My Financial Journey

Turned out to be a great month for my retirement nestegg growth, the best part is this months gains were due almost entirely towards investment gains versus me contributing a bunch of money. It just goes to show you that if you were going to try to react to the stock market fluctuations you will only end up shooting yourself in the foot. The market in general had been about as gloomy as it has been since I’ve been investing and last month was no peach as far as the direction my investments were heading, but I’m pretty sure this month has been one of my best performances ever. Regardless short-term glances like this mean nothing in the long-term other than looking back I can track my progress over time and see how insignificant month to month fluctuations really are.
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Well the good news is that my retirement nestegg grew by nearly 8% this month. The bad news is I had to do most of the heavy lifting as for the month as I had a negative investment return. I had some pretty big contributions this month, first off my annual bonus ended up being over $10k of which 21% of that went to my 401k. I also made a $2750 contribution for my wife’s Roth IRA at Zecco (see new account below). I also had an abnormal amount of normal paycheck contributions hit my 401k this month so overall I had nearly $6,000 in new contributions this month. Luckily my account is small enough yet where my contributions can offset any negative investment performance and keep my account total growing.

Traditional Rollover IRA - $12,200.55 (+2.73%)
My Roth IRA - $28,467.49 (-4.00%)
Wife Roth IRA (Scottrade) - $13,387.32 (-0.40%)
Wife Roth IRA (Zecco) - $2750.00 (+100%)
Current Traditional 401k - $22,193.94 (+22.32%)

Roth/Traditional % = 56.46% (tax free)

Total Retirement Nest Egg $78,999.30 (+7.80%)

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Here is my monthly report. Not much to say - small gains (solely based on contributions). Will hopefully be kicking in some last minute IRA contributions in next month or so to fully max out my Wife’s Roth IRA as well as start on my 2008 IRAs. Want to get back to the point where I am maxing the first day possible. Will be opening my 2008 IRA accounts with Zecco. Hope to start posting a little more frequently as finance has been more on my mind as of late. Anywho here is the February’s report.

Traditional Rollover IRA - $11,876.7 (-1.52%)
My Roth IRA - $29,311.38 (+0.44%)
Wife Roth IRA - $13,946.34 (-0.31%)
Current Traditional 401k - $18,144.51 (+6.95%)

Roth/Traditional % = 59.03% (tax free)

Total Retirement Nest Egg $73,278.93 (+1.50%)

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Something caught my eye on the recently passed stimulus package that will be sending everyone $300-$600 rebate checks this May. In the article it says

The checks are an advance on next year’s refunds, and most, if not all of the money, will be deducted from taxpayers’ refunds in 12 months’ time.

Which if I’m reading that right essentially means the government is just giving you a 12 month repreive on paying those taxes in and essentially you can expect your 2008 tax bill to be $300-$600 higher because they aren’t actually giving you money (as if the government can *give* you anything) - they are just giving you a 12 month advance that needs to be paid back next year.

Am I reading this wrong?

Edit: CNN has since removed the sentence that I quoted but if you google that sentence you will get a lot of people that picked up on the same thing I did. Also here is a MSN article that basically says the same thing.

Remember, this is your money you’re getting back, and the rebate checks are basically an advance on your 2009 refund. When similar rebates were sent out in 2001, said tax expert Mark Luscombe, “a lot of people were upset to see their (next) refund reduced.”

So basically to me this is pointless and short of earning a few bucks in interest myself it is a huge waste of time an effort by the government and I think they are being very short sighted - which we know when it comes to the economy/stockmarket/finances usually hurts you in the long run.

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Well a down month for my net worth this month and the first one in a long while. Given the general stumbles of the stock market as a whole I don’t feel too bad about it. In fact had I done my report based on today’s results I would actually be well into the black as a number of my major holdings are up double digits today. Ah well - I should really be rooting for more turmoil and stock market declines as I’m doing only buying for the next 20+ years.
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So on January 1 - I’m rehashing my favorite articles for the year and I bring up the post from early last year where I bought myself a new car. I suffixed the article with the comment and I quote “still as pimp as the day I bought it. I’ve also had zero issues with the car since I bought it (setting myself up with that statement)”
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I thought this would be a good place to highlight what I consider some of my favorite or best posts of 2007.

Get Rich!! Play the Lottery!! Somebody has to win!!
- my thoughts on the lottery.

The true cost of owning a home - or reasons why renting isn’t all that bad.
- was true before the housing bubble and is true after the housing bubble.

Save for tomorrow - but don’t forget to live today
- I can’t take the credit for this post, but probably the most powerful advice on my site.

I just don’t get it - what is the big deal about gas prices?
- Probably one of my favorite rants - stop complaining about gas prices

The fine line of frugality
- It can be a fine line sometimes.

Frugal cure for a sore throat
- probably not my best writing but certainly the most popular post on this site.

My Financial Journey’s pimp ride version 2
- still as pimp as the day I bought it. I’ve also had zero issues with the car since I bought it (setting myself up with that statement)

Why thinking you are smart enough to know where the market is going is so dangerous.
- please don’t adjust your retirement plan based on short term results or doom and gloom forecasting.

Another Financial Goal: My very own full court basketball court
- I’ve got to get working on this one.

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