December 2005 Financial Status / Net Worth Update
Monday, December 5th, 2005
Archive for December, 2005
December 2005 Financial Status / Net Worth Update
Monday, December 5th, 2005
Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: Bored Money Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
Amazon.com recently released a beta program called Mechanical Turk for using human intelligence to solve problems that are very difficult for computers to do. For example, you figure out the name of a band from the album cover, and you get paid 2 cents. Focused people end up making a few bucks an hour. I tried some tasks, but it was pretty mind-numbing. From a money point of view, it’s classic Bored Money. From a programmer’s point of view, it’s very neat.
For more information, also see the Wikipedia entry.
Maximizing Your Citi / Chase 5% Cash Back Cards Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
For those of you that have the Citi Dividend Platinum Card that gives you 5% cash back for supermarkets, drugstores, and gas stations - be sure to use them to their fullest.
1) Gift Cards - Don’t buy at the retail store, try to buy them at the supermarket and earn yourself 5% cash back! (They can’t tell the difference, a purchase is a purchase) Safeway is my favorite, they have a great selection which includes AMC Theatres, REI, Barnes & Noble, Bed Bath and Beyond, Blockbuster, Chili?s, SpaWish, Circuit City, Starbucks, CompUSA, Home Depot, Toy’s R Us, Old Navy, and more! [Full list]
2) Super Targets - Reportedly, people have had Super Targets treat all purchases as a grocery purchase! That means even if you buy a $500 LCD TV or other toys, they’ll give you 5% cash back! If you have a Super Target nearby, that is an awesome deal. I would try it out for a month first and see if it shows up as 5% back on your next statement.
My Dream Future Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
Thinking about goals and the future some more, I have this picture in my head of our dream future in 5-10 years:
- I work at a job I enjoy for only 20 hours a week
- My wife also works at a job she enjoys for only 20 hours a week
- We both share responsibility for taking care of our kids with minimal, if any, need for daycare.
- Our combined incomes still make it possible for us to reach our financial goals. However, we’re not really interested in being filthy rich.
We are gonna make this happen. Check back with me on 12/3/2015 
Plan To Retire Later Instead of Earlier? Saturday, December 3rd, 2005
Talking with my parents about their retirement plans has been very enlightening. I found out that my dad fully intends on working until he is at least 70 years old. I guess it’s not a total surprise, he is a bit of a workaholic, likes his job, and I don’t think he would handle retirement very well. He already gets 8 weeks of vacation a year, which is plenty for him. My mom could probably retire today, but she’d be bored out of her mind as well without grandkids or something to keep her busy. They both travel around the globe for almost a month a year so they are content.
This has gotten me to think - instead of all this focus on saving money, maxing out your 401k, workworkwork for 20 years, all so you can “screw it!” at age 50, I should really focus instead of finding a career path that I really enjoy and wouldn’t mind doing even when I’m 70.
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Evaluating My Parent’s 401k Portfolio, Part 2 - QandA Thursday, December 1st, 2005
So I gave my mom a call today to ask her some questions about her 401k portfolio. Here’s a summarized transcript:
Me: I looked at your 401k statement.
Mom: Good!
Me: What kind of other retirements assets you and Dad have?
Mom: Umm… I think I have a Rollover IRA too.
Me: Did you roll it over into your IRA or 401k?
Mom: Umm… I don’t know.
Me: I saw a line on your 401k statement that said “Rollover Amount: XXX”
Read the rest of this entry…
Gimme Gimme Gimme, err.. Give Give Give Thursday, December 1st, 2005
‘Tis the Season of Giving. And that means tons of snail mail from all kinds of charitable organizations. Everyone wants of piece of your generosity. I haven’t even heard of half these organizations - Endangered seahorses? Home-bound elderly folk who want more rap to listen to? I’ve got a lifetime supply of ‘free with a side of guilt’ mailing labels.
My wife already has her list of organizations she plans to give to: 4-H, and her alma mater. Me, I was never very attached to my school nor their sports teams. Last year I gave to Modest Needs. So, I’m opening it up to you all for some suggestions, just leave a comment and I’ll check them out.
4-Week T-Bill Ladder Complete Thursday, December 1st, 2005
I now have 4 consecutive 4-week Treasury Bills as a ladder, so next week one will mature and I will buy another 4-week T-Bill the same day with the proceeds. I’ll keep this rotating money as my emergency fund until the rates are non-competitive. For now, I’m averaging the equivalent of a 4.5% bank APY with only slightly less liquidity.
(For the history on me building this T-Bill ladder, please read the entries in my Treasury Bills Category)
