savvy saver

Christmas presents: how to save money and still out-do Santa

2011-12-22T11:55:00.002-06:00

If you need to save money this Christmas, but the thought of cutting back on how much you spend on presents for your loved ones fills you with dread, fear not. Sentiment goes a long way. A memorable photo of you and your best friend in an inexpensive frame is worth more than anything available on the High Street. Or maybe someone in the family has a sweet tooth? Buy a cheap jar and fill

refi-fatigue

2011-11-28T13:18:00.002-06:00

The downward spiral of mortgage rates has created some great rate opportunities, but as a self-identifying rate-chaser, I can tell you that I'm worn out. We've refinanced 1-2 mortgages/year every single year for at lease five years - each time thinking there's no way rates could possibly get lower.Then they do.And we refinance. Again. We are doing our last primary residence refi right now (ask

October 2011 net worth update

2011-10-31T06:37:00.002-05:00

Just put together our October 2011 net worth... you can see it on NetworthIQ.It went up slightly to just over $410,000. I wish I had done a report between July and now to capture the crazy stock market movements. Just a month ago our retirement account balances were down about $30,000. They have since recovered.

i-bonds? again?

2011-09-09T08:33:00.003-05:00

I haven't been around much lately, life with two kids is really busy. We've had our debt-reduction on auto-pilot, and it is going well. We closed on a refi of the apartment building in August, our loan is now fixed for 30 years at 5% (down from 5.75%, which was down from 6.79%). The apartment is cash flowing very nicely right now, hopefully it stays that way.We are approaching the end of our

Reverse mortgages

2011-06-29T08:06:00.002-05:00

The crisis in the housing market has meant big changes in the mortgage business... tougher lending regulations, more stringent LTV requirements, and reverse mortgages have slowed to a trickle.It doesn't take a business degree to see that falling housing prices have meant there is less upside for banks that are selling reverse mortgages. They are still out there, but fewer banks are competing for

Net Worth - the dip

2011-06-28T08:24:00.003-05:00

I just created our July 2011 Net Worth Report, and realized that I failed to post our June 2011 Net Worth Report.You may noticed we were up to $418,000 in June, but dipped back down below $400,000 ($394,522) in July. This is due to two reasons, the primary being that I updated the value of both our properties. The previous values reflected the approximate tax-assessed value (current estimated

the great portfolio rebalancing

2011-04-21T08:19:00.003-05:00

A couple weeks ago I started thinking it was time to take a hard look at our retirement portfolio. I'm light on bonds and fixed income and overall our portfolio is really aggressive. We have a lot of index funds, but also a lot of BRKB and a handful of actively managed funds (Janus Overseas, Heartland Value Plus, Fidelity Canada and Fidelity Contra are a few long-time favorites). The

net worth update - March 2011

2011-03-31T08:53:00.003-05:00

... and we passed the $400,000 mark! $407,000 to be more precise!We received our tax refund and I also received a small work bonus. We also got hit with some expenses we weren't expecting (in hindsight we should have been) for the apartment building that totaled about $1400.The number doesn't really reflect it, but it's been a rough month. I'm looking forward to April.

credit cards - can you have the good without the bad?

2011-03-30T08:35:00.002-05:00

Mr. Savvy and I don't carry credit card debt. Unlike some, we do still use credit cards, and see the value in doing so, but don't carry a monthly balance.And just like we did in the past, we are always looking for ways to take advantage of credit card deals.... whether they are 0% interest promos we can use for arbitrage, account opening bonuses, or cash rewards for reaching certain levels of

net worth update!

2011-02-28T08:28:00.004-06:00

Just updated our net worth... good news, we broke the $250,000 mark for retirement accounts!We are also just $8,000 shy of hitting a total net worth of $400,000. If we included our cars in the number we would be there.We also have some cash set aside that isn't included in the number, but I don't know where I want to put it yet so it doesn't have a spot.

New Sponsor

2011-02-17T11:30:00.004-06:00

I'd like to welcome a new Savvy Saver Sponsor... CareOne Debt Relief Services. Their website is full of helpful debt consolidation resources, including tips, tools, and a community forum.

