- Up at 5 two days in a row. Sleepy. #
- May your…year be filled w/ magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you…kiss someone who thinks you’re wonderful. @neilhimself #
- Woo! First all-cash grocery trip ever. Felt neat. #
- I accidentally took a 3 hour nap yesterday, so I had a hard time sleeping. 5am is difficult. #
- Wee! Got included in the Carnival of Personal Finance, again. http://su.pr/2AKnDB #
- Son’s wrestling season starts in two days. My next 3 months just got hectic. #
- RT @Moneymonk: A real emergency is something that threatens your survival, not just your desire to be comfortable -David Bach # [Read more…] about Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-01-09
Sunday Roundup: Yep, It’s Saturday
Yes, it’s Saturday. Tomorrow, I’m hosting the Yakezie Carnival, so I bumped this up a day.
This week has been super relaxing. Wrestling season is over. We’re done with activities for a while.
30 Day Project Update
Last month, I was trying to do 100 perfect push-ups in a single set. I recorded each session in a spreadsheet. I hit my goal on the 28th, 3 days early. Since then, I’ve cut down to just one session per day. I’m now doing 35 slow, deep push-ups every morning. It’s not a goal, or a challenge, just part of a general effort to be healthier.
Weight Loss Update
I am on the Slow Carb Diet. At the end of the month, I’ll see what the results were and decide if it’s worth continuing. For those who don’t know, the Slow Carb Diet involves cutting out potatoes, rice, flour, sugar, and dairy in all their forms. My meals consist of 40% proteins, 30% vegetables, and 30% legumes(beans or lentils). There is no calorie counting, just some specific rules, accompanied by a timed supplement regimen and some timed exercises to manipulate my metabolism. The supplements are NOT effedrin-based diet pills, or, in fact, uppers of any kind. There is also a weekly cheat day, to cut the impulse to cheat and to avoid letting my body go into famine mode.
I’m measuring two metrics, my weight and the total inches of my waist , hips, biceps, and thighs. Between the two, I should have an accurate assessment of my progress.
Weight: I have lost 41 pounds since January 2nd. That’s 1 pound since last week and 8 pounds in March, while doing an insane amount of push-ups and packing on a few pounds of muscle. Seriously, for the last couple of weeks, on the days I haven’t totally slacked off, I’ve been doing 500+ push-ups a day. That’s a lot.
Total Inches: I have lost 23 inches in the same time frame, up 1 inch since last week. That makes me sad, but it seems to be muscle growth, so it’s not too bad.
Best Posts
Mint shows how lazy employees are, on average. Surprisingly, only 2.09 hours are wasted in the average 8 hour day. The rule I’d heard before is that employers expect 2-3 good, solid hours of work our of their employees every day.
Money Crasher has some cheap appetizer recipes. I can’t wait to make the biscuit meatballs.
The Mars Rover died. Tragic.
Get Rich Slowly has a post on emergency preparedness. If I mentioned that I keep enough supplies in my car to live for a week, would that make me a survivalist or just a fun guy?
LRN Timewarp
This is where I review the posts I wrote a year ago. Did you miss them then?
First, I examined the value of exchanging your time to save a bit of money.
Then, I talked about the futility of trying to force your spouse into frugality.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked and Guest Posts I’ve Rolled
Filing Bankruptcy: Pride or Shame? was an Editor’s Pick in the Totally Money Blog Carnival at Debt Free Divas. Thank you!
Budgeting tips – sticking to your budget was included in the Festival of Frugality.
Saving Money: The Warranty Fund was included in the Carnival of Personal Finance.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
My Net Worth
I last did a net worth update in August. I don’t worry much about tracking my net worth, but I’d like to know where I sit at the beginning of the year. If I’m going to track it, I’m going to share it.
This is where I was sitting in August:
Assets
- House: $252,900
- Cars: $19,740
- Checking accounts: $1,342
- Savings accounts: $5,481 I
- CDs: $1,101
- IRAs: $10,838
- Total: $291,402
Liabilities
- Mortgage: $31,118
- Car loan: $0. Woo!
- Credit card: $20,967
- Total: $52,085
Overall: $239,317
Here is my current status:
Assets
- House: $252,900 (-0) Estimated market value according to the county tax assessor. This will be going down in a few months when the estimates are finalized for the year. It hasn’t gone down, yet, so I’m not counting the change, yet.
- Cars: $20,789 (+1049) Kelly Blue Book suggested retail value for both of our vehicles and my motorcycle. Wee! Value went up on things I intend to drive into the ground!
- Checking accounts: $3,220 (+1,878) I have accounts spread across three banks. I don’t keep much operating cash here, so this fluctuates based on how far away my next paycheck is.
