2 Half Days at work!

Thanks to the slow season and a nice boss we got 3x half days off of work. I am using one today and another tomorrow. This is allowing me to get some year end chores done around the house and rest a bit from work. He seems to thing Q1 2012 is going to be busy. I hope so!

Today I am starting the large project of a long overdue house cleaning. Time to purge and get ready for what the new year will bring. I also have some tax return calculations and planning, review my last year's goals and finances, and set concrete goals for 2012. Wow I need more than 2x half days!

I better get to work! I have a lot of ground to cover in the next few days.

Christmas is over!

I can finally stop the financial bleeding. No more gifts to buy, expensive holiday travel to worry about, or other unexpected expenses to pay out. December 26th is my favorite day of my least favorite month of the year.

I can now regroup and get things lined up for 2012. Time to look at taxes, see how I did overall this year, and set goals. There is still a lot to do in the next 4 days!

End of year tasks begin!

This is the time of year when I have to look at all sorts of tasks. End of year tax planning, whether or not to do stuff now or wait until Jan, and many others. I have no stock loses to harvest so that makes things little more simple. I still need to project my tax refund this year so I can plan for that.

I also use the time to do some cleaning around the house, purging, and getting organized for the new year. Sell off some stuff I don't need and also donate old clothes and so on. I will take all the tax breaks I can get and if ti de-clutters my house in the process that is a great bonus!

I get to juggle all this with Christmas shopping, travel, work, and other day-to-day tasks. A busy 15 days to go!

Using miles for travel: Plan, Earn, And Spend!

Now that I have been playing the miles/points game for some time now and have spent the past 6+ months learning about all the different programs I have learned one important thing: Have plans for your points/miles. Reward programs change constantly and you need near-term goals (say within 12-18 months) for your points. Opportunities can vanish!

When I first started churning credit card bonuses I was only interested in getting the points and finding a use for them later. This is good since bonuses tend to line up with my redemption needs (at least for now). There is certainly no down side to extra points on hand but there is a limit too it. I now plan on trips and try to earn useful points accordingly!

Why plan? A recent example is British Airways just announced that they will change their frequent flyer program redemption levels. I am so thankful I redeemed my 100,000 bonus miles before this takes effect. My girlfriend and I are going on a trip to Easter Island! With the new redemption levels in November this would no longer be possible with that amount of miles. Dodged a bullet!

Another great example is Delta. My initial vision was to hoard 1 million miles to use on a very long around-the-world trip at some unknown point in the future. Then they changed their redemption levels twice in the past 2 years. I saw the writing on the wall and now earn and burn Delta miles. This takes away a lot of stress and keeps my vacations cheaper!

This has all evolved into my current strategy. I essentially have no choice but to fly Delta for work since I am based in Atlanta. I now switched my spending to a United credit card so I earn United miles for my work/personal spending. This is with 1 goal in mind: diversification. My current goal for Delta and United miles are business class trips to Asia. This brings me the most value from miles earned at this point.

When I hit the milestone I set I then start planning my redemption of the accumulated miles and enjoy the benefits. I find that I plan about 12-18 months in advance so I have time to save money, research where I want to go, and of course find my preferred award seats on the flights. Spending the miles is that fun part of this game!

I am sure my strategy will change again at some point as time goes on. Programs and personal needs/desires change so I will adapt accordingly. Keep in mind that points are great but cash has the most value and flexibility. Mixing the two can give the best overall results for travel and leisure. Be smart and don't leave money (or points!) on the table.

Be Prepared: A friend's story

I have a friend, we will call him Tom, who recently became unemployed. He found a week ago that he was being let go and was very lucky. He was given a one month salary severance so he will get paychecks for a month even though he is not working. It could have been a lot worse! He should also be eligible for unemployment after the salary stops.

Tom has been slowly turning his financial life around. He is realizing the power and security that having savings provides. He is now tracking his money through mint.com which is a huge step forward from his former paycheck and broke until next paycheck cycle. He has no credit cards and some smaller outstanding debts.

Tom has been in a lull for a while with displeasure of his job and other things going on in his life. I have been helping him as much as I can as a friend. He comes to me for money advice from time to time and I now thing he is turning the corner and is going to start to rebuild. This job loss was his wake-up call that he needed. He is approaching a financial bottom that a lot of people reach before making better decisions and habits.

Tom is ok for now but would certainly be a lot better off if he had an emergency fund. With zero savings he feels the pinch of needing another job and fast. He is limited on how selective he can be. He realizes this now. Living within his means is Tom's first step in the right direction. Adjusting spending habits is a constant work in progress for us all and his is just getting started. I hope a change of scenery and change of job will push him futher in the right direction and not back to the old ways.