Networth update

2011-01-30T06:37:00.003-06:00

oh so close...Nothing exciting to report with this update. Our networth is $379,045, up $32,000 in two months (I guess that is kind of exciting).I'm hoping in the next few months we can top $400,000. Our retirement account balance is $244,000 and I'm really looking forward to having a quarter of a million dollars in retirement accounts soon as well.Our car is paid off, and we are gearing up to

Are there Privacy Issues with Faxless Payday Loans

2011-01-27T10:23:00.003-06:00

Payday loans can be found by various methods: payday loans , in-store payday loans without faxes and a third category of either online or in-store paycheck advances where faxing is still required.(For background, a no-fax or faxless payday loan is basically a way to get a portion of your paycheck several days or weeks early. You apply to a lender purely on the fact you work and will receive a

the how and the why

2011-01-15T06:57:00.004-06:00

I've received a couple inquiries wondering just how we managed to pay off so much debt in 2010. For those new to the blog, Mr. Savvy and I paid off a pretty remarkable (to us anyway) $58,000 last year. This debt was made up of a 0% balance transfer (which was about 50% left over from a couple remodeling projects and 50% a second mortgage on an investment property), as well as a car loan.We did

Revived: The Saving Spree

2011-01-14T14:40:00.003-06:00

Anyone who followed this blog closely in years past would have seen a recurring theme... the Saving Spree. These were 1-3 month periods where Mr. Savvy and I would cut back, not spending (or saving) as much money as we could. They were limited in duration, because honestly if we did it too long we were bound to fall off the wagon... hard.We've been doing some Saving Sprees lately, but I haven't

Cashing in on Continental Markets

2011-01-06T05:33:00.002-06:00

In the past couple of years the British high street has become peppered with continental markets, filled with bratwurst, bon-bons and boutique gifts – but a trip to the real markets on the continent can’t be beaten for atmosphere, climate and festive frivolities. Get the most from your European shopping experience by following these key cash conscious tips. Plan Ahead Schedule your dates

New Year

2011-01-03T07:03:00.002-06:00

Happy New Year! I can't believe how much different my outlook is this year over where we were last year. Last year we had a goal of paying down $40,000 of $46,000 in credit card debt... a goal we accomplished in July of last year. We also paid off most of our car loan ($1,800 of ~$14,000 is left). This next year we are ratcheting back up the retirement savings, increasing the 401(k) savings

Net Worth - Nov 30, 2010

2010-12-01T04:56:00.003-06:00

Just posted our first Net Worth update in five months. As I posted previously, we paid off our credit card debt last summer, quite a bit ahead of schedule. We have then moved on to paying off our car loan. We were hoping to get it wiped out this year, but instead bought a new mattress and spent some money on Christmas gifts... so we have $4,223 left. We started the year with over $14,000 left

Economic Recessions Come and Go as Business Cycles Ebb and Flow

2010-11-23T11:22:00.004-06:00

The recent recession of global proportions, although many would claim that we are continuing to endure hard economic times, has been one of the severest on record, especially in the developed countries of the world. By its simplest definition, a recession is a general slowdown in economic activity, but the formal definition from the perspective of an economist states that GDP growth must be

2010-08-17T11:01:00.001-05:00

Savers in Ireland continue to miss out on maximising the return on their savingsDerek Keogh, Head of Personal Savings at Anglo Irish Bank discusses recent official data which shows that the majority of savers lose out by not taking action to switch their savings from low rate payers.Choosing the right account for you isn’t always a straight forward decision. There’s so much choice on the market

and...

2010-07-29T08:50:00.003-05:00

we're done! We have paid off the entire $46,000 credit card debt in just seven months! I can hardly believe it, we smoked our goal of paying of $40,000 this year.I almost blew it this last month by joining Costco. We managed to spend about $2500 there in the past few weeks, a lot of that was on new furniture for our kids (we couldn't pass up a deal on a great quality bunk bed and dresser set).

Free Amazon Prime for students

2010-07-13T10:39:00.002-05:00

Amazon has a new deal out where students (those with a .edu email address) get free Amazon Student for a year! I wish I had kept my .edu email from my MBA program, it would have been worth it for this deal.

Prime Rate Website Offers Wall Street Journal Subscription Discounts

2010-07-01T13:29:00.001-05:00

The WSJ online for $1.99/week is a great deal! PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - September 29, 2009) - The United States Prime Rate website at www.FedPrimeRate.com is now offering discount subscriptions to the Wall Street Journal. "We've added lots of new content, including new blogs and charts," said content manager Steve Brown. "

July 1, 2010 update

2010-07-01T08:53:00.002-05:00

We are $1511 short of paying off our CC debt in June... the upside is that we should be able to easily pay that off in July and then get started paying off our car loan.We also SPENT a lot of money in June, which didn't help. $1400 for new carpet in an apartment, plus several hundred dollars in basic maintenance and repairs, $2000 to refinance the apartment, $100 for a bike for our 2 year old,

2010-06-29T09:05:00.003-05:00

It doesn't look like we will be able to have our credit card debt paid off this month, but definitely by the end of July we should be in the clear. Had we not had to replace carpet and spent $2000 on the apartment refinance we would be done by now, but sometimes life happens.We aren't going to take a break, we are going to dive right into our car loan and hopefully get that paid off by the end

2010-06-21T09:50:00.002-05:00

We are so close to being done with our CC debt this month... until we had a tenant move out and found out their dog pissed all over the carpet. We weren't planning to replace it, but now it looks like we have to. It will likely be about $1500 out of our pockets, even after we withhold for the damage from their deposit.

so close...

