When We Were Young

The Prof and I are going to the Dave Matthews Band Concert today!  I've never been to a DMB Concert before.  From what I recall, they are quite the experience.  However, things change as you get older.  Day drinking and concert craziness doesn't have the same appeal now as it did when I was 20-23!  I don't know when it happened specifically or why it happened, but I do know it happened.  I can't drink like I used to and I definitely can't last as long as used to.  However, I also don't want to.

As I prepare for an entire day of drinking and festivities - I can't help but think of all the things that either need to be done or will be done.  Tomorrow - Speed Camp at 9 AM (2 Hours).  Complete Financial Homework (3 Hours).  Meet with IS Group on Final Project (2 Hours).  Study for Side Hustle - Part 2 (1 Hour).  Laundry, Dusting, Cleaning - (1.5 Hours).  That's without thinking about sleeping or watching the Pirates game.  No where in that plan does it include 4 hours of couch crashing because I'm hung over.

Maybe I should lighten up and enjoy the moment.  I spend so much time planning and scheduling my day, week, or life that I miss the ride.  I don't want to miss the journey.

The Prof and I will be married for 1 year on Monday.  It's crazy to think its already been an entire year.  I've loved it and wouldn't change anything about it, but I also want to make sure that time doesn't just fly by and I miss it.  I want to enjoy every moment.  So, for once in my life, I'm going to enjoy myself today.  I can't worry about Grad School, Student Loans Payments, or the Next Housing Project.  Today (and this weekend) is about the Prof and I.  We are going to have fun and pretend we are young.  We are 28 - much too young to overcomplicate our lives.

Dream as if you'll live Forever.  Live as if you'll Die Tomorrow.

Dog Days of Summer

I've been very lackadaisical in my posting lately.  Fortunately, I haven't had much money issues to report about or go through.  We're all set to pay down the Home Depot Credit Card (YAY!!) and the Student Loans are getting chopped down bit by bit, but otherwise, it's a slow news cycle.

It's no excuse, but things have been quite busy on the home front.  School is winding down this month and group projects require painful amounts of scheduling and work.  In addition, the bank is doing well and June was an extremely busy time of year.  Lastly, the Prof and I are preparing for our 1 Year ANNIVERSARY and some exciting Vacations (SLC and IRELAND!)

The Prof and I are still working on some Side Hustle going forward - my Speed Camp is winding down but Craigslist and eBay has provided some windfall lately.  Also, I've looked into officiating youth football and basketball games.  So, as a former athlete and coach, I'm excited for the opportunity to stay in the athletic field without dedicating my entire free time to it (as coaching required).  Plus, the Side Hustle helps!

Lastly, I got some good financial news today!  Quizzle notified me that my credit score had not been updated in the previous 6 months.  So, I punched in my information and requested my free score to see if any movement had occurred.  To my surprise, my score jumped from 720 to 784!!!  I'm in Excellent Credit Range!!  I have to assume the major drivers behind it are:  1) Good standing on my mortgage - best form of credit there is, and 2) I'm now 4 years removed from the 2 Negative Reports (which are ridiculous - $97 in interest on Phone Bill) - but the further and further out I get is aiding my progress.  That score should definitely help if we decide to purchase a new car in the near future.

June Net Worth Review

June has come and gone so before the fireworks and barbeque of July 4th - Let's take a quick review of our Financial Progress!
Cash - $31,772 (+$3,842)
Investments - $69,916 (+$3,304)
Home Value - $180,000 ($0)
Personal Assets - $24,662 (+$1,412)
Less: Liabilities - $170,449 (-$1,611)

Here's how it breaks down:

Assets -
Cash - A significant increase in Cash during the month!  For one, we received an extra paycheck thanks to bi-weekly payroll cycle!  So, that was a huge plus.  Secondly, we saw ~$700 in Side Hustle income in June from my Speed Camp and the Prof's Ebay Sales.  Lastly, unlike May, the Home Depot payment was made the first day of July.  So, the total increase is a little artificial, but still some serious progress.

Investments - There's some bounce back I was hoping for!  After a dismal May, the markets stabilized and we saw progress in Europe.  Every investment we owned saw an increase except II-VI.  June was not kind to our wedding gift as the Asian Earthquake/Tsunami has caused reduced earnings estimates for FY2012 and 2013.  I'd be lying if I wasn't a little concerned about the LT success of this stock, but considering it was a gift and the family's involvement with the company - we'll definitely be holding on to it and hoping it comes back.  Buy Low, Sell High! 

Personal Assets - No Change to the Home Value.  No sales in the area, so we're going to hold steady on the current value.  We did see some depreciation on the Sonata, so that value fell about $100, but we also paid down and received the Prof's anniversary gift, so the new diamond will increase our luxuries value just a bit!  Better call my insurance agent.

Liabilities -
Mortgage - $131,315 - Another small incremental change.  Ho-hum.  It's depressing how small the changes are, but it's no big deal until everything else below is taken care of. 

Student Loans - $35,536 - A nice decrease this past month.  I will be paying off one of my undergrad loans this month!  While continuing to chop down the unsubsidized graduate loans.  Staying the course.

Home Depot Credit Card - $3,598 - Same value here.  The payment cycle was weird this month, but still scheduled to be paid off in August.

Anniversary Gift - $0.  The Professor received her Anniversary Gift and she LOVES it!  VERY HAPPY!! 

Total Joint Net Worth - $135,901!!!

Progress!! I was ecstatic to see the progress we've made the past month!  Especially since I've been a little down about our credit card bills the past two months.  However, I'm realizing it's more a situation where we're using the Joint Card more and Individuals Cards less.  I don't think are actual spending has increased, just the distribution.  Just need to keep on keeping on growing that NW!!

