Jan 3 2010

Personal Finances – December 2009

Posted by BrianEarley in Personal Finances
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Well, it has been a year since I started keeping track of my finances for everybody to see. 2009 was a very good year for me financially, as I started a new job and earned a promotion and almost a second which I hope to get this year. There is a good chance that I might even get to be a store manager in the very near future too. Along with the increased pay from getting the promotion, I also received my 120 day and one year raise. My income from my job has increased by $200 a month in only a year.

My passive income has taken a little bit of a hit this past year though. I took some money out of my Prosper account while it was dormant for a while, and many charge-offs also brought my income down. Adding money to my stock positions increased my dividend payouts slightly, but Nordic American Tanker (NAT) reduced their dividend payout, so I’m not making as much as I originally thought I would with dividends.

In the expense department, it has increased significantly as I am now paying rent to my girlfriend for living with her. The money goes towards living expenses and utilities, but I still keep it a flat rate. My car insurance decreased, because I turned 25 in January. That was a big help! I also payed off my medical bills finally, even though my final payment didn’t go through, and they didn’t notify me. Five months later, they decided to inform me with a “final notice.” After much complaining I finally paid it off, but let them know that I was very dissatisfied. Both my net monthly cash flow and passive income as a percentage of my expenses have decreased considerably. I’ll be working on fixing that this year.

Total assets have dropped slightly, which was mostly from my friend paying off his debt that he owed to me. Kudos to him! OneSeason went down the tubes, along with almost $200. It was a small risk I was willing to take to see how the website would work. As stated before, many of my Prosper notes were charged-off and put me $200 in the red for that investment as well. That should turn around this year with the improving economy and people being hired again. The bright spot was more money being invested in the stock market which has appreciated nicely, and should continue to do so.

My total liabilities and debt was reduced by $6,000 in just one year! That brings my total debt to around $21,000, and net worth to only -$15,000. If I can keep up with that pace, I should be able to be debt free in around three years! It doesn’t take a fancy “get out of debt” program to help you live a better financial life, it just takes a little common sense and planning out your expenses. What you need to know when it comes to budgeting and managing money you already learned in grade school, you just might not have realized you can apply it to get out of debt yourself. Have a happy New Year and I hope you make it a prosperous one!

$1,874.24 Total Income

$1,800.00 Monthly Pay Checks
$2.39 Checking Account Interest
$0.12 Savings Account Interest
$9.17 Dividends ($53.40 / qtr.)
$62.56 Prosper Loans

$1,224.83 Total Expenses

$188.00 School Loans
$192.00 Car Payment
$450.00 Food & Utilities
$100.00 Gas
$82.00 Cell Phone
$50.00 Entertainment
$129.86 Insurance
$32.97 Personal Loan

$649.41 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$74.24 Passive Income
6.06% Passive Income % of Expenses

$6,567.66 Total Assets

$761.08 Checking Account
$107.72 Savings
$115.56 Scottrade Account
$29.52 Prosper Account
$16.48 ChaCha Account
$9.05 Paypal Account
$919.93 IRA
$1,198.79 401k
$3,409.53 in Stock
$1,145.93 Loans on Prosper