Only time will tell if this really is the bottom for Tom. He seems like he truly wants to change his ways and I will support that as best I can as a friend. I have been through my financial bottom so I will give him advice as he asks for it. I find it is best in cases like these to let me find out on their own. Like most people (including me) Tom will learn the hard way. I wish him the best of luck!

Inspiration: 3 Travelers that I aspire to be like

I have been doing some digging around on the net lately to see if others out there are doing what I aspire to do: travel perpetually. I found a few that are "living the dream" that I am working on every day. None of these blogs seperately do what I intend. My dream encompasses a mixture of all of them

The Blogs:

• Todd's Wanderings: How I piad for 12 years of continuous travel
• Interview: Retired at 38 and spent the last 20 years traveling the world
• BoundToWander: An Aussie guy that left with no end date!

Overall the combination of these 3 blogs is what I want to do. Todd in the first link teaches English and does some volunteer work. The second is an interview with a couple who have enough income from investments to travel the world and live cheaply. The last guy is truly traveling and seeing the world without a specific income. These all sound great to me.

My intention is to combine the 3 to achieve what I want. I don't mind working just don't want to do it ALL of the time. I would also have some reserve savings and side income that will help support at least some of my travels. Finally I will do some traveling purely for pleasure. A month or two just simply enjoying a beach town sounds good.

The obvious questions is: How do I make this happen both logisitically and financially?

So far I have a basic plan that I believe will build upon itself to reach my ultimate goal of being a semi-nomad. I broke it up into major steps:

1. Become debt free and build savings. This critical step is to reduce my expenses to minimum. Ideally I would have my house paid for but would entertain renting it out. Either way I have a place to come back too. I would also have a $10,000 reserve that I do not touch. If the plan failed somehow and I had to come back to full time work this would be my safety net.
2. Transition from working to semi-retirement/traveling. The details here are fuzzy but I am considering teaching English for a couple of years or lining up some project-based work with defined beginning and end. Would travel between contracts (overseas) to transition. At this point I am financially secure enough to not have to work full time if I choose not too.
3. Freedom: Between side income, my savings, and planned working stints I have the security I need where I can decide where I want to go and what I want to do. I have found places where I can "home base" and travel into and out of. I will discover these as I go. One place that works for this is Bangkok.

As of today this is my game plan. Adjusting my habits and keeping my eye on the prize is the most difficult part. Big goals do not materialize without some sacrifice. I am making progress but certainly not as quickly as I would like. Patience is one of the hardest things to learn.

Why Emergency Funds Work: My Car Repair

I have been having some minor car trouble with it running a little hot. It wasn't as much of an issue over the winter with colder weather. Spring is now here and I am noticing the problem more and more. Now is the time to take care of it before more major issues come.

Today I did some shopping around. I need a new readiator (it leaks coolant). I found one online from an auto parts chain that had the part in stock locally and I got and extra 15% off with the online coupon. Now I just have to pick it up and take it over to my mechanic friend to have it installed.

I am not in any financial panic as I have money in my emergency fund earmarked for car repairs. The parts and accessories I need for the job were about $140 total. This comes out of my emergency fund and my normal monthly deposits to the emergency fund will replenish it over time. Luckily for me my friend accepts beer as payment for labor.

Without that money set aside I would be in a bit of a bind. Maybe I would have eaten a lot cheaper and stayed in more to make up for the cost. It could also have gone on a credit card where I would pay interested until it was paid off. Fortunately this is not the case as I planned ahead.

Thanks to the emergency fund a potential financial panic was curbed. Stories like this happen all the time. Be ready!

My top 5 most useful financial tools

I use multiple tools to keep track of all of my financial life. They all make my life easier and automate as much of it as I feel comfortable with. I am the type who checks everything on a daily basis and watches every dollar. I have a good budget built for how I live and it works well for me.

