Great news! We just found out my wife is going to receive a $1,463 tuition refund. She had to take out a student loan when we got married because our combined income meant she no longer qualified for enough financial aid. As it turns out, the information the university had on file for her cost of living was too low. Thus, she's getting part of the tuition refunded.Between this refund and our tax returns, we’re looking at roughly $3,500 in extra income this month. This money will be used to pay Read more [...]
We’ve just completed our first loan on www.prosper.com. If you’re not familiar with this website, it is known as the e-bay of loans.Basically, you deposit money in your Prosper account (similar to PayPal), browse the Prosper website for a borrower you want to lend to, and bid on the loan. If you win, the money is pulled out of your account and loaned to the borrower (3-year loan). Each month, Prosper then pulls monthly payments (with interest) out of the borrower’s account and transfers it Read more [...]
My wife and I order our credit reports and credit scores from time to time to keep tabs on things, and, more importantly, make sure we are not the victims of identity theft.Below is a table (click on spreadsheet) that I began compiling recently of our credit score track record. BTW, I received numerous copies of my credit reports in 2005 because we were preparing to purchase our condo. As you can see, my score dropped considerably around 3/31/05 because I was disputing a collection on my record. Read more [...]
My wife and I make a combined $109,350 per annum (not including her commission pay). Not more than some, but certainly above average. The tough part though is that we have a very high monthly burn rate - spending close to 90% of our net income each month. I’ve included our monthly budget below (click on spreadsheet).*Note: This budget does not include our investments/savings.We spend over 2 times more per month than some couples we know. Granted, most of our friends rent instead of own and condo Read more [...]
I had little credit card debit during college and was actually very fugal. My parents get the credit for that, as they taught me early on to appreciate the value of a dollar. After college, however, I moved from the central valley to San Diego and the wheels fell off the cart. I started using credit cards to help make ends meet. The credit cards were addicting, and eventually, I was using them to fund a lifestyle well above what I could afford. I went out with friends nightly, traveled, and got expensive Read more [...]
I will be updating our net worth on this blog at the end of every month.Below is our net worth for February 2007 (click on spreadsheet). I realize we're half way thru March already but wanted to use this as a starting point. As you can see, we currently have a negative net worth. Nowhere to go from here but up.February Notes:Purchase price used for condo value Read more [...]
If it’s not completely obvious, I am NOT a financial professional. The information you find on this site should not be considered financial advice. Before making financial decisions, do your own homework or hire a certified financial planner (if you’re lazy).
My amazing wife and I have been married for one year. When we met over two years ago, I was in bad shape financially. I owed $27,000+ in credit card debit and $4,000 to my parents. My problem was that I always spent more than I earned, and figured that I’d just catch up later. Unfortunately, later never seemed to arrive. My wife (girlfriend at the time) woke me up to the fact that I was in over my head, and I needed to change my ways and pay off my debt.Substantial progress was made (another post, Read more [...]
We are a young couple in Southern California, I’m in my early thirties and my wife is in her early twenties (lucky me). I plan to use this blog to outline our path from a negative net worth to financial independence and early retirement. I’ll rely on all of you to act as a sounding board for us. If something we scheme up is completely out of left field, please let me know. In turn, I hope you will find in this blog strategies that you can use to improve your own financial picture.
Our path to financial independence and retiring early.
