Plans for 2007

Start a Roth IRA before tax time (place $500 in)
Open a Sharebuilder account and buy stock (invest $50 in an IPO and $50 in a dividend paying company)
Continue saving with my 401K (readjust as necessary 2006 brought in a 17.1% return)
Paint and fix up house
Teach dog to catch a frisbee
Learn more about solar energy consider installing on roof (long term project)
Spend more time with friends and family
Continue sharing ideas with PF bloggers and contribute to the community

I love this paid advertisement by PaidPerPost

The following is a paid advertisement by PaidPerPost.

I love PaidPerPost it allows me to make a few dollars while blogging. The money I make from PPP will go directly to a savings account. I will try to make at least $10 from PPP which comes out to $120 a year. Put that directly into a high yield savings account or money market account which paypal offers and I'll be set. Once the account reaches a nice amount say $1200 is 10 years put that right into a Roth IRA and let it grow. Continue the process 5 times and then I'll have $10,000 + depending on the percent return. Some bloggers have already earned over $3000 from PPP, which is nice that could be put right into a Roth and almost max it out. I don't see myself of being that dedicated to taking every opportunity that I can, but we'll see. Again this will posting will be specifically to raise money. PaidPerPost transfers money right into my Paypal Account, it's very easy to do and almost effortless to write what is required. PPP is a blog marketing tool that allows bloggers to make money and advertisers to create buzz.

Attack of the Credit Card Sharks!

Everywhere you turn it seems like someone is out to get your money. Ever pass by a credit card stand where people are offering tokens or trinkets for signing up for a new credit card? I fell into this pathetic trap at college. There was an MBNA stand giving away free Penn State t-shirts or a hat when you sign up for their card. My friends said fill it out falsely and get the free shirt, I filled out my true info because I didn't want to lie on the application. Then I got stuck with the card for the next 6 years (never had a late fee). This is not how to sign up for a credit card. Do not get sucked in by a card shark. They lurk in malls, at college campuses, and at most major sporting events. Never sign up at one of these boths. If you are going to get a credit card, shop around. Find one that meets your needs, don't get it just for the prize that comes with it.

Money and Relationships

Scheduled a financial discussion with my wife to set some goals for 2007. Do you and your spouse or significant other discuss money? We do and sometimes it leads to arguements. I've found that setting aside a specific time and place helps (instead of randomly giving information about the importance of budgeting or looking at our bills). We try to meet at the end of every month but have been lax lately with the hustle and bustle of the move. I was even thinking about taking a look at our finances as a company would. With quarterly reports and a prospectus etc. Many other pfbloggers have done this with a monthly balance sheet stating their networth. I chose to set specific goals instead of monthly spreadsheets. Granted the spreadsheets are a good idea to see where you're going. We use Microsoft Money, and Wachovia's Billpay for most of our financial needs. Next year I will be more on top of things since this past year has been more about discovery and learning.

We're in. I'm officially a first time homeowner.

Well we closed on our house on Friday. First we closed on the condo (sold for $245,000 - attorney's and realtor's fees) and then close on our first home (bought for $325,000). We traded a condo and a $149,000 mortgage, for a house and a $250,000 mortgage. I plan to pay off the mortgage in 20 years. Currently we have a fixed rate of 6% for 30 years, with taxes the mortgage payment will be roughly $2050 a month. Not bad for NJ. I'm pretty excited about the house, but there's a lot to fix up. This is really the first large investment that will appreciate in value that I've been a part of. It's a 4 bedroom colonial house with a nice sized backyard. It's in a smalltown close to the school and many other shops and stores. The street we're on is a historic street, many of the houses are over 100 years old. The house we bought was built in 1988 by a contractor, but it was built in the same style as the other houses on the street. Moving with the holiday season so close was a hassle, but in the long run will probably save us some money. We shopped around for a moving company and got the whole job done for a little over $500. Cut my cable bill from Comast down to $66 a month for internet and tv, and signed up for Sunrocket so my phone bill is down to $17 a month. New cell phone plan from Verizon with discount through work cut the cell phone bill from $80 to $60. So hopefully these small cut backs will counter act the estimated 20% increase for utilities like electric, gas and water. Eventually I will research and try to implement solar panels on the backside of the roof and make as many energy star saving improvements as I can with purchase of new appliances (when the old ones break). I believe there are some tax deductions for buying energy saving products. Now I must go out and rake up the leaves in the backyard that has been neglected for sometime. The most difficult thing with the purchase of this house will be pacing ourselves with improvements (we would like to paint, replace and fix up a bunch of things). It seems like a never ending process.

Spend now and Save later VS Save now and Spend later

Instant gratification is everything these days from email to cell phones and is heavy advertised. Many items are free, no payments until 2008, etc. etc. Every commercial tries to convince you that you won't be cool, sexy, or successful without the latest useful gadget. So what should you do- save now, use the power of time to make the most of your money. What do most people do- spend now (you can pick them out pretty easily - they always have the newest cell phones, watches, TVs, cars, etc.) later on they will see that their lack of patience will cause them to have money problems. When bills come due and they want to retire they'll have to work or live in poverty. I look for a happy medium, I try my best to save now, but once in a while I get something that I don't need.

