Update! Finances get me hard every time. I just watched Nightline and it was about how 7-11 is doing pretty damn amazing during these trying times, picking up properties for 20 - 30% cheaper than that could have a year or two ago.

I really enjoy articles on finance, money, investing, speculating, entrepreneurship, small-business owners, and reading other people's stories of success and failure. I am the way I am with money, because I knew I never wanted to have money troubles like my mother had when bringing me up as a single parent in Houston. (one time when we didn't have electricity for a couple of months I walked by a candle and caught my hair on fire). Also, when my mother did marry my step-father we were still living paycheck to paycheck and I remember all through my teenage years, countless fights about money, and bounced checks almost weekly. Piece of shit cars that barely ran, and no help from either parents for any of my college tuition or really, much else.

It's funny what your parents unintentionally teach you. I have never bounced a check in my life, and my credit score is impeccable. 800+ last I checked.



So for this year I basically had three fairly lofty goals.

1. To double my stock account 
2. To double my savings account
3. To double my 401K account

And then a larger, more encompassing goal of having a net worth of $100k by 12/31/2009.

As for the stock account, I began the year in the red -14% and with $4500 in the account. I currently am in the black at +9.65% for the year, and my account is now at $8700. Since buying Apple it's gone up 86%. So I've got a little ways to go to hit my goal of doubling the $4500, but that should be doable by the end of the year.

My savings account is going well. I paid off the credit cards that I was using to collect "stoozing" interest from a few months ago so I don't have to worry about missing a payment on those bad boys anymore. I have all my savings at a small bank that is giving 4.44% APY. Started the year with $10,700 in it and I currently have $17,500. This goal is probably going to be hard to reach by the end of the year, but it will feel amazing if I can accomplish it.

The only goal that has actually been met so far, is my 401k. At one point this year I was down over 50% during the 12-months prior to that time. I have already gained that back because I have almost all of my funds in the most aggressive funds, and it's in nearly 100% stocks. Throughout the year I tweaked my percentages between the various funds, and accepted the advice that the company provides us every quarter.  I surpassed my goal of doubling what I had at the beginning of the year, a couple of weeks ago. As of yesterday:



I would like to replace my 401K with another goal now, so that I always have 3 goals I am working on, but I haven't yet decided on a replacement goal.

As for the all encompassing year-long goal, I don't think it's going to be possible due to various circumstances, but I will definitely hit it next year sometime.

Kyle, if you didn't pay for your condo in full the day you bought it then it isn't yours, it belongs to the bank.

Obviously you don't know how to calculate net worth. I am only counting the market value of my condo minus the amount I still own on the condo. (Already have paid $4000 of it off.)  Obviously the value has depreciated some. Year before last my appraisal was $116,000. This year is $111,000. I do see somebody has posted a unit in the complex for $114,00 - be interesting to see if it sells at that. Still, I bought it at a great price for $98,500 using low-income status because I made under $37,000 working part-time that year.

Anyway I use Bankrate's Net Worth calculator to determine my worth.

"The value of your assets exceeds your obligations by $85,686.00". So I have $15K to go before hitting the $100k mark. Some of that will be easy, such as paying off the last bit of credit card debit I have ($2000).

My condo is only about 20% of my current $85,686 net worth.

I have only intrinsic worth.

Ok, this is all fucked up now but I am replying to 13chem and Balor's replies from the wrong thread in Sex.

I wasn't talking about net worth when I said your condo didn't belong to you, but rather that it belonged to the bank.  I just think that people screw themselves over when they start thinking about things as assets when they don't own them outright.  If your condo is only 20% of your current net worth then what do you own that equals the other 80%?  Since I have been studying accounting I have noticed that the only asset you can really count on counting is cash... that is in your pocket or under your mattress.

Yeah, I completely understand my condo is owned by "the bank." (In my case there are two loans so it's two different banks.) In figuring net worth though, in practice, you do count the value of your house minus the amount owed as an asset, albeit "on paper." I can see calling a home a liability in general, especially until you actually go to sell it. The loan is the liability. Sure, money in the bank is worth more than value in a home because of the liquidity factor. But when figuring net worth, you count it.

