Networth Update

Wow, looking back, it's been a good two months since I've posted a networth update.

On the whole, things are going pretty well. Now that the stock market is back, my investment account and 401(k) are both steadily rising, while no new major expenditures have helped keep me heading toward the break-even point.

As of May 31, 2009, my networth is -$5,569.23. My networth increases about $610 a month with a 62.3% probability. I'm trying to increase that probability month to month by sticking closely to my budget.

Day 1 - Formulating the Plan

While a full account of my current financial standing is forthcoming, looking in my fridge suggested to me my first easy and obvious budget planning measure: cooking more meals at home rather than eating out.

I went to BJ's today and bought a full stock of pasta, deli meats, and other basic salad and lunch combination items and then spent the next 3 hours preparing different choices for the next week. Lunch typically averages about $7.50 a pop, while the food I bought will probably be about $4 a pop, saving about $14 a week. While small, this also has an immense health benefit.

In addition, I had already embarked on my coffee savings plan by grinding and brewing my own morning coffee, but I have now also decided, for both health and economic reasons, to forgo my afternoon cup of joe. The afternoon coffee alone will save me about $11.25 a week.

By tomorrow, I should have a full financial picture and better Excel accounting sheets to track my expenses and then budget out each of my bills. But already, with these two measures, I can save an extra $100 and put it toward paying down my debt.

Back on the blogging (and budget) wagon...

It's taken a while to get my life settled down enough to start blogging again. The past two weeks have been incredibly hectic, both at work and away.

Looking at my expenses, I am about $900 (including $220 in car taxes) over budget across all my accounts, my options trades have been in the red due to the volatility of the market, and I have at least one plane ticket I need to purchase for a wedding that I have yet to do.

So what is my plan?

1) I need to get my option trading back on track
2) I'm going to clamp down again. My upcoming salary increase should help, but I'm not banking on it. At current rate, I'll need a 10% increase to match what's going on. That high of a rate is doubtful.

3) Going to re-do my expense and budgets to account for all the little things that have changed, such as gas and cable bills.

It's tough to get back on the wagon when you've fallen off. But I'm going to try.