Double closing set for tomorrow

I'll be away for a few days while moving and getting everything set up at the new house. Tomorrow's the big day. Also I'll let you in on how I got a sweet deal on Comcast cable and internet. Recently signed up for Sunrocket as well (the cheapest phone there is).

What would you do with your financial independence?

Following in Free Money Finance's footsteps

Recently I've been attending a church group on Wednesday mornings and one of the topics was money. It's interesting to see what the Bible says about money and wealth. Basically it has the same morals as the famous story of Ebeneezer Scrooge in the Christmas Carol. You can't take your worldly possesions with you and it's not what you have, but rather what you do with your time here on earth. The Bible states that it is very hard for the rich to get into heaven because they find it hard to part from their posessions. It is truly ashame when your possessions begin to own you. Example you buy a huge house and then become a slave to it, working harder and more hours to pay for it, ironically you end up never getting to spend time at home and can't enjoy it.

Find your passion and make a living doing it

Find out what you love and do it. If you can find a way to support yourself doing something you love life will be enjoyable. As an example the Crocodile Hunter was very passionate about his work. He was so passionate that he drew people into his work.

I finally made the Under 30 Honor Roll, my parents would be so proud

I'm in. Tonight we did the final walk-through on our house, pretty exciting. Closing is next Wednesday or Thursday. Saturday we are cleaning and moving boxes, Tuesday is the big move. This past year has been a financial whirlwind - payed off a school loan (yeah), now signing up for a 30 year mortgage (boo, hiss). Ever feel overwhelmed by debt? I do from time to time. My wife tells me - most people have a mortgage, I just want to get out of all debt including a large loan from a giant bank asap.

Is advertising on a personal finance website wrong?

Simple question. Difficult answer. As always I invite readers to weigh in on the topic. I am a consistent reader of a variety of personal finance blogs. It seems to me that most people are currently running Adsense ads by Google alone the lefthand site bar and maybe a banner at the top as I have which is perfectly fine with me. I have no problem with people if the advertisements are pertinent and do not distract from content (you are there to read and increase your knowledge, right). And many also have affiliate links especially books they've reviewed from Amazon or maybe a Chiquita mall, or maybe even some sponsored links. But when do you cross the line. If you are truly trying to help people in financial trouble, is it really in their best interest to be checking out an array of tech products or gadegts that they don't need? Or does it help them when you present a variety of credit cards? The point I'm trying to get to here is that if the personal finance community wants to do more good than harm, stick to information that will help people get out of financial trouble not providing pathways to get them in a darker shade of red. I'll admit it is nice to have a few dollars cash flow from a blog, but I'd give it up if I was doing anyone any damage. The main reason I started this was to track my progress to 1 million dollars saved for retirement and help others with my experience alone the way. I think that Ramit over at iwillteachyoutoberich.com has the right idea. Creating a useful product that will help people. This is just a general warning to be cautious and be smart. I'm trying to get away from myself serving greedy mission and open up my this how to blog as more of an information resource. Howstuffworks - the site created by Marshall Brain created a new page recently about How to Make a Million Dollars which has a lot of good information and I recommend checking it out.

You're better than that!

Stop wasting your time watching life on television. You're better than that. A majority of Americans know more about TomKat and BrAngelina than they know about their own families. What is our obsession with obsence wealth and fame? Are you happy with your life? You should be. If you're not, change it. Change is difficult because it requires work. Push yourself out of your usually routine and try something new. Learn, share, feel, do, in all areas of your life. What do I do for the good of humanity? Not that much right now, other than help people heal, teach people how to help themselves, and really listen when people need to talk. I know that I'm better than that and can do more. Experience and evolve and give everything you can. We only have a short time here, make good use of your time. OkDork inspired this post check out OkDork.com it's cool.

Make your blog better- 3 quick tips

Three quick tips:

1. Cut down on pictures/advertisements streamline things to make it neat easy to read and navigate. More people will stay for a visit if your page loads quickly and it looks sharp.
2. Have "heroin content." The kind of original cutting edge stuff that keeps 'em choppin at the bit. Get people addicted to your site, constantly checking back for updates.
3. Have a clear title, and catch phrase that's easy to remember, bonus for a recognizable logo
4. Bonus tip - check out the masters of the game and see what works for them.
   

New Nonprofit idea

Grant a wish foundation. The idea is to grant people's wishes. How I'll set up a forum where you can post your wishes, and have volunteers help to grant those wishes. A way for someone to give back with time or resources or abilities, teaching or mentoring. Say a young girl wants to be a doctor, have a current doctor or retired doctor sign up as a mentor and help get a team of support. This would be a great way to pay it forward 'feeling good by giving back'.

Question for the personal finance blog community

What do you want for Christmas? Usually I want things that I wouldn't normally buy for myself such as car parts to pimp my VW GTI. If you could get one thing for Christmas this year what would it be and why?