Here are my top 5 financial tools:

1. Online Banking -- I bank with ING Direct. They have one of the best (in my opinion) online banking systems. I can send money electronically to anyone's bank account. I have free bill pay. I earn interest on my checking account. This is definitely my most useful tool!
2. Mint.com -- I use mint to help me keep track of my monthly budgets and it gives me a good "big picture" view of my current financial situation. It is about 90% automated now. I can log in, adjust the categories for a few transactions, and see where I stand at any time!
3. Microsoft Excel -- I use excel to create and adjust my budget (and update Mint if I need too). I also use excel to track all of my non-budgeted items like car repairs and extras that are not specifically in my budget. I do monthly tracking so any "surplus" gets moved to savings and not spent. I also track my Net Worth in Excel monthly (and I post that here too!)
4. iPhone - I make notes to myself related to finance such as budget adjustments I need to make, non-budgeted expenses and income, and ideas to research later. I have a calendar with my schedule of payments and reminders, I have online banking apps, and much more! Very handy.
5. Annual Financial Review - I review my entire big picture once per year in April to look at my budget, taxes, investments, savings, and estate planning each year. I make sure I am still on track for my lifelong goals and make any adjustments that I deem necessary. This step is the most important!

Having the above 5 tools at my disposal makes keeping my finances in order and in line with my goals much easier. I am to the point where I can manage my finances from anywhere that I have internet access. This is important since I plan to live overseas at some point and need to be 100% online if at all possible. 

My Goals for Retirement

Retirement is a subject I think about a LOT but I still don't feel like I have a clear path and goal for it. At this point I see myself in retirement doing a fair bit of travel abroad and spending at least half the year outside of the USA. If I do spend time within the USA I will most likely be visiting with family and friends for shorter periods of time.

What I want in retirement:

• Passive Income: I want enough money coming in to cover my basic costs
• No outstanding loans or liabilities
• No need to work 40 hours a week to cover my costs
• Projects to give me focus and self enjoyment (ex: volunteering abroad)

Figuring out what I wanted was the easy part. I do have a vision of where I want to be in life. The unclear part is 1) How much money do I need to have saved? and 2) How will I earn and invest the money I do save in order to meet that target?

Assumptions:

• Annual Rate of Return: 8%
• Monthly Income needed: $2,100 (in today's dollars)
• Desired rate of withdrawal 4%

Based on my assumptions that means that if I were to retire today I would need $630,000 invested at 8% return in order to be able to draw 4% ($25,200) annually. This is assuming taxes are already paid and my take home is $2,100 month.

If I factor in an assumed total tax rate of 20% then I need to withdraw $31,500 per year to be able to have $25,200 in spendable cash. That raises my total assets target to $787,500 if I were to live completely off investments with no other income source.

This raises yet another issue for me. I am considering having some rental properties that will generate income and therefore reduce my need for investment. I like the idea of paying a mortgage each month and gaining rent where I keep the difference. The homes are still investments and I have the added advantage of not needing to pay FICA taxes on the income. I also will find side work from time to time but have decided that will be bonus "play money" for splurges that I will want at the time.

Looking at the big picture I am a long way off from this goal. My main goal for this year is to increase my income as much as I can this year and beyond. Each dollar I save is another dollar closer to the above dream. I will have to keep the focus and not fall victim to too much lifestyle inflation a long the way.

Striking a balance: Saving for future wants while maintaining current wants

There is no clear cut solution to this problem. Being highly frugal and watching every dollar I spend sometimes creates an imbalance for me. I catch myself penny pinching a little too much every now and then and later realize that my happiness is declining as a result. I am still trying to figure out the "magic formula" where I can be happy now and later.

My main solution is to be sure I travel overseas at least once per year and also do a long weekend on a fun domestic trip. Last year was Cambodia for a month and Myrtle Beach, SC for a long weekend. This year I have the 2 day Bahamas cruise at the end of this month and a month in Thailand with a few days in Malaysia and Singapore thrownin.

That is great but what about the day-to-day stuff? Being an ethnic food buff is a really fun hobby but restaurants get expensive. I limit myself to 1 nice dinner out a week and try to have dinner at home the rest of the time, if possible.  I also do my homework to find the best restaurant for a particular type of food and it usually is very reasonable. I tend to stay away from $30+ (per person) meals as it is simply not worth it to me no matter how good it is.

I thought I had a pretty good balance but I do seem to go back and forth a bit. Sometimes I will eat out more than my budget allows. I will see the busted budget the next month and pull back and "suffer" a little as a result. Part of it comes down to willpower and also comes down to if I have achieved the right balance or not. It's an ongoing process but I have noticed that it does seem to even out some over the long haul. I must say that my budget has come a long way since I started it and I will just have to keep tweaking until I get it right.

Turn your checking account into a cash management system

As a former financial planner I implement and use a tool called the Cash Management System. This idea is more of a cash flow diagram that utilizes your primary checking account as the main source of your income and expenses. It incorporates your budget and gives you the "big picture" of your monthly cash flow.