- Savings accounts: $6,254 (+773) I have savings accounts spread across a few banks. This does not include my kids’ accounts, even though they are in my name. This includes every savings goal I have at the moment.
- CDs: $1,105 (+4) I consider this a part of my emergency fund.
- IRAs: $12,001 (+1,163)
- Investment Accounts: $1,155 (+1155) Occasionally, I run across some stocks that can’t possibly go down. I’ve only been wrong once on this front, but I never risk an amount that would be painful to lose.
- Total: $297,424 (+6022)
Liabilities
- Mortgage: $29,982 (-1136)
- Car loan: $0.
- Credit card: $18,725 (-2242) This is the current target of my debt snowball. This has actually grown a bit over the last week. I did a balance transfer that cost $400, but it gives me 0% for a year, versus the 9% I was paying. That will pay for itself in 3 months, while simplifying my payments a bit and saving me almost a thousand dollars in payments this year.
- Total: $48,707 (-3378)
Overall: $249,717 (+9400)
2011 Totals
- Assets: $297,424 (-1441)
- Liabilities: $48,707 (-10021)
- Overall: $249,717 (+9580)
I had two goals in August: Get an IRA rolling and save an extra $2500.
The IRAs I have are just sitting. I haven’t done anything to boost them, in any way, so hurray for the free $1163!
My savings have only grown my $773, but the $1000 I put in the investment account 3 weeks ago came from my car fund, so it would have been a growth of $1773, which isn’t bad at all.
I would still like to kill that credit card debt by August, which I think is doable. My crazy goal is to get rid of it by the end of May.
On 4/15/2009, I had $90,395 in debt. Today, it’s $48,707, so I’ve paid down $41,688 in just under three years, for an average of $1263 per month. That average is down $92 over the last few months. I blame our insane Christmas.
Overall, we had a good year. Paying off my car loan while paying down $4800 in credit card debt feels good. Now, I need to make 2012 better.
Sunday Roundup
Today, I have a favor to ask. I want to get to know you better because I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. With that in mind, would you take a moment to complete a short survey?
Click here to take the survey.
Thank you!
Best Posts
All of us make assumptions. Without doing so, we wouldn’t be able to function. We assume the sky will stay up, the sidewalk will support our weight, and the other cars on the road aren’t going to turn into homicidal maniacs and attempt to kill us at the expense of their own lives. Generally, those are safe assumptions. Other assumptions can cripple us, keeping us from attempting to reach our full potential. Challenge your assumptions.
At the same time, fear keeps us back. Are you afraid others won’t like what you say, what you do, who your are? Let your fear fuel you.
I get a kick out of whiny little entitlement kids running around wearing sweatshop-produced “viva la revolucion” shirts. Similarly, capitalism-haters organizing their protests using mass-produced gadgets invented, funded, and created by successful capitalism, or Jobs-haters announcing their funeral protesting BS over the iPhone also makes me giggle.
Carnivals I’ve Rocked
Time vs Money was included in the Best of Money Carnival.
Beauty School: Cutting Costs While Cutting Hair was included in the Totally Money Carnival.
Discount Gift Cards: How Much Can You Save? was included in the Festival of Frugality.
The Happy Butt was included in another Totally Money Carnival.
Thank you! If I missed anyone, please let me know.
Get More Out of Live Real, Now
There are so many ways you can read and interact with this site.
You can subscribe by RSS and get the posts in your favorite news reader. I prefer Google Reader.
You can subscribe by email and get, not only the posts delivered to your inbox, but occasional giveaways and tidbits not available elsewhere.
You can ‘Like’ LRN on Facebook. Facebook gets more use than Google. It can’t hurt to see what you want where you want.
You can follow LRN on Twitter. This comes with some nearly-instant interaction.
You can send me an email, telling me what you liked, what you didn’t like, or what you’d like to see more(or less) of. I promise to reply to any email that isn’t purely spam.
Have a great week!
Cut Your Business Costs with Eco-Friendly Energy
This is a guest post.
Improving your carbon footprint can fall low on the list of professional priorities for many business owners. Yet, as we all become increasingly aware of the implications of ecological practices, opting to go green is an appropriate business decision.
As suppliers and business to business contractors tailor their products in favour of conservational customs, it is likely that adopting eco-friendly operations within your company will benefit both your books as well as the environment.
By making small, uncomplicated steps, government research proposes that, together, UK businesses could save in the region of £23 billion per annum. This proposed figure suggests that snubbing sustainable efforts is at an economic cost to owners individually, in addition to any ecological expense.
As the importance of your carbon footprint is established, deciding which areas within your company can be conveniently ecologically enhanced is a simple way to get started.
Speak With Your Energy Provider
Many energy providers now offer guidance to their customers surrounding any eco-friendly improvements that could be made.
