horses. But I cant afford it. They are expensive! I talked with another friend of mine who wants a horse but has resisted the impulse so far- and I concluded I would want $15,000 in the bank before I got a horse. The money would be set aside for "horse emergencies" and that amount would cover a few years of basic basics for a horse in the event that I lost my job- and I couldnt afford the horse. My friends- they do not plan for the cushions.
I know my thoroughbred friend lives paycheck to paycheck. I know my other friend relies on her boyfriend to pay for her horses. I cant help but shake my head at how risky they are being...but they get to wake up and ride a horse everyday. As my friend put it "if I worried about the consequenses of every purchase I made, I would never buy anything."

I set up an admissions appointment to get BB started in school again. He left college with 1 semester to go to play baseball. His MLB team promised in the contract that they will give him $14,000 towards completing his degree if he returns to school within 2 years of finishing playing baseball.

So it has been 8 years since he left school, we no longer live where he was working on his undergraduate...so I dont know how long it will take him to complete his degree.

I am now working at a private university that provides my immediate family 100% tuition reimbursement after 1 year of work.

We are hoping the MLB team's $14000 will cover the 1st year and my employee reimbursement will cover the rest for him.

My university does not offer sports management- the degree BB was working on-so enrolling into a new program will set him back further as well. At this point I kind of cringe thinking so few of his classes will transfer over. Right now we dont even have his unofficial transcripts to go off of, but he admissions rep is going to pull them for us and should have them in a few days. One less thing for us to worry about.

In addition BB must only go into the online degrees, since he retired from playing baseball this year- he is hunting for a full time job in baseball and the only thing we know at this point is he will not be here in Savannah. (No baseball jobs here.) I am worried because BB has limited computer skills and online classes are hard. I recently edited a class format for an online MBA degree and there are essay assignments due 5 or 6 nights a week. I worry that if BB is living in another state (away from me) then his schooling priority might start to fall by the wayside. But he says he is excited to get started.

At least we have options to hopefully make this degree no cost to us. My job has perks and I am grateful to be able to take advantage of them!

Since we are a private university, the admissions reps have quotas to fill and a lot of pressure is placed on them to get enrollments. This helps them provide excellent customer service, but it was nice also knowing I was helping make someones job a little more secure by enrolling with them.

A friend of mine recently: got engaged, moved to a new state to live with fiance, quit one job, got a new job, started school for a Masters degree and bought a horse. All within a month (except the getting engaged part).

Bad idea. She is completely overwhelmed and miserable.

I am going to fly up to her next month and try to put some fun back in her life.

I dont have the immediate money to do this. And if I was living paycheck to paycheck I wouldnt do this.
But I do have the money to do this. It's just assigned to "savings". Although this is not an "emergency" "retirement" or any other issue I have that money stashed away for- I think this is one of those times that you just have to be thankful you can afford to do this for a friend and recognize that although this kinks up your financial plans- the benefits to her outweight the hassle and inconveinence to you. So I will buy a plane ticket tonight. I am considering myself lucky that this was my unexpected cost...much more fun to me than a broken applience or medical bill.

I spent this weekend working on our bathroom. Really- decorating the bathroom. It is the guest bath and it was pretty ugly with odds and end fixtures, weird buttery colored walls, and builder basic everything.

So BB and I:
painted the walls a midnight blue color. (his choice since it is his primary bathroom.)

repainted the trim in off white.

We replaced main light over the mirror.

added a sconce to another wall.

replaced faceplates for light switches and electrical outlets in a brush nickel finish.

Bought a ivory shower curtain and bathmat.

Total cost $270.00

yes. It was! Where did the money go I am not sure. $90 for the 2 lights...$15 shower curtain...$15 bathmat...

...it was the stupid paint. First I bought a white sage color that looked HORRIBLE in the bathroom. The we bought the blue...but I only bought a quart. Then we needed another quart. Then a third quart. And a quart for the trim. Adds up I guess.

And to top it off...I still dont like the bathroom. The layout is very weird, and I never had the plaster walls refinished so they are very very textured. With the textured walls, the bathroom walls look sloppy. And there is no window, so no natural light. And because the walls are plaster- BB will not allow me to put up shelving/towel hooks or pictures because he does not want to ruin/start a messy project with drilling holes in plaster.

In addition- BB picked te paint color. But its a very formal color that would do a nice job to show off higher end finishes that we just dont have. So I am trying to like the bathroom. But mostly I just dont know if I like it or not. I am confused by it.