The purpose of the Cash Management system is to have a plan for your income and a guide you can refer back to and adjust as needed. The basic formula for the system looks like this:

Income = Monthly Expenses + Savings Transfers + Debt Payments (if any)

It also assumes that by month end the account balance will be $0. This means that every dollar that comes in will have some purpose. It guides you so that if you have lower expenses one month you can transfer it to savings such as an emergency fund, retirement, vacation savings, and so on. By keeping your "extra" money out of your checking account you won't be able to spend it as easily.

This system only works if you carefully track and budget your money. You have to look at your income versus expenses each month and make transfers accordingly. You should also set up automatic transfers to savings each month so you are sure to save something. At the very least you need a percentage budget (such as 50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings) so you can calculate the amounts and set up transfers.

Secondly you have to maintain some sort of self control. If you get a windfall, gift, bonus, etc. you need to be able to not spend it or immediately move it out of the cash management account. Personally I take extra income and immediately add it to my savings account(s). In December I examine my tax situation and transfer money to retirement accounts that give me the best overall tax advantage (Usually a Roth in my case). The point is to get it out of your spending account ASAP.

Once you get the hang of things the cash management system is a simple, helpful tool that keeps you on track and also keeps you aware of how you spend or save every dollar. It takes some getting used too but the time investment is worth the return of peace of mind and not worrying about paying rent or buying gas next month. Invest in your future!

My Goals for 2011

It is new years eve and soon the beginning of a new year. This is the time when everyone makes "resolutions" that are almost never met. I always set goals to work towards on this day. They may take more than a year to complete but I do make progress. I did pretty good last year and am looking forward to more of the same!

Goals for 2011:

• Fully fund my emergency fund -- top priority
• Restart Roth IRA contributions monthly
• Visit a new country
• Finish my 2-year IT Degree (only 1 course!)
• "Game the system" of credit card bonus offers to cover some of my vacation costs
• Eat at home more (at least 70% of the time) to cut food costs
• Increase my salary at least 5%

As I slowly move from debtor to saver I am finding myself looking for more ways to lower expenses and increase my income. This year I am looking into beefing up my resume and keeping my options open. In order to meet my large, long term goal of financial independence the math tells me I need more income. This will be a primary focus this year!

Only 2 more days to make your final tax moves!

There are only 2 more days left in the year to sell off losing stocks, make donations, and any other tax moves that you need to make. The tax on Roth IRA conversions can be split between 2010 and 2011 to lessen the sting if that is in the cards for you also!

I am happy to report that my investments gained this year. I am selling them off so I can transfer the funds to my Roth IRA which makes more sense long term for tax purposes. I have plenty of mortgage and student loan interest to offset so I won't have that much of a hit on my refund. They are also long term gains which are taxed lower too!

I am donating some old clothes and the like as I will be itemizing deductions this year and each dollar helps! I am going to clean out the closets and bit and get a few more dollars back from Uncle Sam. It is a win win as people get items they really need and I get rid of them plus a tax break.

Don't wait until the last minute to make your moves now or you may miss the deadlines!

Moving to Schwab: Saving money!

Today I have decided that I am moving all of my investments from Firstrade to Charles Schwab. A few years ago I would not have even considered this because of Schwab's high fees. The landscape has changed and now I am making my move just in time for tax season!

Here are my reasons for moving, in order of importance:

• The big one: $0 commission on Schwab Funds and Schwab ETF's versus $6.95 currently.
• Consolidation: Accounts in less places (combining with new Schwab Checking Account)
• Schwab has branches: If I have an issues I can visit a human!
• Mint.com access: I can see my Schwab accounts in Mint. I cannot for Firstrade

All of above make this move make sense for me. I especially like that I can invest in ETF's with no commission. It makes re-balancing possible and MUCH cheaper over the long haul. Every dollar counts in a Roth IRA! I will combine this move with a re-balance as I will sell every position and move cash to start clean and save on transfer fees.

One final step I am taking is to take what used to be in my taxable brokerage account and move it to my Roth IRA. This requires me to sell all positions (which I have done for a gain!) and deposit cash as a contribution. It makes sense to do this now since it will count as a 2010 contribution and leave me more room for 2011. This will also cut my tax bill over time significantly!

Long term I plan to start using my Schwab Checking account more too. It refunds all ATM fees AND does not charge me a percentage for foreign ATM withdrawals. As a lover of international vacations this can save me thousands over the long haul. As long as this policy continues I may considering using them for other things as their account pays a small amount of interest too!