Business electricity from British Gas comes complete with free energy efficiency advice to help ‘cut down your energy consumption and reduce your electricity bill’. The advantages of this initial consultation are augmented by the ongoing provisions incorporated in all business electricity from British Gas packages.
Select a supplier who is willing to help you and your business reduce the impact of your Climate Change Levy (CCL) and is eager to invest in renewable energy resources.
Say ‘Goodbye’ to Guesstimates
According to research completed by British Gas in 2011 ‘companies typically spend as much as 46 per cent of their energy usage outside of business hours’.
Although it is relatively easy to predict the periods when your business’ energy usage is at its greatest, monitoring your actual consumption may highlight any unexpected wastage.
A facility such as Business Energy Insight™ – available with business electricity from British Gas – does exactly what it says on the tin, giving consumers an awareness of their confirmed energy consumption.
Combined with accurate meter readings from Smart Metering or similar, energy insights eliminate any estimation and uncertainty. Through this perceptiveness, business consumers are able to monitor, measure and model their energy utilisation, saving money and resources.
Don’t Go It Alone
Being unsure of how to go green is one of the reasons many businesses choose to linger with standard systems. As well as expert assistance from energy advisory services, schemes are in place which can structure your steps into the world of energy efficiency.
The IEMA Acorn Scheme presents a progressive profile of six stages for business owners to accomplish. These stages ensure that legal requirements are covered and can be completed over a phased period to fit with other business demands.
On completion of the scheme, an IEMA Acorn Certificate is attained to confirm your businesses compliance with British Standard (BS) 8555. Your details are also entered onto the IEMA Acorn Register.
Organically Positive PR
Every organisation needs their Unique Selling Points. Though your services, products or facilities may speak for themselves, going green is the current way to enrich your business.
Clients and customers want to buy from those they trust and often those who follow an ethical ethos. Choosing to ‘go green’ and consistently demonstrating and delivering ecological practises will verify the concerned culture of your company.
While investing your time into employing eco-friendly systems may not reap instant rewards, the positive connotations surrounding conservation will always ensure that you are ahead of the game when in competition with a company that doesn’t deliver on these principles.
Whether you choose to be officially certified via IEMA Acorn or you simply state your environmental policies on your website and company literature, being ecologically aware can cause an upturn in capital as well as cutting resource costs.
Taking Things Further
When you are hoping to tackle more than the basics and want to do more to aid our environment, there is a myriad of informational services willing to help.
Making this move doesn’t have to cost the earth, business grants are available to help you render these affirmative changes. Check online at www.grantsgreenmachine.com for any that may be applicable for your industry.
Locally, councils may be able to offer either erudition or funds specifically appropriate to your project within your region.
Conservation doesn’t have to be costly; check your books and you may find that going green could profit both your environment and your enterprise.
Debanking
I’m overbanked.
The National Bank, Oamaru, built 1871: a prostyle Palladian portico on a neoclassical facade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)I’ve mentioned that before.
I won’t give up my herd of CapitalOne 360 accounts. I use those to track my savings goals, all 17 of them. I can’t drop my business accounts, my kids’ savings accounts, or the personal accounts that I actually use to spend money.
I do, however, need to simplify a bit.
Last month, I went through the hassle of transferring my 401k from two jobs ago and my IRA from my last job. Now, I’m down to just two retirement accounts. One is for my current job, and the other is a self-managed IRA with Sharebuilder.
Two down.
A few months ago, I went to yet another bank to close an account. My last job offered crappy health insurance, but balanced it out with an HSA. It complicated things, but the actual costs came to almost the same as the previous plan that didn’t have a high deductible. When I left, my HSA just sat there.
Last year, my oldest got braces, so I cleaned out the HSA ahead of time so we could pay up front and save 5% without paying interest.
Another one down.
That’s three accounts down out of 34.
Thirty-four?
Crap. That’s retirement accounts, business accounts, and personal accounts for two adults and three kids.
Bank 1 has the checking account we use, plus two savings accounts, one of which is where we store the rent money until we take a payday.
Bank 2 has a checking account, 16 savings accounts, and stock-trading account, a CD, and two IRAs for my wife and I.
Bank 3 has a checking account, and savings account for each of two businesses I own, a spare set of personal accounts, a savings account for each of the kids, and a checking account for my teenager.
Bank 4 holds nothing but my current 401k.
The only thing I can simplify without sacrificing my organizational jungle is to combine the personal accounts from bank 1 and 3. The problem is that Bank 1 has all of my bill pay information and there is still an account open for my mother-in-law’s estate. We keep that open just in case we find any other checks we need to cash. Bank 3 has my business accounts tied to my personal account and is the bank that my business partner uses, so that’s convenient to move money around.
I may be stuck.
