I'm in the stock market game...kind of

I need to catch up on my List progress.  I've marked a few things off over the last couple months, I just haven't had time to document them.  I hope to catch up with that this week.

Today let's talk about money...

#25- Invest in the Stock Market

When I first put “Invest in the stock market” on my list, I had visions of trading stocks and buying little pieces of companies I loved and believed in.  But I needed to start with my retirement fund.  After talking to a financial planner I realized I needed to get my Roth IRA fully-funded before I start “playing around” in the stock market.

First I converted the money I had rolled over into a traditional IRA from all my previous 401K plans into a Roth IRA account.  Why did I convert it to a Roth account?  I didn’t have too much in there so paying the taxes on the conversion wouldn’t be a huge deal.  (With Roth IRAs, you pay the taxes up front so that when you withdraw funds in retirement, they are tax free.  And your money also grows tax free in that account.  With traditional IRA accounts or 401ks you will have to pay the taxes on the money you invest when you take it out during retirement.  Sure you get the tax free benefits up front, but Uncle Sam will get his money later when you are probably in an even higher tax bracket.  But with the Roth you pay the taxes up front (when you are younger and in a lower tax bracket).  

The maximum you could contribute for 2010 was $5000.  I only contributed $1000 in addition to what I rolled over in to that account, but that money has made almost $800 in interest so far.  This year I will probably only contribute $3000 but I hope to get up to contributing the full $5000 maximum soon.  

And hopefully when I get hired on instead of just being a contractor then I will also be able to contribute to a 401K plan as well.  Once I get to a level where I can live comfortably while contributing the max to my Roth IRA, my 401K, and have 6 months worth of salary in savings, then I can play around in the stock market.

For now I think I will stick to smart investing for my future before I start to play around with my money.

But that Roth IRA money is invested in some stocks so I am in the stock market game...kind of!

Just call me a sucker

I had every intention of cancelling my cable and internet service today. I know, I know…I’m crazy huh? Well, the TV thing just got out of control. I sat down to catch up with my DVR last week and I had 14 hours of recorded TV to watch! 14 hours in 1 week! It was just insane. So I was going to go cold turkey in the hopes of breaking my TV addiction and doing something more productive with my time.

Plus I would save $120 a month! I rarely use my internet service from home so I was pretty sure I could live without it. $120 a month is a lot. All that extra money and free time would totally be worth it. I lived without TV and internet one summer in college and it was the most productive summer of my life! With all that free time I could concentrate on getting some things on my list accomplished like getting in the best shape of my life, reading the Bible all the way through and taking Cam to an agility class. With all the money I would be saving maybe I would be able to save up so I can travel abroad, upgrade a room in my house, pay all my own bills and invest in the stock market. It just made so much sense. I NEED to get crackin’ on this list because I only have less than a year left to get everything done!

Anyway, I called the cable company and of course I get a computer. I tell the computer I want to cancel my service. Twice, the computer transfers me to nowhere land. No hold music, no ringing, just dead silence is on the other end of the line. The third time I call back I decide to call the “sales” number thinking they would be less likely to lose a call to that number.

I finally get through to a person and I tell her I want to cancel my service for financial reasons. She asks which services I want to cancel and I tell her everything.

We spend the next half hour going down, down, down with the price. She is very persistent and despite me telling her at least 10 times I just want to cancel, she is not going to let me go.

First, she can get me all my services for $105/mo then she goes down to $100/mo then down to $95/mo. Now if I downgrade my internet, I can get everything for $89/mo and if I downgrade my cable I can get it for $85/mo. Now if I give up DVR and downgrade the internet some more, I can get it for $45/mo. Finally I just ask her what is the lowest I can go. She comes up with just the broadcast stations and “light” roadrunner for $28/mo. Keep in mind I started out at $120/mo.

I still want to just turn everything off for a while. But she tells me if I decide to turn it back on I will have to pay an instillation fee. I figure the $28/month isn’t that much to pay for keeping up with my TODAY show routine in the morning and catching some of the cable shows I like every once in a while and having internet to keep my I-pod up-to-date and for emergencies. So I agree to it.

I am a sucker. I cannot believe I gave in when I had my heart set on cancelling! But it is a really great deal right? Or do you think I should call back and try to cancel again?



P.S. Update on the mouth situation: It isn’t hurting anywhere near as bad today. I called my dentist yesterday to double check for cavities and he said he didn’t see anything. I cancelled my orthodontist consultation because I don’t think that is going to solve my pain issue. I called my doctor back and told her it didn’t hurt nearly as bad as it did this weekend. She wants me to start the Tegratrol, but I am holding off until it hurts again. They also made me a neurologist appointment but it isn’t until Nov. 3rd! So it is all good for now, but I will keep you updated.

Update on The List

I feel like it is taking FOREVER to cross the next thing off my list! (I’ve already told y’all I’m not patient at all!) I am also getting a little nervous because 2 years seemed like a long time when I made the list, but time goes by more quickly than you expect. And if I don’t get everything crossed off I am going to feel like a complete LOSER, so the pressure is really on. It would really help if I could find a money tree somewhere around here. I didn’t realize so many of these things are going to require a good chunk of change!