End of Year Tax Planning: Start Now!

We are almost halfway done with October! That means we have a couple months left to make our year end tax moves. I always like to have a look at my income for the year, project what I will be earning for the rest of the year, and make moves accordingly. Luckily I am on salary so this is relatively simple.

This is the time of year when I take a good look at everything. I project what my tax refund or liability will be and use that to form a plan. I decide how much to donate, what stocks to sell and keep (if any), what to contribute to my retirement accounts over and above my normal contributions, and so on. All of these have an impact on my tax bill.

I also use this time to go through my stuff. The holidays are coming up so I start to dig through my things. I can donate food and clothes to those who really need it. I look through my stuff for anything I can sell or use as a gift (one less to buy!). I do a thorough cleaning of my closest to reduce my clutter. I am in a never ending battle against stuff and this helps out the cause!

I also do a little searching online for extra tax credits. I want to get all the credits available that I can to reduce my tax bill. The rules and credits change all the time so it is good to knock out a few housekeeping items to be sure you get the most out of your 1040. Examples: Energy efficient credits, healthcare itemized deduction threshold, healthcare spending accounts, etc.

My final and arguably most important item on the list is to make a list! The list includes:

• Projection of tax refund or amount owed.
• To Do list of donations, selling, investing, etc.
• Cleaning and paring down of my stuff.
• List of all tax forms that I will need to file my return (1098's, 1099's, W2's, etc).
• My intentions of how to use a tax refund (if any). 

Tax Planning does not have to be just numbers, calculators, and hard decisions.  Doing this bit of work now saves scrambling later, missed opportunities, and added stress during the holiday season. You don't want to be worrying about selling stocks or making donations at the dinner table with extended family. Save yourself some grief and get to work now!

Rant: Calculating how much I need to "retire"

I am not a fan of the word "retirement." It has a bad connotation of working until you cannot work anymore to have enough money to live out the rest of your life. That doesn't sound very good to me. I prefer financially independent where I don't necessarily have to collect social security to stop working. I am currently working on my target net worth number to mark the day I quit working full time.

I have found that a lot of other things have to be considered than just the total amount. I also have to include:

• Expected income from investments
• Income from other sources (side work, contracting, etc.)
• What the other income sources are
• Cost to travel (I want to do this as much as possible)
• Expenses that have to be paid after I stop full time work
• Making sure I am happy with all the above choices

This seems simple enough but each of the above items has a lot of complexity. I have to make estimates on what I will earn from my investments. What sort of side work would I do, how often, and how much could it potentially pay? Travel costs fluctuate wildly. I have to decided where to travel, for how long, and get a reasonable estimate of costs. Expenses are the easiest to predict but not completely. And most of all I want to be happy with my choices and no stressing over these items all the time. Everything has to fit right!

As it stands now I am nowhere close to being able to say with 100% or even 75% assurance of what each in the above list should be. All I do know at this point is that I want to travel at least half the year to various countries worldwide. I have a good grasp on the home-side expenses but still working on the travel part. The expected income from investments is like trying to see the future. I know what sort of returns I would want but attaining them is another story. I am also working on ideas for side work, projects, and contracting to help me fill the gaps.

Being able to stop 100% relying on salary is a long process. I do know that saving as much as I can everyday will get me closer. I am a person who likes numbers and measurable goals so I am going to come up with a target and put 110% of my effort into it. I have a lot of variables to juggle. It's called life. I have to take a step back and not worry about every detail being hammered out. With plan A, B, & C I will make it work somehow. Time to get to work!

Refinance Closing Complete! Consolidation Begins!

Today I closed on the refinance of my current mortgage and HELOC into a new 30-year mortgage. I went through my local credit union and lowered my interest rate from 6% to 4.5% on my entire balance. This is a great rate and I freed up almost $200/month in cash flow as a result!

I finished my closing around 2 hours ago and I feel a big relief. All the paperwork, applications, appraisal, inspectors, and general hectic mess is over. I am now paying just shy of $400 per month for my newly remodeled foreclosure home in a great area. It took me 1 year, 2 months to get to this point. It feels great!

Now some real work begins. As I write this I am on hold with yet another credit card company. Now that I am past credit checks and needs for borrowing I am doing an "avalanche" of account closings. I have multiple cards that I no longer use. I opened them to get bonuses and rewards and am now closing the accounts I don't need.

I am in the big process of simplifying my financial life so I can focus on other things. I have paid off all of my credit card balances except for 1 and that will be paid off this month and I will close that account too. I will be left with only a handful of my oldest accounts to maintain my credit history and to have for emergencies. I will continue to use my Delta SkyMiles card to earn my free travel rewards as usual.