2010-06-02T11:55:00.004-05:00

With just $5,700 left on our credit card debt, Mr. Savvy and I have decided to try to pay that last amount in June and July. It is a stretch to do this in two months, but if we sell a couple things, stay really strict (we've been slacking lately) on our budget, and Mr. Savvy keeps working, we think we can do it.I also just noticed that this last month we passed our 2010 goal of paying off

No Medical Exam Life Insurance Page Added to FedPrimeRate.com Website

2010-06-01T13:19:00.002-05:00

No medical exam life insurance is a great option if you are looking for affordable term life insurance, but don't want to have a medical exam.PHILADELPHIA, PA--(Marketwire - June 20, 2010) - The United States Prime Rate website at www.FedPrimeRate.com now features an in depth, engaging and exceptionally robust webpage dedicated to no medical exam life insurance. "The addition of a life

another update!

2010-06-01T10:06:00.001-05:00

Just $5,700 to go! We didn't make as much progress last month as we would have liked, but we did refinance the apartment, which cost about $2,000. It will save us $2,400 per year in interest, so we think it was a wise expenditure.

2010-05-12T09:04:00.003-05:00

Just a quick update... we are down to just $7,000 left! We have been super busy lately, not much time to post. Unfortunately last month we spent way more than we planned... two new car seats, a new suit for me, some other clothing/shoes. Hopefully this month will go much better. We hope to have it all paid off in three months... four at the most!

Progress!

2010-03-31T10:15:00.003-05:00

We made huge progress on our debt repayment last month. Our credit card balance is below $10,000 (from a January 1 starting point of $46,000)!Our net worth is up considerably too (over $300,000 for the first time ever!), thanks to a tax refund, a bonus, the awesome performance of the stock market, and lots of not spending money. Check out our NetWorthIQ profile for more details.Now we just need

Making the shovel bigger

2010-02-28T06:22:00.004-06:00

At the end of January, our progress on paying down our debt was pretty good. We paid off $15,000 of debt, for a new balance of ($31,000). Almost all of this was done through one-time activities, like applying the excess we had saved for property taxes to the debt, selling assets, or simply reallocating money that had been saved for another purpose to debt repayment.February had an additional

cleaning house

2010-01-22T08:41:00.002-06:00

This time every year I go through a process of financial house cleaning... reconciling statements, double-checking insurance policies, logging into every single account to check for any unusual activity, and closing the books on the apartment. It's usually pretty uneventful, sometimes I find a credit card that tried to sneak an annual fee past me or that we made an extra mortgage or credit card

Hello 2010!

2010-01-06T06:12:00.003-06:00

We have some big goals and resolutions for 2010! I'm really excited, as well all are at the start of the year... I just hope we can keep our motivation. As you read our list, you will see why.We have done really well these last few years on keeping, or at least making progress on, our resolutions. 2007, 2008, and 2009 have had us making some improvements in our carbon footprint and our diets,

Time flies

2009-12-30T15:29:00.002-06:00

It's been a long time since I last posted. Just a week after my last post I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! I've been really busy these last eight weeks, both with our new baby and our two-year-old son. The holidays just added to the flurry of activity in our house. I've learned a few things these last couple weeks...1. If one child is X amount of work, and the second child is Y amount

Nesting

2009-10-28T14:59:00.002-05:00

I'm due in just a week and a half with our second baby and I've been doing some serious nesting. We made it this far just buying a few small things for the baby (and getting rid of a lot of stuff we had for our first baby but never used), but in the last week I decided I needed some new blankets, a couple of boutique-y burpy bibs, and some new infant diapers. Of course none of these were needs,

Child care expenses, FSAs, and dependent care deductions

2009-10-20T12:19:00.002-05:00

Our second Baby Savvy is expected any day now (anytime in the next five weeks anyway!), and my maternity leave falls smack dab in the middle of my employer's benefits elections for next year. I've been trying to do my research and get everything lined up ahead of time, because chances are I'll have a severe case of baby-brain when it's finally time to sign up.One of my biggest concerns has been

IRS announces 2010 IRA and 401(k) limits

2009-10-16T11:36:00.001-05:00

Official IRS publication here.

Networth Update!!!

