Personal Finances – November 2009

This has been a busy month for me financially, with big purchases and changes to my positions. I spent some time talking with my store manager about taxes and exemptions, and learned a little bit about how they work. I decided to change my number of exemptions on my weekly check from one to two, and I have been seeing around twenty more dollars in my weekly paychecks. Doing so will reduce how much money I get back on my tax returns, but I would rather have my money coming to me every week, than waiting until the end of the year in one lump sum. I have also decided to take that money and start putting it into my savings account, even though it isn’t earning very much interest right now. It could at least be used to buy birthday and Christmas gifts come next year.

I decided to get myself an early Christmas present: a new TV. Amazon had an LG 37” LCD with 240 Hz refresh rate on sale last week, so I had to take advantage of that. Needless to say, that still put a big dent in my pocketbook. However, my lovely girlfriend decided to give me some money to cover part of the cost. That was a very good thing since I went in for some routine maintenance for my car that cost $400, and just so happened to be on the same day the TV was to be delivered. I was anxious all morning and had to wait almost until 4 before I actually received it when they said they would deliver it between 12-4. It felt like I was waiting for the cable company.

While I was waiting for the TV to show up, I got to watch the stock market and do some research on my few positions. Nordic American Tanker lowered its dividend payout from $0.50 to $0.10 per share this past quarter, drastically reducing my passive income. The stock appreciated in value though, and has given me a 10% gain from my lowest entry point. I learned my lesson, and I will not be selling it just because I have a quick 10% gain. I have to quit kicking myself about Caterpillar.

One of my alternative ways to invest money, Oneseason.com, is no longer with us. The company wasn’t doing as well as it could have been, and wasn’t all that interesting after the stock markets tanked last year. It was completely driven by supply and demand, but I think they should have given some value to the shares that were being purchased by investors. Maybe if they had integrated fantasy sports with their shares of players they could have given the shares real value.

Now, I await the holiday season and sit around until the last minute to buy gifts for everybody on my list.

$1,874.13 Total Income

$1,800.00 Monthly Pay Checks
$2.39 Checking Account Interest
$0.01 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

$649.30 Net Monthly Cash Flow
$74.13 Passive Income
6.05% Passive Income % of Expenses

$5,977.79 Total Assets

$427.87 Checking Account
$7.62 Savings
$108.96 Scottrade Account
$31.46 Prosper Account
$15.52 ChaCha Account
$9.05 Paypal Account
$974.16 IRA
$919.19 401k
$3,483.96 in Stock
$1,126.20 Loans on Prosper

$21,803.96 Total Liabilities

$12,767.05 School Loans
$7,678.70 Car Loan
$810.84 Credit Card
$547.37 Prosper Loan

-$15,826.17 Net Worth

Related posts:

1. Personal Finances – October 2009
2. Personal Finances – April 2009
3. Personal Finances – March 2009
4. Personal Finances – February 2009
5. Personal Finances – Beginning 2009