Three Stages of Personal Finance

JD over at Get Rich Slowly often mentions the 3 stages of personal finance. It's a topic that I have not covered here until now. My "road map" of personal finance is a little different. I will compare the two here.

3 Stages of Personal Finance:

1. Learning the Basics
2. Putting Basics to Practice
3. The "What Next" stage

In JD's system he starts with understanding concepts of compound interest, paying off debt, and saving. In the second stage he says we are paying off debt, saving for goals, exercising frugality. Lastly the third stage covers having basic savings (emergency fund) covered, retirement covered, and then pursuing the goals you want as you have the financial ability to do so.

JD says he has reached the third stage and for that I applaud him! He made it through the hard road and now can enjoy life a lot more. His path is one I also am taking right now. I can safely say that this is not easy and a constant struggle. I am frustrated on a daily basis but must move forward. This why my system is slightly different:

My Road Map of Personal Finance:

1. Obtaining Values, Beliefs, Practices
2. Learning how to handle money
   
3. Accumulation
4. Financial Freedom (most call this "retirement")

In my road map I start with childhood. You usually get your money, saving, and spending values from your parents and family. You tend to do what they do (right or wrong). In the second step you are off to college or work in the "real world" and you learn how to handle money. This usually involves credit card debt, expensive mistakes, and no savings (in my case). A lot of us have to hit the proverbial "wall" before we realize and embrace the need for change.

Once we figure out what we need to do we make a plan to pay off our debt, save for an emergency fund, save for retirement and other needs, and finally get a feeling of getting our financial lives in order. I call this the Accumulation step since we are working toward a positive net worth and beyond. (This is where I am right now).

Finally you reach the Financial Freedom step. I suppose this is what I would consider my "What next?" stage since at this point I have all debts paid, have very substantial savings, and don't necessarily have to work unless I want too. I can go extended periods of time without the need of a paycheck. This is the basis of the title of my blog: "The path to $1 million".

My actual goal may change to something other than $1 million. I am using that number as something to aim for. I may figure out that it does not have to be that high in order for me to get to the 4th step. For me (at least) I am more prone to exercise extra frugality with a loft goal of $1 million as opposed to say $100,000. I do what works for me!

Daily Struggles That Affect My Finances

The old adage says "we all have problems" and that is true. Some of these problems can have impacts on our financial well being. I do my best to combat this but in the end some of it still happens. We can only do so much damage control.

Things in my life that negatively affect my financial situation:

• Stress: This one can cause me to spend where I otherwise wouldn't. I get a great deal of stress from work (IT Industry) and this sometimes makes me purchase outside of my budget. Whether it be a few drinks after work here and there or eating out from a long day where I have no energy to cook.
• Worrying about money: I do this daily. I now it is not a good thing to do but having debt makes me worry. Will I lose my job? What will I do? I also have to fight against myself to not buy the new toys I want. It is hard to convince yourself that debt repayment is #1!
• Unhappy with my job: I like working in the IT Industry but my particular job is of little interest to me. I am stuck because of my bills and cannot seem to locate a replacement that provides the same level of income (recession). This adds to me stress.
• Feast and Famine Spending: From time to time I tend to go on somewhat extreme spending restrictions. When I do this I hit a wall and then spend money I shouldn't. Over time it evens out a bit and I am trying to find a happy medium. So far no luck.

I can attribute most of my bad money decisions in recent memory to stress and unhappiness at work. I am doing the best I can to alleviate this in a rough job market and am researching alternatives. I am not planning any big change until after my month-long, much needed vacation to Asia in November. This also gives me time to save up some extra cash and plan my move before I make it.

Quicken Online: Soon to go away!

I got an email saying that Quicken.com, a free service, is going away. I saw this coming every since Intuit bought Mint.com which is a competing service. As a result I have signed up for Mint, got the free iPhone app, and am transitioning over to using it. I must say that so far I like Mint better!

I love the fact that it automatically updates and categorizes my transactions daily. I have alerts set up so I get notified via email on my iPhone if something "big" happens. It is also useful for tracking my net worth and seeing easily where I am over or under budget.

I am a big fan of the online tracking/budgeting tools and Mint is one of the best I have seen and used. I hope they continue to improve it and add all the institutions I need so I can accurately track everything in one place.

For those of you still using Quicken Online now is the time to get started. It takes a while to get Mint set up but trust me it is well worth the effort!