Neville's Financial Blog

This blog will be dedicated to tracking my financial progress. Today I turn 22, let’s see how far I can financially advance by the time I am 23.

Money sources:
Online Business: $300 to $1000 per month pure profit.
Work: Two paydays per month, usually between $230 and $320 per check.
Parents: $60 per month.

Where the Money Goes:
Permanent Savings: Deposit $40 per week + 30% of money brought in.
Investment Account: Deposit $60 per week + 30% of money brought in.
Spending Account: Deposit $10 per week + 20% of money brought in.
General Account: Whatever is leftover from business + 20% of money brought in.

Current Assests:
General Account: $1,349
Business Balance: $652
Spending Account: $371
Investment Account: $963
Permanent Savings: $2,654
Backup CD Savings: $5, 036
Stock Portfolio Value: $5, 094
Credit Card Balance: $0

Synopsis:
Monthly Mandatory Additions to Perm. Savings: $160
Monthly Mandatory Additions to Inves. Account: $240
Monthly Mandatory Additions to Spend Account: $40

A million in liquid assets is an extremely lofty goal. Is it even possible? Of course. To make $1,000,000 in five years I will need to:

Save $200,000 per year

Save $16,666 per month

Save $3,846 per week

Save $549 per day

Keep in mind this is saving $X.XX per year and does not include expenses.

I mandatorily put away $400 per month for investing and permanent savings, and after I get paid (from any source) I put away 60% if not more. Since I started working, I have been putting away roughly $685 per month. My current savings per month needs to increase by 2,400% immediately to meet my goal by 27.

Current Assests as of 11-23-2004:

General Account: $1,390

Business Balance: $676

Spending Account: $310

Investment Account: $1,093

Permanent Savings: $2,764

Backup CD Savings: $5, 036

Stock Portfolio Value: $5, 034

Credit Card Balance: $0

As of 11-30-2004 here are my current holdings:

Current Assests:

General Account: $1621

Business Balance: $675

Spending Account: $320

Investment Account: $653

Permanent Savings: $2,803

Backup CD Savings: $5,036

Credit Card Balance: $0

Stock Portfolio Value: $5,613

Changes:

I took out $500 from the Investment Account and put it towards stock. I bought 25 shares of Syntel at $19.05 (I got lucky and caught a nice $.54 dip) with the $500. This is in addition to the Syntel stock I already own.

Stock Portfolio News:

My total money invested is $4,800 but the portfolio is at a current 16% gain (It varies wildly througout the day). I am holding a very small postion in SCON which is a big loser so far, but will get better in the years to come. Dynegy is performing very nicely and Syntel is poised for a big move within the next three months.

http://www.thekirkreport.com/

http://www.pfblog.com

http://tradermike.net/

http://www.maoxian.com/

I regulary check up on these blogs everyday to learn more about stocks, finance and life. For anyone looking to start investing, try reading these blogs as a start (but make sure you do your OWN homework also). Remember, if you like what they do, drop them a contribution every now and then!

General Account: $1,453

Business Balance: $1,032

Spending Account: $461

Investment Account: $779

Permanent Savings: $3,000

Backup CD Savings: $5,036

Stock Portfolio Value: $5,715

Credit Card Balance: $0

Paycheck was distributed to permanent savings, investment account and spending account. I took $21.15 out of the general account and put it in the permanent savings to make it an even $3,000 just for fun. I have one more paycheck coming, and I will put a good amount of it towards the spending account since I will be visiting NYC this Christmas and New Year (NY is expensive!)

Thanks Trader Mike for the link on your website!

My goal to make $1,000,000 in liquidable assets by the time I am 27 will be difficult to reach, but it is something I aim for. I’ve been told to set realistic goals, and I do make very realistic short term goals, but I enjoy making high demands of myself because they challenge me to go beyond what I know I can do.

So if you will excuse me, I have some more zeros to tack on my account balances :)

Today I cancelled a $5,000 CD account I started over a year ago. To date, I earned only $39 from interest. The interest varied every month between .5% and .75% annual interest. With rates that low, I feel some of the money would be better off in a different investment vehicle.

For the time being, I put the money in my permanent savings. I will leave half of it there, and start my 2nd brokerage account with the other half. My 2nd brokerage account will be my longterm account. The stocks or funds I buy for this account will be held for 2+ years at least, if not 30+ years.

Current Asset Structure:

General Account – $ 1,259

Business Balance – $ 1,683

Spending Account – $ 243

Investment Account – $ 873

Permanent Savings – $ 8,080

Stock Portfolio Value – $ 5,100

Credit Card Balance – $ 0

Credit cards. Ughh.

I’ve been using my own check card since I was a senior in high school, and I love it. Transactions are immediately posted online and you can only spend what you have. I’ve only recently got a credit card to help build my credit, but I’ve barely used it.

Since I have to use it, I fight the tactics CC companies use to make you overspend and borrow their money. Two of my tactics:

1.) Pay before you buy. I will pay off my credit card before any charges are posted. I will have a negative balance, and work my way up to a $0.00 balance as I charge items.

2.) Counteraction. Everytime I make a charge, I go home and immediately transfer the funds into an account I have for paying off the credit card. When the charge finally posts to my account, I always have the funds to pay it off.

I still believe credit should be used for buying assets only, not a new Gucci wallet.