One thing I really like about personal finance software is the ability to see performance over time. So I decided to plot my net worth over the time I have been tracking it. I only started this blog in December 2004, but I also remembered that I calculated my net worth back in June at $30k. Here are my results:
Ok, so my project this Saturday morning was supposed to go through my mmb e-mails (I have been have problems with my spam filter), and also to update my links list. I totally get that everyone wants others to link to their site (I do too), because, I mean, as fun as typing for nobody to see is, it’s much more fun with readers! My policy is to link everyone who’s site I read at least once in a while, and has had a bit of a track record of posting finance-related stuff regularly. But it just gets so tedious typing html…
Then I ran across BlogRolling.com. I love it when I find the exact thing that I want at the exact time when I want it! (I know, this has probably been around for years, eh?)
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So I just saw a new purchase of a co-worker: a Metallic Black 2005 BMW 330Ci with Performance Package (basically the M3 minus the 333HP motor). We’re talking a $45,000 MSRP car here. And this is no GM $3k-below-invoice vehicle, this car commands MSRP. Envious? Uh, Yes. I like cars, but my 95 Nissan is all stock, and my only indulgence is my $10/yr Car and Driver subscription.
According to BMWUSA.com, I can lease this puppy for $2,500 down and $540 a month. I can swing that, right?
[Insert text about how this is a bad idea here.] I still want one.
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I’ve taken a break from playing with Money and Quicken for awhile, to see if I can get away with just downloading files once a month, versus inputting every transaction every day (latte, $3… latte, $3…). In the meantime, I’ve been trying out GBI Home Finance Manager (GBIfin), a personal finance manager that is completely online so you can access it from any computer. It’s based on phpfin, an ‘donationware’ program that is freely downloadable but you’ll need to host it yourself and do your own tweaking. GBIfin hosts the program for you, and also provides some enhancements to the original program as well as support. The company seems to be based out of the U.K., but I haven’t had any real issues (the only main differences I can see is the choice of different currencies, and the fact that the dates show as dd/mm/yyyy instead of mm/dd/yyyy.)
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The good news is that everyone got their 1st choice! Here are the psychicly-enhanced winners of the MyMoneyBlog Giveaway and their prizes:
1. Joshua K – Featured Link: check out his new site, Wealth Today – “Financial Advice On How To Be Rich and Invest Wisely”
2. Lori – Starbucks Gift Card
3. Ev – CD: “Pink Panther’s Penthouse Party” by Various Artists
4. Fox – CD: “Here’s Your Sign: Reloaded” by Bill Engvall
5. Beezer – CD: “Thankful” by Kelly Clarkson
All prizes are either up, shipped, or ordered as applicable. Thanks for the fun, and hopefully we can do it again, with more prizes and more participants!
I ran across this website recently, Pac Equities, Inc. It seems like they do private equity funding – that is, lend money to real estate developers who cannot get funding via conventional means (aka a bank?). I know nothing more about this than what their website told me, but my interest is piqued. It looks like you get a 10% annual return, including all expenses involved. Your investment is secured by “A legally recorded Assignment of Beneficial Interest in a Deed of Trust”, which I guess mean you are one of the primary lienholders on the property. According to them, “Pac Equities? own money, a minimum of 10% of the total loan made to each project, is invested along with your investment.” Anyone out there want to weigh in on this?
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This is not good. According to various sources, including this article at ABC News and one in the SF Chronicle, E-Trade is looking to buy Ameritrade. Boo. I especially like the quote “Every one of these brokers has customers because of a negative experience with another broker”. So true.
I have had bad experiences with E*Trade Brokerage (here, here, and here), and I have always liked Ameritrade’s “simple, but just works” model, along with their superior customer service over E-Trade. E-Trade seems to have a major focus on very active traders as well (although Ameritrade also has their Apex program). But Ameritrade has lower minimums, slighly less services, and less overall fees than E-Trade.
I personally use Ameritrade I-Zone now, with $5 trades and online-only access. I’m happy with it, and would really hate to see it go. Something to keep an eye on.
Ok, so The Informed Investor by Frank Armstrong III has been sitting on my nightstand, often being overlooked for my Car & Driver magazine for a couple months now. Not because it is a bad book, but mostly because all the money I plan on investing for now in stocks and bonds is already invested, and because the book covers a lot of stuff that I’ve already read about in books like The Four Pillars of Investing and A Random Walk Down Walk Street. Accordingly, this book is aimed at the general non-financial public who is wondering on how to invest their retirement money.
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Every Friday, Chuck Jaffe at CBS Marketwatch posts an article about a shady investment opportunity, aptly named the Stupid Investment of the Week (this week’s article).
I first ran across this column while researching an ad I saw in the local newspapers Business section, advertising 8% to 11% annual returns on unsecured “investment notes”, by a company called ABFS, or American Business Financial Services (ABFIQ.PK). Chuck’s timely column helped me (and probably many unsuspecting others) realize that this company was bad, bad news (sub-prime housing lending. Can you imagine the rates they were charging if you were even getting 10%??) . See the article here (7/04).
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Just a friendly reminder to enter the MyMoneyBlog Giveaway if you want a free chance to win a free music CD or Starbucks card. It’s open to all, but as of right now only 10 people have entered. So they have a 50/50 chance of winning right now! Giveaway ends Friday at 3pm Eastern.
The turnout is a bit lower than I had hoped, I’m thinking it’s partly due to the fact that the e-mails show to the public? Use a Hotmail or Yahoo account! Or maybe the prizes just suck =P. I am not collecting e-mails for a mailing list.
As of May 1st, the Treasury announced that I-Bonds bought from now until 10/05 will earn 4.8%. The fixed component is up from 1.0% to 1.2%, and the inflation-indexed component rises to 3.6%. (For more on how I-bonds work, please see this previous post). For me, my older I-bonds, with a fixed part of 1.1%, pay 4.7% now. Not too shabby, especially since you’re not paying state income tax on the interest.
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