2009-10-03T06:37:00.003-05:00

It's been three months, so it's time for another net worth update. A lot has happened in three months... we traded in a clunker, bought a new car, and sold a third car. I also moved the 2nd mortgage ($~22,000) on our apartment building to a 0% credit card. The interest rate on this mortgage was high enough that we can move it to a fixed rate balance transfer card that isn't 0% in the future if

Women are better savers, but we should all realize the importance of putting a bit away each month

2009-09-29T09:42:00.003-05:00

Research in Ireland has found that women tend to be better than men at saving money. Of course, such ‘data’ will likely fuel the old ‘it’s official, women are better than men at something else – add that to the list above driving, multi-tasking and smelling nice,’ argument that has been muttered, countered, and accepted since the dawn of time. Yet, it also shows something more positive, i.e.

Post of random stuff

2009-09-17T09:01:00.003-05:00

totally random stuff that I don't have time to turn into individual posts...1. Baby Savvy's (he turns 2 this month!) 529 account has finally broken even... meaning it's now worth the value of the contributions. Not quite the objective of most investments, but considering what has gone on in the two years since we started making contributions... 2. Baby Savvy's favorite things include pumpkins,

Assessment

2009-09-17T08:41:00.001-05:00

I received our revised property tax assessment value yesterday. After much back and forth, the assessor has lowered the value to about $210,000 (although she put some caveats in the documentation that make me think this was done rather grudgingly). This will save us somewhere between $100-$200 annual in property taxes, depending on the mil rate.

Update on Assessment

2009-09-14T15:56:00.002-05:00

A brief update on this post....Our assessment is under review, and we have been told to expect a revised amount by the end of the week. I was warned that the new amount isn't as low as I argued it should be, but the assessor does think she may have slightly overvalued some improvements we made (specifically the room above the garage). Oddly enough, the increase in question was made during the

Attic insulation

2009-09-09T15:20:00.003-05:00

Mr. Savvy and I have decided to take advantage of some of tax incentives available for energy-saving home improvements. We've been talking about adding additional attic insulation in our house for a couple years, and the federal tax credit for 30% of the cost of improvements, up to $1,500 is a great incentive for doing so. I've just started getting estimates... part of me is a little worried

GREAT deal on Britax Regent

2009-09-07T08:12:00.002-05:00

Amazon has the Britax Regent Youth Car Seat (really a car seat and booster, as it fits children 22 to 80 lbs) on sale for $179.99. This seat is usually $249-$279, and shipping is free.This comes at just the right time for us, we are going to turn in our one rental seat and buy this one. It's longevity makes it a good bargain.

FedPrimeRate.com Now Recommending Small Business Credit Cards

2009-09-01T13:16:00.001-05:00

We frequently used business credit cards when we used to do 0% balance transfers, so I thought this article was interesting....PHILADEPLHIA, PA--(Marketwire - July 15, 2010) - The United States Prime Rate website at www.FedPrimeRate.com is now recommending small business credit cards on offer in the American market. "We're really glad to see business credit cards coming back," said Steve

More money moving around

2009-08-28T07:16:00.003-05:00

A couple months ago I posted that our CC debt from our home improvement projects was below the $20,000 mark, a big milestone for us since we've seen lots of unemployment, and quite a few unexpected expenses in those two years (including a $7,000 car when Baby Savvy was born, about $10,000 in home repairs, oh, and Baby Savvy himself!). We'll, we decided to do something I've wanted to do for awhile

penny wise, but pound foolish?

2009-08-26T20:04:00.002-05:00

Just yesterday we received a notice in the mail that our house had been revalued by our local assessor. The notice was complete with supporting documentation, including recent home sales in our neighborhood, annual home price fluctuations for our community of 1,500, and laws and ordinances regarding home assessments. Long story short, our house is now assessed for $39,100 more than it was just

new car!

2009-08-08T04:31:00.003-05:00

We've had our new Fit for over a week now and love it! It's everything we wanted and more... I'm glad we waited to get what we wanted, but I'm also glad we were able to buy it when we did. Despite thinking we had everything lined up for the purchase, it did NOT go as we planned. Our check from the lender didn't show up in time, so we ended up taking money out of our checking account to pay for

2009-07-31T10:34:00.002-05:00

we are closing the deal on our new car today... of course not without some extra stress. This is the last day the dealership we are working with will honor the Cash for Clunkers program, and our loan check from PenFed hasn't arrived.We are going to get a check from a HELOC we have with a local credit union and refi into an auto-loan with Penfed once we have the title. I don't want to miss this

taking the plunge!

2009-07-29T06:21:00.003-05:00

We pick up our new Honda Fit this week! I blogged about our hopes/plans back in May to trade in our truck and sell our Civic in favor of buying something that had at least four doors and could accommodate two car seats. After much research, discussion, planning, and weighing our options, we have decided to take the plunge.Mr. Savvy's truck is being traded for a $4,500 rebate under the CARS

Deal for those with student loan debt!