On the plus side: The walls look SO TALL! with that formal dark paint color. You walk in and the walls are framed by white tiles on the floor and a white ceiling...so the ceilings just look so much higher than the ceiling of the rest of the house, although they are the same height.

Wanna hear about crazy baseball?

A friend of mine was in the big leagues for a week 2 years ago. He appeared in 1 game for 2 innings (Though he did well).
The next year he is with a new team and injurs himself in spring training. He spends that year rehabbing, before ultimately deciding to get surgery.
His MLB team is kind of shady about awarding him workmans comp, so he decides to sue the team. (This is a HUGE no-no if you ever want to play baseball again.)
He just went to court and the results: He is given $50k in back pay, and for the rest of his life, any year he is not earning over $80k (in any job in any industry)- the MLB team must pay him to make up for the deficit.
Sometimes I cannot comprehend how much money MLB teams actually have.

A good friend of mine thinks she is broke. She feels broke because she cannot find a job and had to move in with her mother. She does not have enough money left over at the end of every month and is constantly left shutting down all lifestyle activities until her next check arrives in the mail.

She inherited 7 million dollars a few years ago.

She did not blow through 7 million dollars. She inherited it in the form of a trust fund that gives her large lump sums twice a year and a fixed allowance every month.

So twice a year she blows her large lump sum on something that she has been wanting, and every month she blows through her allowance and is left with no money in the bank at the end.

Good money management skills she never learned.

And without getting into pondering why she never learned to manage her money or ponder why she STILL does not mange her money..I think I found out that she has an actual money tree.

It's the end of the month. So yes my freind called me whining that she only has $10 to last her the whole weekend, and that she hates living with her mom but cant afford to get an apartment. And once again I tried to figure out how a girl with 7 million dollars does not even have enough money to fill up her car with gas.

It seems that with the current economic crisis, her trustees have cut her monthly allowance nearly in half in order to preserve the money to make it last for both her and her young daughters lifetime. So my friend who is terrible with money to begin with, has not handled the paycut very well.

But while listening, I was caught up in a vision of a tree made of money. And every month the tree would produce little fruits that were harvested and given to my freind. She consumes the fruits of the investments which is interest...but she can never get at the main trunk of the tree which is made up of the principal. (And to listen to her complain- you betcha she has really tried to get her hands on that tunk!)

Anyways- my friend has a money tree! One of the most saught after but elusive mythical objects of all time. And my friend has one.

And of course she doesnt even know it. I was envisioning her money tree as she was complaining about what was happening to her. I was picturing the tree all green and healthy with a halo around it.

Funny- she understands the CONCEPT regarding why her allowance was cut down- she agrees that it does need to happen in order to keep collecting the allowance for her lifetime...but she cant really comprehend her role in this story. Like, that she should adjust her lifestyle to accomodate the changes. Or that if she had saved some of it, she would not be hurting now. Or that if she had planted her fruit in investments of her own- she could have a second money tree for her discrecionary use!

Anyways, I didnt have much to say to her. She just looks for sympathy. She doesnt ever want advice or to learn anything. But I did get amused at the little vision that popped into my head as she described what had happened to her.

And- I do love her. I truly love this girl and think she has a lot to offer. But her money management skills- I shake my head because I have never seen anybody so lazy with their money.

This might be scary..

Biggies:
Grad School $14k 2005-08
3 piece living room set $1700 2006
1st car $4k 2004
2nd car $21k 2008
Wedding/engagement rings $9k 2008
Wedding $16k 2008
House $202k 2009
Closing costs $7500 2009
Moving company $1680 2009
New roof $10k 2009
Plantation shutters $1800 2009
Hardwood floors $1k 2009

hmmm...cant think of anything else...not as bad as I thought. (Now memories of other big purchases will come to me all day long)

Total spent: $289,680
Non Mortgage spent: $87,680

To answer BA's question:

I don't think I ever had a "turning point."
I was always frugal and always very stingy with my money.I never had debt, but I never really had much income either.

I think I got very serious about money when I inherited a lot of it. Up to that point I had been dealing with small-ish amounts of savings. $1000-1500 in the savings account at any given time. I was trying to save money for a house down payment but was only able to contribute about $50.00 a month!

A year after I had decided to start saving money for a house- I inherited my parents money. Suddenly I was dealing with numbers I had never seen before, and the money was split into accounts like 401K's, real estate, stocks, bonds and I didn't know anything about them. I realized that if I didn't learn and learn quick- it would be gone before I ever knew what I had.

