I’ve been through many changes in the past few months. As you might have read below, I stopped working at my former corporate job and began working as a high school teacher, hence the pause in my 401(k) increases. During the summer, I am working part time at my old job and considering whether I will be teaching again in the fall. When I started teaching, I needed a car to get around, since no public transportation is available. I purchased a 1997 Honda Civic at that time. In June, after having some problems with that car, I decided to purchase a 2004 Honda Civic.
Yes, I know I’ve talked about buying new cars in mostly negative terms. I considered many things, and I decided that buying a 2004 Honda Civic for a good price was the best way for me to go. The car will last me as close to forever as possible, and was not much more expensive than a slightly used version. Included in my “home inventory” is the old Civic which I am still trying to sell.
Additionally, I recently spent a week in California. I managed to limit my expenses there by staying with relatives. The stock market has also not been kind over the past few months. So, on with the financial update:
| |
July 17 |
February 17 |
| Cash and Savings: |
$ 13,200 |
$ 13,408 |
| Taxable Investments: |
$ 3,129 |
$ 3,242 |
| 401k (Pre-Tax): |
$ 9,989 |
$ 9,660 |
| Roth IRA: |
$ 3,179 |
$ 2,041 |
| Credit Cards: |
($ 1,709) |
($ 2,165) |
| Student Loan 3.97%: |
$ – |
($ 1,720) |
| Student Loan 2.82%: |
($ 6,323) |
($ 9,250) |
| Home Inventory: |
$ 13,059 |
$ 9,454 |
| Equity in Car: |
$ – |
$ – |
| TOTAL |
$ 34,524 |
$ 24,575 |
Are you worse off than Mom and Dad?
This article upsets me. Salaries do not increase enough to keep up with costs of housing and education, which increase leaps and bounds over inflation. Even if you compare today’s two-income houseold with a one-income household from thirty years ago, today’s family can afford less.
It upsets me mostly when I think one generation into the future. How will my (future) kids’ kids afford any sort of education? The only people who will be able to be afford college will be the super-rich.
Who gets paid six figures? – Sep. 9, 2003
The answers will shock and awe you, or maybe just mildly interest you. Included in CNN’s list are general merchandise manager, FedEx cargo pilot, and hotel manager. The article references 6figurejobs.com which appears to be a job board, but at the moment, it is not online.
While everyone knows an MBA who has been laid off, there are no hard numbers capturing the national picture.
This article comes just as I’ve set the wheels in motion to begin my MBA. I’ve enrolled in the University of Phoenix online program, so I can continue working and get my degree at the same time. I can check into class when it’s convenient for me. It sounds like a great plan. Despite what a lot of people say, human resources tend to think there’s no disadvantage to getting an MBA online.
In any case, my company is paying for it almost entirely, so there’s no good reason not to do it.
Back to the article. Nothing new there, just a story about a woman who had to change her goals due to being laid off like many others. Once a six-figure salary earner, now unemployed, she finds herserf forced to change her lifestyle.
CNN/Money asks, Is your job making you fat? This article stresses the importance of proper eating and exercise specifically for sedentary worker bees. Today for the first time in a long time, I had breakfast (bagel with cream cheese and orange juice) before heading to the office.
Not only that, but being overweight takes a toll on your wallet, both in terms of medical bills and career advancement opportunities which tend to favor non-overweight individuals.
When parents decide to have children, one of the issues they must consider is the option of one parent staying home to watch the kids until they are school age or continuing to work and pay for day care. Sometimes the cost of day care can be more than what the second salary brings in. In such cases, the kids will benefit by having a parent home; they will have more personal attention from one of their parents instead of strangers, and depending on the cost of the alternative, money could be saved.
More and more, men are the ones staying at home with the children. Women are catching up to men in terms of pay for similar jobs, and in many cases, women are earning more than their husbands.
Here are some more articles that touch the topic of the worthiness of dual incomes.
Article 2: If you have children and a well-paid spouse, consider the costs of any job before you take one. This is not to say you shouldn’t work. But why take a job unless you know what it really pays? When you discover that it pays nothing, you might decide to take a different one that is more fun or rewarding. Or you might decide not to take one at all.
Article 3: Can you scrimp and save enough to cover that cost? It won’t be easy, but there’s a lot of help available for those who try. Here are 5 tips to get you started.
This hasn’t been an issue I’ve had to tackle recently, but more and more of my friends and friends’ friends seem to be in the marriage-beginningcareer-children stage. I’m trying to decide if I can afford to take care of kittens on my own.
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