2009-07-17T07:25:00.002-05:00

Penfed has a great balance transfer offer on their credit cards... 2.99% for the life of the loan. The transfer fee is a reasonable 2.5%, with a max of $100, making this a great deal for those with high interest rate student loans (or those with lots of credit card debt who aren't comfortable rolling from 0% to 0% deal). I believe the minimum monthly payment is 2% of the total balance, but I

Balance Transfer Cards

2009-07-17T07:18:00.003-05:00

I've received a handful of emails over the past month wondering if I had any good sources for 0% balance transfer offers. This list offers a rundown of current offers that either have no fee or a capped fee. Although the market for deals like this is pretty dry, there are still a couple on there that are okay.Thinking ahead to an offer we currently have that will expire when our baby is still

Networth Update!!!

2009-06-28T07:29:00.002-05:00

It's a few days early but it's been so long since I published a networth update that I wanted to get one out while I had a chance...It's been a good six months. Mr. Savvy's been working a lot more than he did last year, his industry is starting to pick up..... however he was told last week that he may not be working at all in July. We'll see what happens. We still work on limiting our spending

Update on 2009 goals

2009-05-17T07:31:00.004-05:00

Update on 2009 goals....1. Declutter! - We always have a stack (okay, pile) of towels in our bathroom that doesn't fit in the cupboard. Today I finally decided to bite the bullet and get rid of some towels. It wasn't difficult to sort out the ones we don't like, and now we have plenty of room to keep our towels folded neatly in the cupboard. This took about 20 minutes to solve a clutter

DIY blunders

2009-05-17T07:20:00.003-05:00

The NY Times has an entertaining article on DIY Blunders - Even to Save Cash, Don't Try This Stuff at Home, that I just couldn't resist posting. The author is trying to make a good point, sometimes it is worth it to go to the professionals, but I have to laugh at the examples used in the article. Most DIYers learned long ago to do the research first, before purchasing materials, performing

Trading in our truck?

2009-05-17T06:31:00.001-05:00

I wrote a couple months back about selling our two-door Civic and buying a Fit... at that point we had the check in our hands and were ready to purchase, but we decided to hold off because we were still a little uncomfortable taking out a car loan in an uncertain economy. Now it seems like we might have a great opportunity if the Cash for Clunkers plan gets passed... we might get rid of both our

An unexpected way to boost the economy

2009-04-15T06:45:00.003-05:00

These days you are more likely to catch me reading Mothering instead of Smart Money, but when I saw this article I just had to share. Mothering has an excellent article, ,Nursing by Numbers: How Breastfeeding Boosts the National Economy. The numbers aren't just thought provoking, they are shocking. I've posted some snippets below, but I highly recommend reading the entire article, as it is

Debt payment update!

2009-04-02T08:31:00.002-05:00

Now that Mr. Savvy is back at work on a more regular basis, we've been able to make more progress on our debt repayment. I don't have an exact number because some of my accounts won't update in Yodlee, however a little effort with pen and paper tells me that we have a cash versus cc debt number of ($25,000). This is an increase from ($29,294) on February 1, or $4,294 in just two months!We still

The American Life

2009-03-29T19:02:00.002-05:00

I love listening to This American Life every Sunday, broadcast on my local NPR affiliate. This week's broadcast featured an especially interesting story about what happens when a bank fails. They mention the fact that in the US right now there is an average of one bank failure a week. You read that right, one bank fails every week. What was interesting was the way in which the FDIC goes about

Updates on the Savvy House

2009-03-11T08:43:00.002-05:00

I haven't posted much in the last month. Thinks have been good for us... Mr. Savvy's job is pretty steady again, which is a nice change from this time last year. He thinks he's got solid work through June, with the exception of any weather-related days off. He's employment status is very fluid, so I think the gradual uptick in work is an early indicator that the economy is starting to recover

Have you been wanting one of these?

2009-02-11T08:20:00.002-06:00

We have wanted a Flip video camera ever since we used my mom's at Christmas. They are so convenient and easy to use, but we have been trying really hard to not spend any money on frivolous things. Well... Amazon has the Flip Ultra in white on sale for $79.99 with free super saver shipping. I think I might have to splurge a little and buy one.... after all Baby Savvy is only a baby once, and

Making progress even when things are tight...

