0November 11 was my 1-year anniversary of writing a blog at Savings Advice. The date snuck up on me, so I decided to take a peak back in Quicken to see how my financial state had changed since joining this community. [b]Wait, is that for real?[/b] You�d think that because I keep track of things in Quicken I would be watching my progress over the past year- but I wasn�t. I diligently added in everything spent and everything earned, but I wasn�t watching the change in net worth. In part this was due to opening a Roth and high yield CDs causing the money to be spread across a number of accounts. Plus, my old (2004) version of Quicken no longer supports automatic downloads so I it had been some time since my ROTH and 401(k) were updated. Drumroll, please: From 11/11/06 to 11/11/07 [b]I increased my net worth by $12,346.85. [/b] My take home pay from the University during this period was $20,760.19 (this includes by stipend plus the additional pay I received for teaching courses in the summer). Like most people, I pay rent, utilities, and a small car payment. When I started on this adventure, I never would have guessed I could increase my net worth by so much in a year. My objective was truly just to try to spend less and save some money. So, how did I do it? Here�s my retrospective analysis: [b]1.) I looked for additional income streams (+ $3675.77)[/b] For those of you that have been following my Challenge, you�ll notice that I�ve earned just shy of $2700 in the challenge. My Challenge includes only new income streams since 1/1/07, but I have other income streams that were not new in the New Year that you'll see represented here. The bulk of the non-Challenge income came from my personal chef gig where I delivered homemade meals to a professional couple. That job ended in Spring when they had a baby and the woman stayed at home. Personal Chef: $950.00 Ride Share: $90.00 Babysitting: $1731.00 eBay sales: $507.91 Half .com sales: $294.91 Garage Sale / Classified sales: $262.00 MINUS -160.05 for eBay fees and shipping for eBay and Half.com TOTAL ADDITIONAL INCOME: $3675.77 Looking back at this makes me realize how lucrative the personal chef gig was. On the flip side, I feel like I baby sit all the time and the amount is still relatively small. Cooking was exhausting, babysitting is generally pretty relaxing and fun. I plan to keep on doing it. I was also able to earn a respectable amount by selling stuff I didn't use and didn't value through eBay, Half.com and a garage sale. When I move in 6 months, I'm sure I will appreciate the head start on de-cluttering. [b]2.) I re-balanced my 401(k) (+ $1,148.00)[/b] I had a 401(K) from a job I worked at between 2000-2002. Shortly after leaving that employer, the employer switched wealth management companies. They moved all my investments into a money market account and told me I needed to re-balance. I did nothing for three years. This is something I kick myself for now. Anyway, around December of this year I re-balanced have seen $1,148 in growth. This was probably the single easiest thing I did that helped increase my net worth over the past year. [b]3.) I opened high yield savings accounts and CDs. ($495.82)[/b] One of the first pieces of advice I acted on from the Savings Advice community was to open high yield savings account. In late November of last year, I opened accounts at both ING and Emigrant Direct. Although ING doesn�t have the highest interest rate out there, its rates are competitive and the $25 new account bonus plus $10 referral bonus for new accounts more than made up the differential for me. In the past year, I�ve earned $360.82 in interest in all my accounts, $110 in referral bonuses at ING Direct, and $25 for a new account bonus. In other words, I earned $500 just for letting the right banks hold my money. When I think back to my financial life prior to November 2006, I feel frustrated with myself for letting my money sitting in a checking account earning squat in interest. If you�re reading this and don�t have a high interest checking, get one today! If you leave me your email, I�ll email you an ING referral and we�ll both benefit: you�ll get $25 if you open an account with $250 and I�ll get another $10 referral bonus. After I opened my high yield checking accounts, I diligently transferred any odd job money I earned immediately from my checking account to my high yield account so I could earn as much interest as possible. As my savings accounts grew, I started moving the money into CDs. Currently, I have savings account at ING and Emigrant Direct (at 4.2% and 4.75% APR, respectively) and CDs at Emigrant Direct at 5.2% and 5.1% APR) [b]4.) I started a ROTH IRA (+$306.87)[/b] In January 2007, I moved money from my high yield savings account to open and max out a Roth contribution for tax year 2006. I also started regularly contributing to a Roth for 2007. By July 2007, I had the 2007 Roth maxed out. I achieved this by contributing $150 monthly plus the income I earned over the University for teaching summer school. My Roth is currently in the Vanguard 2045 Target Retirement fund. It�s a topsy turvey market lately, but as of 11/11/07, I had earned 306.07 on my $8000 contribution. [b]5.) I embraced frugality and tracked my spending.[/b] How many times have you been at the grocery store and looked at receipt afterward and thought, �How did all those $1-$2 items add up to so much?� I can�t quantify how much I saved through watching the small purchases, but the little things [b]do[/b] add up. Furthermore, if your income isn�t very high to begin with, (like mine), the total percent of those little things can easily become overwhelming. By using Quicken, I was able to watch my monthly expenses and make sure a few dollars here and there wasn�t usurping by paycheck. In addition, as I become more involved with my money, I found myself far less tempted by impulse purchases. I did a lot of [url= http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/cooking/] homecooking[/url], [url= http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/grocery-shopping-and-coupons/]couponing[/url], and [url= http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/shopping-and-deals/]shopping for bargains[/url] while trying to resist the urge for a bargain if it wasn�t really needed.. In sum, I feel happier and more empowered. Prior to joining Savings Advice I felt nervous anytime I saw an article in the newspaper about money and personal finance. Now, I know where I stand. I have more work to do before I can achieve some of my financial dreams like buying a house, but I do know [b]I can have a rich life without a lot of money[/b]. This gives me freedom and confidence asdf123

November 11 was my 1-year anniversary of writing a blog at Savings Advice. The date snuck up on me, so I decided to take a peak back in Quicken to see how my financial state had changed since joining this community.