I didn't ever think I would spend it till it was gone- I was never a crazy spender. Really I was afraid of mismanaging it until it was gone. I pictured how easily money is 'lost' in losing stocks, and how it ends up in other peoples pockets when it is not managed by ethical people. In addition I was afraid of not getting the money's 'potential' out of it, and missing out on a lot as a result. I was afraid of hitting retirement age, being broke and learning from someone else that my initial amount (by then gone) had the potential to double, triple or more in the previous 30 years if only I had properly maintained the money.

Basically, this money was the legacy of my parents, and all their hard work. It was really the only "living" thing I had left of them. (I know money is not alive-but the way it grows, lasts, makes you happy, gives you security, needs monitoring- sometimes it seems like a third member of our household.)

So it was those fears that drove me to a panicked attempt to learn everything there was to know about money, and money management.

Since then, 2.5 years ago-I have learned a lot but not enough. I have slowed down and gotten almost lazy with my money education. I still have about 65% of what I inherited (the stock market and real estate crash took a big chunk), and I have reached a level of peace where I am comfortable with the financial decisions I have made, I am comfortable with where the money sits, and I am comfortable looking into the future.

Things are going really well right now. I went out to TX and visited BB. It put things back in perspective for me.

With him being gone so long I started to forget why I love him. I started focusing on what I was imagining he was doing (like spending money) and I started just focusing on money to the exclusion of other things in my life.

But once I got out to TX I realized I have been over reacting the last few weeks. I love BB for so many reasons, and when I am with him, I am reminded why he is doing what he is doing.

And it helps that when I got out there I was able to see he is really holding up his end of the bargain by really not living above his means. He is not able to save much money, but he does save a large percentage of his paycheck.

So now that I am back in GA I am content to wait for the season to end. He is still weighing options about what to do this off season and next year.

This off season. That's all anyone in the baseball world is talking about right now. All the wives were asking me what our plans were- they are trying to weigh and compare their options just like we are. Everyone is living in limbo where there are lots of 'options' but no concrete final offers out there until the season ends.

So we will wait and see. In the meantime I created a flyer advertising BB's ability to give lessons- if that is what BB decides to do. The flyer is very very snazzy.

Grrr...BB made me mad yesterday. I am not so mad now because I know he did not intentionally mean what he said- he was trying to be helpful. I think. Or maybe he was being selfish. I prefer to think helpful.

SO- the story goes like this:

I have been squirreling money away for the past few weeks to save up for a flower bed border to be put in and maybe also have our front steps redone. I have not gotten any formal quotes but will call for prices when I have $500.00 stashed away.

This is obviously a purely want based purchase, so I have been saving money from my spending money- not taking any money from the automatic savings accounts I already have set up.At the moment I only have $80 so I still have a way to go.

ANYWAYS- I mentioned to BB that I was saving up to have this done during one of our phone calls. BB says "you know that job might be around $4-500 don't you?" I tell him I know this but I want to do it anyways. The call continues nonchalantly and that's the end of it.

A few days later I am talking to BB on the phone and he says, "I was thinking. You know how you are saving up money to have the front lawn border put in?" "Yes" I say. "Well, why don't you put that money towards the windows getting insulated and we can get that done when I get back into town?"

To provide backstory: Our 100 yr old windows work fine but are old and also sealed shut. We were quoted a price of $1500.00 to get all our windows re ballasted, unsealed and insulated a little better. We planned to have our windows done this past spring but the roof came up and we put the window money into the new roof instead. When BB went off to baseball this season he said that during the season he will save up the money to have the windows fixed. That was going to be his contribution to the house.(When he decided he would save up money during the season for the windows I knew he would be short $4-500 and rather than go through the math to punch holes in his theory I just mentally decided to shell out the remaining couple hundred because I knew the windows are a big deal to him right now. I think it has to do with the whole taking apart and putting back in aspect of the work- he gets really excited when he explains the process to other people. However I did not TELL him I would cover whatever funds he was short on- I just started putting away some money every paycheck so it would be there when he returned from the season.)

So when he asked me to use my flower border savings to contribute to the windows...that told me has not saved anything CLOSE to what it will cost to have the windows done. I am not surprised by this at all- for my birthday he purchased plane tickets for me to visit him and that was $350.00. So I knew that ate up a large part of his savings and he would be returning from the season with only a few hundred dollars to live on while he looks for a job.