2009-02-11T00:39:00.000-06:00

Tight with a capital T is how I'd describe our finances these past couple months. We are trying to not spend (I still haven't ordered the Flip Ultra I mentioned in my last post... I've talked myself out of it for the time being), and save as much as possible, but there isn't a whole lot to save.So we are making due. It's actually not all bad, I think it gives me focus. We are smarter about the

Net worth update

2009-02-01T11:32:00.002-06:00

Just completed our net worth update over at NetworthIQ. Did more adjusting of real estate values, resulting in a further decline, but I don't want to over-estimate the value of our properties.The good news is that we've seen an increase in our cc debt versus cash value. We were at ($31,803), and we are now at ($29,294), for an increase of $2,509! We've really reigned in spending, and are

sold my soul for a cheap car seat

2009-01-26T11:11:00.002-06:00

I just placed an order on Wal-Mart.com for an inexpensive car seat. We need a third seat for Mr. Savvy's parents, so they can take Baby Savvy on Fridays during the summer. I didn't want to spend much money, and just needed a utilitarian car seat that was safe. Wal-Mart and Target were both cheap, there was no local purchasing option, and Wal-Mart had the cheapest shipping.... so they got my

Silver lining

2009-01-24T11:31:00.003-06:00

I was able to find a renter for our unexpectedly open unit. We did have to offer 1/2 month free with a one-year lease as a promotion, but that isn't too bad this time of year. We aren't in the clear yet, the existing tenant owes a lot on her utility bill (much more than the deposit we are holding), but I have confirmation from her that she will pay the bill before the end of next week.... and I

Closing on refinance tonight

2009-01-16T13:12:00.002-06:00

We close on our 15 year fixed-rate mortgage tonight. We got a rate of 4.75% with no points (although I think I would have preferred a 30 year, but that's another post), and decided to jump on it. The change to our payment is negligible, but the house will be paid off 2 1/2 years sooner!

Continuing to declutter

2009-01-08T08:30:00.002-06:00

I'm so proud of myself. I've been on a Craigslist binge recently (maybe purge is a better word?), selling some exercise and sporting equipment. A couple hundred dollars in my pocket, less clutter in the house, and someone else is getting a good deal on some equipment that will hopefully get a lot of use in its new home. Everyone's a winner!In the last few months I've actually been able to get

Net worth update

2009-01-01T08:52:00.002-06:00

I just updated our net worth over at NetWorthIQ. MoneyCenter is being slow today (or maybe it is me) so I didn't bother with the typical chart.A couple of notes... I adjusted the value of our house and our apartment building, resulting in a drop in equity of $9,000. Our house was adjusted down, the apartment adjusted up based on the estimated fair market value on our tax bills. We are still

Welcome to 2009!

2009-01-01T07:19:00.003-06:00

Yeah, 2009 is here! I'm hoping that it beats us up a little less than 2008, but I have a feeling that it will be more about learning to roll with the punches, and appreciating non-material things a little more.2008 was a really good year for us... if you ignore the stock market crash, the housing crash, the layoffs, and the massive amounts of snow and flooding, 2008 was pretty damn fun. Baby

burned by a renter

2009-01-01T07:06:00.002-06:00

One of our tenant's lease expired yesterday. About a month ago, we negotiated over the phone a five-month extension, and I dropped off the paperwork at her apartment shortly after. I didn't receive the signed lease back, but expected it to come with the January rent. I'm typically pretty laid back about these things, but I probably won't be after this.Yesterday, I received an email from the

yikes! four years ago...

2008-12-18T08:58:00.000-06:00

It looks like the fourth anniversary of this blog came and went with no fanfare. Here's a link to my first post.My old posts are definitely much more interesting than anything I post now. Probably because I had a lot more time back then, and because it is interesting to read about how much has changed, both personally and from an economic standpoint, since writing them. Archived posts are all

refi time!

2008-12-18T08:46:00.000-06:00

We, like many other people, are going to try to refinance our house in the next couple weeks. We just locked in a good rate on a 15 year fixed mortgage, and have been pre-approved, but we still have the agonizing appraisal process to go through. We had a failed refi attempt earlier this year when an appraiser had blatant mistakes on our appraisal, devaluing our house by about $20,000. We

Rental unit update

2008-12-10T12:46:00.000-06:00

I did the annual books on our rental unit last week to prepare for filing income taxes after the first of the year. There are still a few things outstanding, primarily the receipt and payment of our property tax bill, as well as some maintenance and supply purchases. However, I was able to get a good picture on how we did during our second year as rental property owners, and it was much better

Memorable gifts for a toddler

2008-12-02T08:53:00.000-06:00

Baby Savvy loves active toys; trikes, balls, cars, anything that involves jumping, bouncing, riding. I have found several toys on Amazon that I think Baby Savvy would love, and they appear to be good quality, durable toys that will be played with for years.We have both the Rock and Bounce Pony and the Scoot About and they both get used almost daily. The Rock and Bounce Pony is great for smaller

the season of shopping

2008-11-30T05:56:00.000-06:00

I've only shopped on Black Friday a couple of times. The last few years I didn't because it was too hectic and I most of the deals didn't appeal to me. In high school and college I worked at Best Buy, so I was there for Black Friday (the entire grueling 18 hour day), but not shopping. It took me a few years to recover from the frenzy of fistfights over parking spots and cheap laptops, but then

