Financial

Since January 1st, 2005 I have made $2,213 out of my $11,000 goal for April 31st, 2005. Need to step this up! I’ve got less than 2 months and the goal is only 20% complete so far.

My investment account topped $1,000 after I distributed my work paycheck into different accounts. When it does this I usually put $500 into my stock portfolio, but I am holding off right now as other projects are in the works and may need some captial. The permanent savings account has reached the $6,000 mark and looks like it may need a new home. It is sitting there gaining some paultry interest rate.

I got my paycheck from work today, and I immediately stashed it away with the following percentages:

Investment Account – 35%
Permanent Savings – 35%
Spending Account – 20%
Bill Account – 10%
So out of a $271 paycheck I get to spend only 54 bucks on entertainment etc.

Current Financials:
General Account – $ 1,654
Spending Account – $ 85
Investment Account – $ 1,085
Bill Account – $ 327
Permanent Savings – $ 6,052
Stock Portfolio Value – $ 9,278
Total Liquid Assets – $ 18,481 (+240)

I set a goal for 2-28-2005 to have made $3,500 since January 1st 2005. The goal was not met. So far I have only made $1,942 since January 1st, that isn’t good enough.

I have a new goal coming up set for 3-15-2005 which looks like a challenge, especially since I have only 15 days left to accomplish it. It states “Have a third, steady, side income.” I currently have my online business and my job as steady sources of income. I will not count web design and other small projects as a steady source of income. 15 days to come out with a new business that brings in good profits month after month, can I meet the goal?

As for the February goal of making $3,500, it was made to keep me on course to making $11,000 by 4-31-2005. At the rate I am going I will only make half of that.

I’m still a full time student right now, but that is no excuse not to meet these monetary goals! Taking a look back to see why I didn’t reach that goal I noticed a few things:

• I didn’t fully exploit the money making power of Resumite.com
• Didn’t set up a 3rd, steady income. My current online business and job put together cannot make much more than they already are.
• No shorter term stock trades. I do not claim profit on a stock unless I sell it. All my current holdings are long term. My last goals were met through big gains in stock.

On the other hand, I have another article in the Daily Texan, this time on personal finance and savings for college students. I will post the link tommorrow.

My portfolio is currently valued at $9,217 with Dynegy (DYN) and Syntel (SYNT) up today, but Fortune Brands (FO) slipped.

The amount of my money invested is $8,550, so I am currently at a 7.8% gain in my portfolio. Not bad, not great, but better than what I would get in a bank account! All of these stocks except Syntel are longterm, so I’m not going to draw any profits or cut any losses in the near future.

’twas a crazy weekend with lots of friends, food and fun….but highly unproductive!

Next week from beginning till the end will be extremely hectic and busy, the way I like it. Dynegy and Syntel report quarterly earnings this coming week which should shake up the portfolio, and a sleu of school assignments will help keep me busy in the meantime.

I made an Ebay sale which netted $100. This money will go 20% to spending account, 40% to investment account and 40% to permanent savings. My permanent savings account is getting ready to hit the $6,000 mark, and I am worried I might try to touch it. I don’t trust myself with that cash laying around, especially since I am graduating soon and will be in need of lots of it! Because of this I need to quickly open an IRA account. Recommendations?

My next published article will be on savings for college students. A common problem many college students face is spending their savings, or worse, not saving at all. I will be researching all sorts of different savings accounts for this article. It will be a challenge to make IRA’s interesting and understandable, but I think I can pull it off!

Today was somewhat financially unproductive. I really need to increase my income to meet my goal of making $11,000 by 4-31-2004. So far my income has only been from my online business and working. I most likely won’t be claiming too much money in stock as I am mostly holding long-term positions (Unless Syntel (SYNT) surprises me!)

Next week I am visiting the Morgan Stanley office in Austin, and on Thursday the University Investors Assocation has Blue Sage Capital speaking to us. I will also be publishing another article in the Daily Texan about entrepreneuring very soon.

As for now, it’s time to go out and have some fun in Austin!

Three days ago I had $138 in my spending account, now I have $44! Since it’s my last semester here at UT, I have been going out to nicer places in Austin which also tend to cost more. I used to survive on $60 a month!

I believe in spending money, it drives the economy, but I also believe in spending within your means. Any money you bring in should first be subjected to a swipe off the top which goes straight to your savings, the rest you can spend.

My personal system for distributing income is currently:

• %40 – Permanent Savings
• %40 – Investment Account
• %20 – Spending Account

With Bank of America I have automatic transfers that put the following amounts in my accounts each week:

• Spending Account – $10
• Investment Account – $60
• Permanent Savings – $40

This all adds up to a decent amount of money every month, but it won’t be near enough for the real world in a few months! I will be opening up two more accounts very soon, so I need to redistribute my incoming money plan.

There were lots of festivities and fun this weekend and I am ready to start a new week!

I went to the largest Brazilian Mardi Gras party outside of Brazil, and found a great money making opportunity: Scalping. There were literally hundreds of people dressed up and ready to get inside, but had no tickets. We bought ours from a scalper and paid double what they cost. Immediately we had people offering us double what WE paid for them! Obviously, you know I will be making some extra cash next year :)

Speaking of festivities…

A regular practice of mine is trying to get pizza on 6th Street for cheap as possible. After the bars let out at 2:00 am, everyone crowds the hot dog, bratwurst and pizza stands. Since these are generally independently run operations, I always haggle and get pizza for a lower price. Some people call this being cheap (which I am), but I see it as more of a challenge or game. My personal best is getting 3 slices of pizza for $3.00. That particular establishment charges $2.50 per slice. I deserve a trophy!

Today Dynegy (DYN) turned a profit for me. I bought this stock a few months ago and was soon riding a 25% gain, until they paid off debt which pulled from their bottom line. Since paying off debt is GOOD in the longrun, I held on.

Shorter term investors hated the news and dumped the stock. Ulitmately leaving me with a 16% loss.

You can see that Dynegy has been recovering from the announcement. I plan to hold Dynegy for a couple of years as natural gas will be a hot commodity soon.

I am back in the black with Dynegy, and hope to be for years to come!