After reviewing our pension and 401k yesterday, it is time to take a quick look at our IRAs. Both my husband and I hold Roth IRAs with Vanguard, and have been really satisfied with the low fees, investment options, and the ease of using the website. We have not maxed out our contributions for this year, and we probably will not be able to unless I find another job where I can work from home in the immediate future. My Roth IRA – $19,677 My husband’s Roth IRA – $2,875 This brings our total retirement savings to $78,006 (401k...
Money
Retirement savings part i – the 401k and pension
After reviewing our student loans, I thought it would be a good idea to switch to something on the savings side. Today, let’s take a look at my husband’s 401k and pension. (I have only had a single 401k in my life, and I transferred it to an IRA, and then to a Roth IRA, after leaving the job.) I am going to use January’s figures since our monthly contribution does not happen for a couple more days. 401k – $46,025 Pension – $9,429 Total $55,454 We started contributing to the 401k plan in April of 2003, and we...
CVS makes me almost like shopping
I almost liked shopping today, but it was only because of the amount of money we saved. Sometimes I think that I am the only female who doesn’t like to shop – I hate buying clothes, shoes, and don’t own any make-up (unless you count my yearly purchase of a tube of chapstick). When I do shop, I know what I want/need, and like to get in and out as fast as I can. All that being said, I have to admit that I don’t mind shopping as much when I know there is a great bargain to be...
Boomertowne review
**UPDATE: Boomertowne is dead. They did not cash in any gift cards since the early part of May 2008, and stopped communicating with their users. Please see this post for more information. Boomertowne.com is one of the few legitimate sites that I have found that really gives an opportunity to make money (in the form of gift cards). Here’s a breakdown of the site: You earn points for participating in the Boomertowne community. You can participate via chat rooms, forums, making a profile, playing games, and rating quotes or jokes (just to name a few). You can earn up...
Our financial story – student loans – part 2
Today, it’s time to focus on my student loans. I was very fortunate to not have to take out any loans for my graduate studies – a small but sufficient graduate stipend combined with my husband’s income helped us out. However, I spent 5 years completing my undergraduate studies (I am a geek who did a triple major) and my last year was expensive. In total, my federal undergraduate student loans totaled roughly $15000, which included an unsubsidized loan for $1450. I also had to take out a private loan in my last year for $6000. Even while in...
Our financial story – student loans – part 1
I thought that student loans would be a good place to start documenting our financial journey – as I am bringing my graduate school career to a close, I thought it would be a good idea to take a look back at what our education cost us. Today, I will start with my husband’s student loans. Starting off, he had federal undergraduate student loans totaling roughly $18400 (these days, that’s not bad for 4 years at a private college!) which he began paying in September of 2000. In September of 2002, he went to an accredited school for massage...
Head Huggers – knitting hats for cancer patients
Although the focus of this site is money, it is also important to give back to others. All the money in the world doesn’t matter if you don’t fulfill your personal goals. I mentioned in a previous post that one of my goals was to have a job with a purpose that helps other people directly. After giving it some thought, I think that another one of my goals would be to also increase giving back to others, even if it does not directly involve money (ie. a job). I do not have the time to begin a nonprofit...
Suze Orman talks about retirement
I think Suze Orman is a little crazy. I just started watching her on a regular basis a couple of weeks ago, and I am surprised at her large fan base despite how arrogant and annoying she can be at times. There is almost a point during each episode where I am ready to turn off the tv, usually due to how annoyed I am, but also because I disagree with her opinion sometimes (there are times that I think she fails to get enough information about a person’s situation before dispensing her advice). So why do I...
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