Anyway, here is an update on The List progress:

1. Get in the best shape of my life- the 5K training is helping with this a little, but I need to step it up! Maybe I’ll get a trainer? They really do help!
2. Try snowboarding – trying to get a ski trip planned for Feb. I guess I’ll be renting a board instead of skis!
3. Get a job I love – Still no word here. I am thinking about going back to school.
4. Take Cam to an agility class- no time or funds right now. But he did learn to “bow” recently (it’s so cute!)
5. Pay all my own bills (with no help from mom)- I plan on taking over my car insurance when I get a new car next year. (My lease runs out in April.) I’ll have to learn to budget better in order to take over the gas though, and hopefully prices will go down a little.
6. Ask out a crush- This would require an adequate crush. There are none at this point in time. Sad…I know!
7. Run a 5K- I might have to take a week off from training because I have the worst blisters on the back of my heels! Or maybe I could run in flip-flops?
8. Go to a water park and not feel self-conscious- luckily I don’t have to worry about this until at least next summer!
9. Kayak- too cold to kayak now, but I think a camping/kayaking trip in the mountains sounds fabulous!
10. Catch a fish- This can wait until summer
11. Open my heart to someone- Yeah, that would require a guy. (see #6)
12. Make a baby laugh- My friend in ATL is having a baby in Feb. Maybe I will get a chance to go out there to meet the little munchkin, act stupid and get a laugh out of him!
13. Change a diaper (no I have never done this) - I don’t want to think about this. But whatever baby laughs at me, I guess the least I can do to thank them is change their diaper!
14. Go on a mission trip- I found out about a mission trip to South Africa in December, but I looked it up on the website today and it costs $2500! That took the wind out of my sails!
15. Help a stranger- no strangers that need help have crossed my path yet
16. Find a doctor I trust- haven’t had time to investigate this yet, plus I have been pretty healthy, so there hasn’t been any motivation to do so.
17. Grow a plant- I’m going to wait until growing season for this (someone please let me know when “growing season” is!)
18. Upgrade one room in my house- My light fixture in my kitchen broke. I had already been thinking this would be the room I would re-do. So I guess I’ll do it one thing at a time. I’ll post some pics when I finally get a new light fixture!
19. Travel abroad- yeah money is an issue with this one. I might have to count Mexico as “abroad”!
20. Swim with a dolphin
21. Go skinny dipping- No…no desire to do this right now
22. Visit Washington, DC – I am trying to see if I can pull together a trip this spring to see the Cherry Blossoms.
23. Take a dance lesson- I did have a dance lesson from a 7 year old last week…does that count?
24. Sing Karaoke
25. Invest in the stock market- umm…have you seen the news? I don’t want to get on that roller coaster ride!
26. Kiss in the rain- Need I remind you? …THERE IS NO GUY in the picture right now. If I kiss my dog in the rain could that count? (Yet another reminder of how pathetic I am!)
27. Read the Bible all the way through- I signed up for this “Bible in a Year” email service. It emails you a selection each day and in a year you will have read the whole Bible! I also joined a Bible study group. We actually have to memorize a new verse each week. It takes me back to Bible School days!
28. Go see a movie at the theater- alone!- Nothing that I am dying to see right now
29. Attempt Surfing- Again…waiting for summer…too cold for the ocean right now!
30. Purchase 1 piece of expensive jewelry for myself- By the way, the other night I thought I lost one of my earrings and FREAKED out! It was just the icing on a bad day that I didn’t need! Luckily I found it in between the sheets on my bed. Note to self: Do not wear expensive earrings to bed anymore.

Oh and I finally finished my latest book! Check out my review of The Friday Night Knitting Club on my Bookshelf Blog!

Greed and Capitalism

I’m sure you all have read the headlines about the government bailing out AIG to the tune of $85 billion. What in the heck is going on? First the housing market crumbles. Investment firm Bear Sterns gets nearly $30 billion to avert a major financial default. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac got help with the government investing as much as $200 billion in preferred stock and at least $5 billion in mortgage securities. Then the stock market takes a nose dive. Lehman Brothers is no more. Morgan Stanley gets sold to Bank of America. Gas and Food prices are through the roof and unemployment is at a high. I am having second thoughts about #25 on my list: Invest in the stock market.

The rule of thumb for defining a recession is when the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth is negative for two or more consecutive quarters. What is the GDP? It is a measure of the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States. So far this hasn’t happened, but I think we are all feeling the pain of this economic slump. So does that mean it is about to get worse? I’m no financial guru, but it doesn’t look good.

But you know what? It’s all relative. I may have to cut corners and buy generic rather than brand name while someone else may not be able to pay their bills at all. Then you have the elite who might not be able to splurge on every $5,000 handbag they see or have to sell one of their 15 cars. It’s a complex issue and I know life isn’t fair, but it seems like something is wrong here.

I am all for having to get a job and working hard for what you have. I hate government handouts. It breeds laziness and corruption of a system that was meant to help out, not be your sole income. GO GET A FREAKING JOB PEOPLE. If it came down to it, I would work at Target and love it probably. I would even work at McDonald’s if I had to. I would find something to make some money. I know there are probably times when people do need help. If something devastating happened to me, I would hope my family and friends would help, but what if you don’t have that? And when does it turn from “helping” to “taking advantage of? (This is one of the reasons why I want to be able to pay all of my own bills by the end of the year-#5 on my list!)

I do think people who work hard and smart should be able to enjoy the benefits of that. Everyone wants to feel financially secure and afford whatever they want without thinking about it. But when does ambition and success turn into greed?

I think there is something wrong with the super rich. Those people who make millions and millions each year. They have financial advisers who can find every tax loophole in the book. They hide their money in off-shore accounts. They keep getting richer and richer while the middle class slide back further and further. I have no idea what the solution is, but it isn’t a hand out. These CEOs and shareholders make tons of money (while sharing as little as possible- damn working for the man!), then they make some bad decisions and the federal government comes to the rescue. What kind of example does this set for everyone else? Oh, don’t worry, if you mess up the government will come save you. Take some responsibility people! How can the government afford all these bail-outs AND the war AND welfare AND social security AND food stamps? Something has to change. I’m anxiously awaiting the presidential candidate’s debates to see how they would address these issues. What are your thoughts?