Net worth update August 23, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Debt.2 comments
I haven’t been into my spreadsheet for a while, so I just spent a few minutes updating figures and calculating my current net worth.
Thanks to better 401(k) performance and a slightly revised estimate of my car’s value (from a local dealer), my net worth is up to -$2,500! And that includes about $7,000 of a student loan at less than 4 percent interest, so I figure I’m in pretty good shape.
I also opened an ING Direct account this week, using a referral link from Jane Dough to get the extra $25. Starting the first week in September, I’ll be putting $65 a week into it as a car fund. At the end of the year, I’ll assess my car’s health – it’s due for a major servicing then – and if all seems well, I’ll transfer a big chunk out to pay down my CC balance.
On the negative side, some work craziness plus my recent vacation led to me adding to my CC balance. Nothing huge, but enough so that what I’ve been putting towards it the last two or three weeks is just about covering what I added. I’m trying to get back on track, though.
Grocery store gas August 19, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Frugal living.8 comments
My grocery store now has a gas station to help them compete with the store scheduled to open next week that *also* has a gas station. My store has an opening special for customers with a rewards card, so I got gas for $2.57 last night, when the best price elsewhere in town is $2.72. The rewards card also will save me 3 cents off the regular price/gallon all the time. So I’m enjoying slightly less expensive gas for the moment. 
My other big gas savings is our new loop road around the city. I live near one end of it, and it opened last week while I was on vacation. It’s great! Now instead of dealing with a million downtown traffic lights, I can just hop on and cruise around.
Explaining pensions August 18, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Retirement.add a comment
As Doris noted below, I didn’t make it back Wednesday night. But I’m back now.
Last night, I spent several minutes trying to explain pensions to my guy (aka WG), since he’s considering early retirement for a few reasons. The benefit of working at the same company since he was a teenager means he’s got a lot of years of service and can think about this. But trying to explain that he needs to find out what level of benefits he gets now vs. waiting to get more years of service was tough. (We won’t even mention the problems with explaining how pension benefits top out after X years.)
He needed me to explain it so, as he put it, he knows what he’s supposed to ask his HR person. I didn’t do a great job at the time, since I wasn’t expecting the discussion. (He’s mentioned early retirement before, so that wasn’t news. It was the nuts and bolts part I wasn’t expecting. We digressed from a discussion about annual salary.) So I e-mailed him this afternoon with clearer (I hope) explanation.
The discussion did get me thinking though, especially with the bill that just passed Congress. I haven’t read much about it yet, but it’s on my to-do list. How many non-union companies still offer pensions? And how many will continue to do so?
Back from vacation August 16, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Admin.6 comments
Sorry for the hiatus, but I was on vacation and never quite managed to blog while I was gone.
I’m still wading through piles at work – amazing how much accumulates during an 11-day absence – but will hopefully be back tonight with a substantive post.
Watching the electric bill August 1, 2006
Posted by irishmadness in Frugal living.4 comments
We’re under a severe heat warning until 6 p.m. Thursday around here, so I might be breaking my “avoid AC” rule at home – for health reasons. I’m waiting to see what it’s like when I get home tonight. Fortunately, I’m on an earlier work schedule this week, so I’m spending the hottest hours in AC at the office. On the flip side, I get out mid-evening instead of close to midnight, which means my apartment won’t have as much time to cool off. We shall see…