The issue I have is many:
1. This goes back to the promising me financial things and not following through with it. Several times he has promised me money he will have in the future only to end up forgetting he promised it to me, needing it, or spending it elsewhere. And when he does not give me the money he promised he never apologizes or aknowledge that he is completely contradicting something he promised a few weeks or months beforehand. Its like he is hoping I will not remember or if I bring it up he get's defensive and pulls a "Gamecock..I don't have money to EAT and you want money for our wedding/windows/ect.." (And of course I want him to eat! But it was poor financial planning that got him into a situation where he had to decide to eat or give me the promised money!) Honestly I don't expect him to give me money for anything but he needs to STOP VOLUNTEERING IT because it really makes me angry when he does not follow through.

2. I am fine if he cannot pay to have the windows fixed. It is a priority for both of us to get done but if I don't have the extra money in my paycheck for it then why should I expect him to have the extra money in his paycheck? I do have a problem that he wanted me to take the money I had been saving from my spending money and apply it towards one of his priorities. He has his own list of priorities for getting the house fixed up and I have mine. He wants the windows done and then he wants a new refrigerator. I want my garden border and then this winter we need 3 trees removed that are growing into structures and then
I want the master closet taken out (yes I said out. It was an add-on and juts into the room oddly and leaves our bad squished up against 2 walls.)I plan to squirrel money away all year for each of these projects to get done because they are not really NEEDS so logically they should come from spending money. Likewise I think our rusty refrigerator will last another year or two so if BB wants to replace it now then that is his job.

3. I am just tired of 100% of my paycheck expected to cover everything. I feel like because I pay the bills for this house then none of my money is sacred. If he can create a compelling enough argument of why we NEED to get this or that done then it becomes my fault that it is not getting done. On the phone yesterday after my surprise he asked me to reapply the money I got very hostile. He got defensive and started rattling off assumptions about how much air/heat we are losing every month out of the windows and ended it with "well don't complain to me when our heating bill is $300 this winter." Which is ridiculous because I pay 100% for the electric bill so if I want to lose money every month then it is my right to do that. (Of course I don't WANT to but that's not the point today.)AND it is BB who ALWAYS must be comfortable! I often joke around that for the rest of my life I will never be comfortable because I married BB. I will always be too cold or too hot because BB controls the thermostat. BB always freezes me out in the summer and prefers to run the heat in the winter over putting on a sweatshirt. So the pretense that he is concerned about the electric bill just infuriates me. I AM concerned over the electric bill and that was my hot button for him to push. The ace he had up his sleeve to manipulate me into giving him what he wanted.

So we didn't talk for a while and then I talked to him last night and everything was cool.He had totally dropped the subject but I am still angry about it.
In his head he was just suggesting something but in my head it was a symptom of a way bigger issue.

I am just angry in general about the situation. I feel like I pony up enough of my paycheck for house responsibilities and since BB is not contributing to our financial situation then why should he feel entitled to be telling me how to spend my paycheck?

I am still new to the city and trying to meet people here. I "know" several people here, but don't know their phone numbers or anything. I am trying to integrate myself into groups and last night I was invited to a bar that was hosting a special event by the family that owns the bar (They are my age).
Since I went by myself I didn't feel comfortable drinking very much but I had 3 beers and 2 glasses of water. I stayed for about 3 hrs and feel like I made a lot of headway getting to know the family/staff and their friends.

So when I closed out my tab I tipped generously (about 60%) and walked out.

On my way to my car it occurred to me that I had a very inexpensive night. I pulled out my receipt and realized they only charged me for 2 beers rather than 3. I guess their gift/discount to me. But I tipped according to the price.

So essentially the bill was $6.00 and change and I tipped $4.00 creating a total of $10.00 and change.

But the bill SHOULD have been about $9.00 because I had 3 beers, not 2. So my tip covered the free beer but nothing else.

So I undertipped. And I want these people to like me and be my friend.

I feel really bad. What should I do?

I decided to track my mortgage payoff through the use of the charts that I love to create.

This is a simple one showing how much of the house has been paid off.

Next year around this time I will look at the graph and compare my progress.

Things here in Savannah are going well. Not much to report other than my new job has been great.

I am being spoiled. My new company is great with 12 paid vacation days a year, a great set of coworkers, and a really supportive organization.

I moved into my (own!) office today, and I was given a blackberry to use. I don't know how to use the blackberry yet, but I am sure I will be addicted soon enough.

My coworkers are all my age. We were all hired together as a special "team" and though none of us has previous experience in this industry- we are excited to start impressing our bosses.

I was sad sad sad to leave my old job- but I think I def made a good move to start this new job.

Experimenting with charts. This is from onlinecharttool.com:





BTW: Before everyone comes down on me about retirement...I am waiting to qualify for my company 401k next month before I can get a real grasp of my contributions.