News alert regarding mail-in rebates

2008-11-21T08:38:00.001-06:00

This might be old news to some, but with the holidays approaching it may well be worth repeating. Just last week, one of the largest processors of mail-in rebates, Continental Promotions Group, started pressuring their customers (retailers and manufacturers) to provide additional funds to help cover rebates. The company is cash-strapped, and has said they may not have the funds available to pay

Updates on the Savvy Household

2008-11-15T06:24:00.002-06:00

Life is good at the Savvy house! Mr. Savvy got a call yesterday asking him to come back to work on Monday. Hopefully it will be for more than a couple days... we are hoping for at least a few weeks.Baby Savvy is learning so much every day, it is amazing. And I swear he grew an entire inch in the last week, all his clothes (which were already short due to his long lankiness) look comical on him

$30,000+ drop in net worth

2008-11-01T06:02:00.001-05:00

As you can see in the chart below (some users will need to scroll down a lot to see it), this month was a bad, bad month for our net worth. Our personal financial situation isn't great (it's not terribly bad though either), and the recent stock market fluctuations have taken a toll on our retirement accounts. Our cash versus credit card amount was down $4,945, which isn't as bad as it looks. We

Roth IRA conversion complete

2008-11-01T05:36:00.001-05:00

I received our trade confirmation from Fidelity for the Roth IRA conversion, so I logged into our account and confirmed that all is as it should be. The conversion is done, the only outstanding task is paying taxes on the account value.And now that Mr. Savvy's original Roth (the one we contribute to every year) and his old Rollover IRA are one account, we have more flexibility when choosing our

Spending challenge

2008-10-31T06:21:00.000-05:00

Some days I love Yodlee... some days I hate it. Today it told me how much we spent in October in various categories, and let me say that the numbers did not make me happy.I won't bore you with all the details, but here are the high low lights...Insurance - $835 - Not much we can do here. $605 was an annual life insurance premium. The remainder ($230) is three vehicles, our house, and the

Roth IRA conversion

2008-10-30T20:03:00.002-05:00

I just realized today that we will be qualified this year to do a Roth IRA conversion. To qualify is simple, your MAGI has to be under $100,000, even for married couples, and you have to have funds in a traditional or rollover IRA to convert. Because I worked part-time for three months when I went back to work after maternity leave, and Mr. Savvy has been laid-off about 1/3 of the year, we will

A quick phone call was all it took...

2008-10-29T15:13:00.000-05:00

I called our phone company today, and in the midst of doing other business, they offered me a killer deal on Dish Network. Now we are loyal, long-time DirecTV customers (check out my DirecTV-tagged posts if you want to know more about why I love DirecTV), and don't want to switch, but there was ~$25/month difference in price for very comparable services.So I hung up with the phone company and

You asked for random...

2008-10-23T06:36:00.000-05:00

I've been tagged by Little People Wealth. I normally don't participate in these, but for some reason this morning I feel like sharing some random facts....1. Baby Savvy's latest word is "shit", I'm not kidding. Mr. Savvy accused me of teaching our angelic son his first cuss word, but then we figured out he was trying to say "light". He points at the ceiling fan, or the lamp, and says "shit".

Updates at the Savvy House

2008-10-19T09:52:00.000-05:00

As usual, we've been really busy at the Savvy house. Baby Savvy recently turned one, and has been keeping us on our toes. He has a lot of words and does some baby sign language, and he can go up and down the stairs faster than the old Savvy Dog at this point. We have to be constantly vigilant, because it only takes seconds for him to be into something that he shouldn't be.We've also had some

FREE and really cool

2008-10-13T08:16:00.000-05:00

I might be the last to know, but I just discovered Gmaps Pedometer. Gmaps Pedometer is web-based hack of Google Maps that allows you to plot your walking/running/biking path to see how many miles it is, as well as how many calories it burns (walking, I'm assuming since I can't get the FAQ to open). You can save your routes as a URL for future reference.This is a great tool for anyone who is

My insightful economic crisis post

2008-10-11T07:37:00.000-05:00

For two weeks I've been trying to come up something insightful and comforting as a response to the recent stock market meltdown. Something better than, "hey, at least it's only a 30% drop", or "well, you have 30 more years before you retire anyway". But alas, nothing.One thing I have found myself doing is almost like a personal SWOT analysis, in response to the economy, stock market, personal