"To figure your own net worth, you add the value of the assets you own, including but not limited to cash, securities, personal property, real estate, and retirement accounts, and subtract your liabilities, or what you owe in loans and other obligations.

If your assets are larger than your liabilities, you have a positive net worth. But if your liabilities are more than your assets, you have a negative net worth. When you apply for a loan, potential lenders are likely to ask for a statement of your net worth." - http://financial-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Net+worth

My net worth broken down:
$19,000 in cash/savings
$8,700 in stocks
$30,400 in 401k
$11,000 for RX-8 (I understand this is being very generous, but this is how I am counting it. This is less than the KBB value for private party sale. Also, since I have no loan on it - it's been paid off for years, it's pure value.)
$16,500 in home value/equity ($111,000 - $94,500)

You sure you want to post that shit for the world to see?

I have only intrinsic worth.

I only have sentimental value.

Kyle, we're proud you finally got laid and got an STD. You can stop attention whoring now, no one cares about how thick and veiny your portfolio is.

I have a lot of net debt. No stocks unfortunately, I had all my money tied up for the first half of this year and missed the rally, worst luck.

My advice to Kyle is to cash in whatever has gone up since march & pay 30% - 40% of your loan on your condo off. Put the savings you are making on interest back into shares and stuff and start accumulating again. That lets you hedge against any drop-offs in the market following the recent stock price increase. Then I would buy a foreclosed property in need of repair, renovate it and either sell or rent it out.

You'll be increasing your net-worth on three fronts:
Stocks like you are doing now
Property - higher equity in your condo and a renovation project
Cash/Savings - paying less interest = more for you.

How does Kyle have so much fucking money yet he eats out for every meal?

He doesnt buy condoms.

I have only intrinsic worth.

I only have sentimental value.

Awww, both of you guys are so precious.   

hey, recommend dropping the apple stock in the next year, since it's going to take a beating when jobs dies.

also, they're starting to have some product launched which are conceptually strange & without focus.

He doesnt buy condoms.

those things are too fucking expensive. $14.99 for a box of 16 or something? christ. .

They still have big baskets of free condoms at university health clinics.  And I still have a grad school ID!

Man, some things I do are super cheap.

I just tell coeds that if they want to fuck me, bring a handful.

They still have big baskets of free condoms at university health clinics.  And I still have a grad school ID!

Man, some things I do are super cheap.

they do have the free NYC condoms out here, but people always complain about how shitty they are.

But if you wanted to have a party, think how cheap the balloons would be!

Update.

First thing - I have been mulling over the thought of paying off the first of my two mortgages on the condo soon. (I have one for $75K and the one I am thinking of paying off is $23k). I had the thought in the very back of my head for a while, but Nick really got me thinking about it some more. 

Positives:

• instant $23k equity in my condo (on top of the ~$17k I already have in it) bringing it up to about $40k in equity.
• $250 less a month that I will have to pay on the mortgage

Negatives:

• My savings would be completely wiped out.
• Potential to have less tax reductions at the end of the year, due to not paying interest on that loan any more.

I need to sit down with myself one night, and actually do some number crunching to find out exactly how much I will save, the exact tax consequences, how quickly I could get a savings account back up, etc.

These past two months have not been good with regards to monthly outflow. Starting last month the firm decided not to pay for parking anymore due to the economic situation. So that is $120/month I now have to pay to park downtown. I just received a statement from Wells Fargo and they are upping my monthly mortgage payment with them, $60/month, due to projected property taxes owed at the end of the year. (Wells Fargo is my $75k loan - CitiMortgage is my $23k). Just Monday, I received a quote for my Esurance 6-month policy. Rapists. I have been paying $631 every 6 months, and now they want me to pay $950 every 6 months, which equates to about a $60/month increase. I called them last night to find out what the deal is, and they said it is nothing I did -- this is some sort of Esurance Texas "blanket" rise in insurance costs. So within the past two months, my monthly bills have gone up $240/month. Blah.