Paycheck Friday

Booya!  I love PayDay!

Unlike the Professor, my paychecks are always distributed on a Friday.  Every two weeks, I wake up a get to feel good about the work I do and my financial stability.  I'm not a person who works for the paychecks, but it does feel good to log into your account and see an influx, especially on a Friday.  It provides optimism for the coming weekend!  I can do anything - I GOT PAID!!!

I'll admit, PayDay felt like a much bigger deal when I first graduated college or when I was an intern during college.  Each PayDay made me feel like a millionaire.  However, a little bit of me still feels like a kid who won the lottery on PayDay.

I got Paid.  There's a Beautiful (but Hot) Weekend in the City ahead!  My baseball team is playing well and has an exciting series coming up!  Today is a Very Good Day!  Like I said - nothing like the eternal optimism of youth caused by a Paycheck Friday!!

College Football Playoff

Yesterday, college presidents agreed to a 4-team playoff format to determine the National Championship starting in 2014.  The semi-finals will take place in bowl games and the National Championship Game will be bid out to any city.  It's definitely a step up from the current format, however, a playoff is not always better.

1.  Why did we need to keep the tradition of the bowls?  Haven't we seen that the bowl games have worn out their welcome.  The crazy ticket/hotel requirements on top of declining ratings have shown that people are only interested in the National Championship.  The playoff makes the second-tier bowl games even more meaningless, especially if they are being played on the same day.  If not, they create travel issues for people because of their desire to maintain a bowl game EVERY night in January.  The season needs to end by Jan. 1 - stop dragging it out.

2.  Why only 4?  Every other college football playoff format has 32 teams.  In Division III, I had to eat Thanksgiving Dinner in my college cafeteria.  I had to study for finals after practice.  It's not a STUDENT-athlete issue.  It's a money issue.  Currently, the 4 team playoff will continue to maximize the regular season AND the post-season.  This means more TV viewers, which means more money.  Also, it's the easiest.  College football is old school.  They move incredibly slow and anything else would have been considered too drastic.  Remember - these are the same people that re-upped with the BCS for 10 years.

3.  What effect will this have on my Cable TV bill?  As my TV creeps up year after year, I can't help but worry that some astronomical amount by ESPN or CBS to showcase these games will get pushed back onto the viewers.  They have us over a barrel.  Either we keep cable and watch or we turn off cable entirely (and miss out on House Hunters!).  With more and more people turning off cable, this could be an interesting issue.

This post had little to do with finance, but I get tired of reading the same narrative on all the major news sites.  It's applause, applause, slap on the back, applause.  It's annoying.  Especially when people still know this is hardly the answer.  At least I hope so.

Home Office

I need to get my office space back!

I've always been a quiet studier/worker.  In college, I couldn't study in the dorm room or apartment, I had to leave and go to the Library for a few hours.  I don't like to waste time or be around all the distractions.  It's better to seclude myself entirely for 2 hours, then be around friends or in a group for 4 hours.  With work, I'm very similar.  I like to put my headphones on or go into "heads down" mode and get things done.  I'm at work to accomplish a specific job and don't like to be wasting time talking about last night's game or whatever else in going on at the water cooler.

At home - I lost my office area to storage a few months ago.  So, I'm currently set up on the dining room table - which is surrounded by distractions.  Big screen TV one room away, outdoors right behind me, kitchen stocked with food in front of me.  It's terrible.  This weekend, I need to re-discover my secluded office area in the basement.  Although it grungy and a little stinky down there, I'll probably be a lot more productive in the quiet.

Sometimes, you just have to put your head down and get things done.

The Benefit of Many Small Things

The Prof and I make decent money for two individuals in their late 20s (especially since one is a Teacher).  Obviously, we aren't satisfied with our current status and dream of the days when money is no object and expensive dinners out are normalcy.  We're not spoiled or rotten, but we appreciate and enjoy modern luxuries.  We work hard and sometimes we deserve the good things in life.

For the most part, we save the Prof's paychecks.  Her earnings do not come into play when paying off house, utilities, and my student loans.  Depending on the month, I rarely use it to pay off the credit card.  We do use her earnings to help pay down the Kitchen Renovation, but I view that as an investment, and not a straight expenditure (Yea, its debt, but reasonable and appreciable).

I've already noted that June is a 3 paycheck month for me!  Hooray!  Extra MOOLAH!

However, as I was reviewing our Mint account to see the student loan balance (I love seeing it go down right after a payment), I noticed something unusual about our income.  It was substantially higher this month considering we still had 2 paychecks yet to receive.  After some quick investigating, I noticed several NEW income streams this month:

My Side Hustle:  I've made an extra $300 working with kids and being outside.

Ebay:  The Prof sold a few nice handbags last month and the money was finally transferred into our account this month.

Rewards:  I received compensation for all the referral business that I brought to the bank.  Not a great deal, but another $250!

All in all, it was almost an extra $1,000 dollars that I was not expecting and had not budgeted for!  Those small little items can really add up and help reinforce the idea that Side Hustling pays off!  It's awesome to see the Mint Cash balance go up and the Loan & Credit Card balances go down!  That's the ideal scenario for Personal Finance.

The best part about all those extra items - that caused very little disruption to our daily lives.  The Side Hustle is the only major change and that's only a couple hours on Sunday morning.  The rest was just doing my job and selling old stuff!  Incredibly easy!

I've discussed it before - but it's been a very good month.  I'm so happy to have a wife who understands  the idea of sacrifice now (while in grad school) in order to achieve the small little things later in life!!