Money saving tip-o-the-day

2008-10-08T14:54:00.001-05:00

If you don't have a good cash back credit card, now's a great time to get one.PenFed has a cash back Visa that offers the following...Earn 2% cash back on supermarket purchasesEarn 5.00% cash back from gas purchases paid at the pumpEarn 1.25% cash back from all purchases you make with the card during each billing cycleUp to $50,000 limitNo Annual FeeCash Rewards credited each monthWe

ouch

2008-10-01T09:05:00.000-05:00

OctoberAugustDifferenceCash vs. Credit Cards(25,689) (18,013)(7,676)Retirement159,657165,309(5,652)Real Estate93,07790,4982,597Stocks1,9301,83199Education2,5942,358236Total231,568241,984(10,415)

Public Service Announcement - Wisconsin Residents

2008-09-29T11:16:00.000-05:00

Ever wondered who your county circuit court judges were? How about your State Senators? State Treasurer? How about where you should go to vote?Wisconsin residents have a nifty little website that they can use to make sure they are registered to vote, view the address of their poling place, view sample ballots, check the status of provisional ballots, and see their current office holders. http:

What's a jar of applesauce worth?

2008-09-07T10:51:00.000-05:00

I have really been taking advantage of our apple crop this year, putting up quarts of apple pie filling and pints of applesauce. While rewards are really tasty, it is a lot of work. Peeling, slicing, coring apples, cooking sauce, cleaning jars, processing. I was seriously doubting that it was even worth it this morning before I started working on a huge batch of applesauce. I was lying in bed,

Plant a tree to save some green

2008-09-03T05:46:00.000-05:00

We have three apple trees in our yard that have been extremely productive this year. Last weekend I canned apple pie filling for the first time ever and it turned out really, really, really good. My brother, who describes himself as "not a pie, crisp, or cobbler type of guy", even had to admit it was very tasty. Our apples are amazingly bug-free, despite having no sprays or treatments of any

springing a leak

2008-08-29T07:02:00.000-05:00

It's been a rough month (year?) for us financially, but we're hanging in there. We had a big plumbing problem at our house a couple weeks ago, our water pipe from the main into the house broke again. This time we decided not to patch it, we had weather and the location of the break on our side, and had new copper water service run. It was about 60' of 1" copper pipe, plus they had to shoot the

adventures in... cleaning?

2008-08-03T09:23:00.000-05:00

My turn was finally up at the library, and I have a loaner copy of Green-Up Your Cleanup... and so far I love every recipe/method I've tried! I'm going to order a copy for myself as well as a few copies for gifts. This book is not only practical, but it has information in it that makes cleaning easier, cheaper, healthier, and more enjoyable.I invested a few dollars in some spray bottles and

Net worth update

2008-08-01T16:19:00.000-05:00

My first net worth update in two months brings mixed results. Our retirement accounts are suffering greatly, despite our continued contributions. This really highlights the lack of attention I've been paying to our investments. I need to do a complete review of our retirement portfolio.We have made good progress in paying off our 0% credit card debt. We are finally under the $20,000 mark,

Economizing

2008-07-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

I posted a couple months back about how I wanted to come up with ways to reduce our gasoline consumption. With long commutes, daycare, and living in a small town, I really didn't think there was much we could do. Of course I was wrong, and we've been able to make lots of small changes that are really adding up.1. Making sure we take the most economical vehicle. In our house, the Civic gets

an update (finally)

2008-05-30T05:28:00.002-05:00

It's been three months, but I'm finally posting a net worth update. The numbers over three months are kind of shocking, but once you figure in month-to-month averages they are just... well, average.We're still making some progress on out debt pay down. Mr. Savvy has been back to work sporadically in May, so that helps a little. We also did a round of balance transfers this month, so we had all

you would think I'd learn

2008-05-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

Once again I had an otherwise great tenant skip out on his final utility bill. I think part of the problem is that Wisconsin law states that tenant security deposits be refunded no more than 21 days after the lease is done, but that many utility companies don't bill that promptly. People who are seasoned renters know this, and they also know that most landlords will pay that bill rather than

shifting priorities

2008-05-23T06:27:00.000-05:00

Summer's here, finally, and my priorities are shifting again to spending as much time as possible outdoors. Although it seems lately my priority list just gets longer, not much moves around... I guess that's parenthood, and I don't expect my list to get shorter any time soon.Mr. Savvy and I have been talking for almost a year about hiring someone to clean our house. Last summer it was more "

Car seat options

2008-05-03T09:20:00.002-05:00

When I first found out I was expecting Baby Savvy, I immediately started researching baby products and attempted to determine what we needed and didn't need (let me tell you, it feels like I still learn new stuff in this area every day). Likewise, I wanted to make sure we spent money on quality products when necessary, and purchased used or inexpensive products when those products would suffice.