In better news, my 401K now is up 16% YTD, and so I am recouping some losses, albeit slowly. I should have about $33K in it, but currently stand abount $24k.

My stocks were down nearly 45% about the same time (February) and now I am only down 7% (this is total from when I bought the stocks - not based on a particular time period). I have $1500 I am waiting to throw into some more stocks, but haven't read about anything worth a shit lately. Already own GE and Bank of America, so don't want any more banking/finance related companies. Apple and Visa are my shining portfolio stars right now.

Anyway, I guess I am still figuring things out. More, like gliding along with occasional spurts of activity, than actively investing in my future.

I have the potential for so much more; I just need motivation.

You'd be a catch if you weren't so creepy.

... and taller, and less whiny, and more masculine, and not Kyle.

Well, that goes without saying.

So what you girls are saying is, although his mind and body are horrible, there's still a certain legal tenderness about him.

Yeah and he's got money, too.

You sure you want to post that shit for the world to see?

Meh. It's on CNN man.

How does Kyle have so much fucking money yet he eats out for every meal?

Eating out is my biggest weakness; fucking kryptonite. I am throwing away so much money each month on bullshit. I did go shopping a few months ago and $60 lasted me a week and a half which was a significant savings, but spending my time grocery shopping is not appealing at all. I bet I could hit savings goal for the year if I started grocery shopping. Hmm. Tricky, if you were here you could go shopping for me and I'd pay you for it, as long as it ended up being cheaper overall than me eating out every day.

hey, recommend dropping the apple stock in the next year, since it's going to take a beating when jobs dies.

also, they're starting to have some product launched which are conceptually strange & without focus.

I was fairly disappointed at the 9/9/9 event that Apple held. (Other than the fact that Steve Jobs showed). No mention of the oft-rumored tablet-pod, no cameras in the iPod Touch (I do understand from a business point why they didn't do this), and just generally getting a feeling that iPods are getting pretty stale. I wouldn't say the market is saturated yet, and I do like how they are pushing the iPod Touch as a gaming platform now. I have downloaded some pretty sick games on mine. iTunes 9 is pretty cool - specifically the ability to arrange your apps much more easily! Argh. It's a good company, an exciting and forward-looking company, but I do worry about the longevity.

Hey I have condoms! Tons in fact, because I was trying all various kinds with "J" to see which felt best. (My conclusion: none). I have LifeStyles SKYN, Trojan Her Pleasure, and Trojan Thintensity (the best of the bunch) in a drawer along with my cock-rings and lube.

Whiny? Hmm, that's a new one.

You sure you want to post that shit for the world to see?

Meh. It's on CNN man.

Your personal net worth is on CNN? You happy for the world to see that you can rub 2 coins together?

Good luck with that.

I was answering your question and that is that obviously no, I don't care that the world sees my finances if I have the shit up on CNN. I was interviewed and asked if I had any problems having my story out in the public arena, and I told the lady I did not.

I enjoy reading other people's tales of successes and failures, like some of the "Makeover" stories in Money magazine where families go into great detail about their finances and folks at Money magazine give their thoughts on how the families can reach their goals. The familes have no problem with it. I don't either. It's not like it is some super secret data.

Fair enough... I just prefer to keep my net worth to myself. I dont need to advertise the likelyhood that I may or may not be worth attention.

The only user here who has any idea is Nick. And like the true champion that he is, he keeps that to himself.

How does Kyle have so much fucking money yet he eats out for every meal?

He's an engineer. if you can do a job not many others can or want to, you generally make bank

The only user here who has any idea is Nick. And like the true champion that he is, he keeps that to himself.

Ian is worth more than his AFL team this year.

I'm happy, my bank offered me another house with 100% financing and I almost bought it but at the last minute called a land agent and asked about rental properties. 250 rentals are vacant in this city. I ran like hell, pissed a few people off and am glad I did.

Good call... where abouts?

Rotorua, 3 days ago this all went down. I angered some folk, but I'm happy not to own the 251st vacant rental in this town