Wait, is that for real?



You�d think that because I keep track of things in Quicken I would be watching my progress over the past year- but I wasn�t. I diligently added in everything spent and everything earned, but I wasn�t watching the change in net worth. In part this was due to opening a Roth and high yield CDs causing the money to be spread across a number of accounts. Plus, my old (2004) version of Quicken no longer supports automatic downloads so I it had been some time since my ROTH and 401(k) were updated.



Drumroll, please: From 11/11/06 to 11/11/07 I increased my net worth by $12,346.85.



My take home pay from the University during this period was $20,760.19 (this includes by stipend plus the additional pay I received for teaching courses in the summer). Like most people, I pay rent, utilities, and a small car payment. When I started on this adventure, I never would have guessed I could increase my net worth by so much in a year. My objective was truly just to try to spend less and save some money.



So, how did I do it? Here�s my retrospective analysis:



1.) I looked for additional income streams (+ $3675.77)



For those of you that have been following my Challenge, you�ll notice that I�ve earned just shy of $2700 in the challenge. My Challenge includes only new income streams since 1/1/07, but I have other income streams that were not new in the New Year that you'll see represented here. The bulk of the non-Challenge income came from my personal chef gig where I delivered homemade meals to a professional couple. That job ended in Spring when they had a baby and the woman stayed at home.



Personal Chef: $950.00

Ride Share: $90.00

Babysitting: $1731.00

eBay sales: $507.91

Half .com sales: $294.91

Garage Sale / Classified sales: $262.00

MINUS -160.05 for eBay fees and shipping for eBay and Half.com

TOTAL ADDITIONAL INCOME: $3675.77





Looking back at this makes me realize how lucrative the personal chef gig was. On the flip side, I feel like I baby sit all the time and the amount is still relatively small. Cooking was exhausting, babysitting is generally pretty relaxing and fun. I plan to keep on doing it. I was also able to earn a respectable amount by selling stuff I didn't use and didn't value through eBay, Half.com and a garage sale. When I move in 6 months, I'm sure I will appreciate the head start on de-cluttering.



2.) I re-balanced my 401(k) (+ $1,148.00)



I had a 401(K) from a job I worked at between 2000-2002. Shortly after leaving that employer, the employer switched wealth management companies. They moved all my investments into a money market account and told me I needed to re-balance. I did nothing for three years. This is something I kick myself for now. Anyway, around December of this year I re-balanced have seen $1,148 in growth. This was probably the single easiest thing I did that helped increase my net worth over the past year.



3.) I opened high yield savings accounts and CDs. ($495.82)



One of the first pieces of advice I acted on from the Savings Advice community was to open high yield savings account. In late November of last year, I opened accounts at both ING and Emigrant Direct. Although ING doesn�t have the highest interest rate out there, its rates are competitive and the $25 new account bonus plus $10 referral bonus for new accounts more than made up the differential for me. In the past year, I�ve earned $360.82 in interest in all my accounts, $110 in referral bonuses at ING Direct, and $25 for a new account bonus. In other words, I earned $500 just for letting the right banks hold my money.



When I think back to my financial life prior to November 2006, I feel frustrated with myself for letting my money sitting in a checking account earning squat in interest. If you�re reading this and don�t have a high interest checking, get one today! If you leave me your email, I�ll email you an ING referral and we�ll both benefit: you�ll get $25 if you open an account with $250 and I�ll get another $10 referral bonus.



After I opened my high yield checking accounts, I diligently transferred any odd job money I earned immediately from my checking account to my high yield account so I could earn as much interest as possible. As my savings accounts grew, I started moving the money into CDs. Currently, I have savings account at ING and Emigrant Direct (at 4.2% and 4.75% APR, respectively) and CDs at Emigrant Direct at 5.2% and 5.1% APR)



4.) I started a ROTH IRA (+$306.87)

In January 2007, I moved money from my high yield savings account to open and max out a Roth contribution for tax year 2006. I also started regularly contributing to a Roth for 2007. By July 2007, I had the 2007 Roth maxed out. I achieved this by contributing $150 monthly plus the income I earned over the University for teaching summer school. My Roth is currently in the Vanguard 2045 Target Retirement fund. It�s a topsy turvey market lately, but as of 11/11/07, I had earned 306.07 on my $8000 contribution.



5.) I embraced frugality and tracked my spending.

How many times have you been at the grocery store and looked at receipt afterward and thought, �How did all those $1-$2 items add up to so much?�



I can�t quantify how much I saved through watching the small purchases, but the little things do add up. Furthermore, if your income isn�t very high to begin with, (like mine), the total percent of those little things can easily become overwhelming. By using Quicken, I was able to watch my monthly expenses and make sure a few dollars here and there wasn�t usurping by paycheck. In addition, as I become more involved with my money, I found myself far less tempted by impulse purchases. I did a lot of

Text is homecooking and Link is http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/cooking/

Text is couponing and Link is http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/grocery-shopping-and-coupons/

Text is shopping for bargains and Link is http://threebeansalad.savingadvice.com/shopping-and-deals/