Happy New Year!! I wish everyone a very SAFE, HAPPY and HEALTHY 2008. I hope the New Year brings you all the goodness and prosperity you deserve. Stay tuned for more great posts in 2008 as I continue my way towards my debt free goal!

We're in Debt hosted the last Carnival of Personal Finance for 2007. The 133rd Carnival offered some great articles including:

You might be a personal finance redneck if....from brip blap. This one is hilarious.
How do you organize 181 accounts? Check out this post from My Dollar Plan to learn how.
How to save an emergency fund when money is tight from fellow M-Network member, beingfrugal.net.

I submitted the results of my 2007 Holiday Spending Poll.

Be sure to visit the carnival to read all the great articles submitted.

Post Sponsor: CoolSavings - Print REAL coupons from your home computer!
Post Sponsor: Zecco.com - 100% free stock trades.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I spent most of my Saturday at a car dealership. I've done this a few times before having bought 3 brand new cars in the past; prior to my financial awakening.

Fortunately, even though I spent most of the day at the car dealership, the new car was not for me. My Uncle called me up on Friday advising he was ready to buy a new truck and wanted me to go along to help him out. For some reason, when my family has financial questions, they seem to call me. I'm glad to help out when I can.

I was going to write a post about the entire experience but it would be an extremely long. I've decided to take a different direction and just highlight three main points from this experience:

• It's financially beneficial to have a good credit score.
  
• Know the full details of your financial situation.
  
• Never co-sign for a car loan.
  

It's financially beneficial to have a good credit score. My uncle had no idea what his credit score was. He didn't even know there was a such thing as a credit score. Turns out, his score was only in the high 500's. Not the best score when you are trying to make a large purchase on credit (with no down payment). With a good credit score, you have options and the transaction goes alot smoother.

Know the full details of your financial situation. Again, for the same reason as posted above. Not only that, he was not sure how much money he made or who his creditors were. This can save you time and embarrassment (if you have a poor credit score).

Never co-sign for a car loan. With my uncle's low credit score, he had very limited options for purchasing his new truck. I purchased my car from the same salesperson and same dealership so the salesperson knew that I had a good credit score and stable income. The salesperson is a distant relative so she pulled me aside and asked if I would co-sign on the loan. I do appreciate the fact that she did not ask me in front of him. That would have been extremely awkward!!
As much as I wanted to help him out, I had to decline. I did not want to risk him not making the payments and having this car loan on my credit report for the next 6 years. Luckily, his wife had a high enough credit score to co-sign on the loan.

After spending about 6 hours at the dealership, my uncle drove away in a brand new 2008 Nissan Titan. I drove it and I have to admit it is a nice truck but I think financially it is not going to work out. The payment is a bit much for their income and gas will be a killer. I tried to talk him out of it and explain the cons of purchasing a new vehicle but in the end, my words fell on deaf ears. I know the feeling as I had been there before. You want something and you will not stop until you get it; whether it makes financial sense or not.

Post Sponsor: CoolSavings - Print REAL coupons from your home computer!
Post Sponsor: Zecco.com - 100% free stock trades.
----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

As we count down the last few days of 2007 and head into 2008, I wanted to review my financial goals I set in 2007 and post my complete 2008 financial goals.

In this post from September 10, 2007, my main goals were to:

• Payoff my 0% credit card balance before the promo rate expires. This has been completed. I paid this off when I paid off the remainder of my credit card debt.
• Payoff my credit card balance at 2.9% for life. This was also completed. See above.
  
• Increase my Freedom Savings Account to $2000. This has been completed. The balance now stands at around $2400 due to the infusion of cash from my year end bonus. This account is where I keep money to pay for my automobile insurance premiums, automobile tag fees, and any other bill that is paid on a quarterly or bi-annual basis.
  
• Increase Rental Property Savings Account to $1000. This has not been completed. While the balance has increased, it has not increased to where I've planned it to be. Since my Freedom Account is fully funded, I will direct more money into this account until it is fully funded. This is the account I use for any emergency repairs to my rental property and to pay for the home maintenance plan.
  
• Setup automatic bi-weekly transfers to my Freedom Account and Rental Property Account. Not only did I setup an automatic transfer to these accounts, I setup a WEEKLY transfer instead of bi-weekly. I don't even miss the money now.
  
• End 2007 with a Networth of $64,000. After that September post, I increased the goal to $65,000. I've passed both of those goals but the final numbers will depend on how the market performs thru the rest of the year.
  

As I posted in the 1st Carnival of Financial Goals - 2008 Resolutions Edition, one of my goals for 2008 is to decrease the balance of my car loan to less than $20,000 by the end of 2008. To accomplish this, I will add an additional $200 a month to my regular payment to decrease the principal balance. I would also like to:

• Increase my Networth to at least $75,000. This is very conservative and will be adjusted accordingly around the middle of the year.
  
• Increase my Freedom Account balance to $5000.00. This is alot more than I need in this account and if the balance gets that high, I will direct any additional money towards debt payments.
  
• Increase my Rental Property Account balance to at least $1500.00
• Decrease my Non-Mortgage debt to less than $40,000. Now that my credit card debt is gone, my focus is now on the car loan balance. Once the car loan balance is gone, I will then start on the student loan.
  
• Increase my Credit Scores. I would like to have at least a 720 with all 3 bureaus.
  

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney to see if I accomplish these goals. I would also would like to wish you a very happy and prosperous New Year. Let's make 2008 the year we get free of debt!!!!!

Post Sponsor: CoolSavings - Print REAL coupons from your home computer!

If you found SingleGuyMoney via this article at Kiplingers.com, I would like to welcome you and thank you for visiting my blog.

Please be sure you subscribe to SingleGuyMoney for more great posts from me and the rest of the M-Network.

I got an email from my Human Resources Department today advising that based on our pay schedule, we will get 27 paychecks in 2008 instead of 26. Based on the way our pay schedule of getting paid every other Thursday, we usually get paid 3 times 2 months out of the year. The first 3 paycheck month will be January 2008.

In order to make everything work out, they will not deduct the amount of our benefits (medical, dental and vision) from the first paycheck in 2008. This will not be a huge amount as my benefits only add up to about $50 a month.

One of the bad things is that I will not get anymore earned time off. Our earned time off is credited per paycheck based on your tenure with the company. I currently get 17 days off per year. This will not be included in the first paycheck but will continue with my subsequent paychecks.

Related Posts you may also enjoy:

• Cash on the Way
• It's Raining Money

Post Sponsor: Overstock.com - Free shipping thru 12/31/07 for new customers when you spend over $50.

I ran a poll on the website for two weeks prior to Christmas asking how much you spent on holiday gifts this year. The results were pretty much exactly as I thought. The number of people spending over $1000 was a little bit higher than I thought.

The following chart shows how the results ended up.

Out of 133 votes:

• 31 people (23%) spent $0 - $100 on holiday gifts.
  
• 66 people (49%) spent $100 - $500
• 25 people (18%) spent $500 - $1000
• 11 people (8%) spent over $1000
  

I spent between $100-$500 for my holiday gifts. I did not put any of this on my credit cards. I set aside a portion of my yearly bonus to pay for my gifts. How did you pay for your holiday gifts?

Post Sponsor: Mvelopes Personal - Online Budgeting System. 30 Day Free Trial.

Today is the last day that the holiday spending poll will be up at SingleGuyMoney. Please visit the site to cast your vote if you haven't already. I want to know how much you've spent on holiday gifts. There is about 22 hours left to vote. The poll is located in the upper right hand corner of the page. You will need to visit SingleGuyMoney to vote in the poll.

I'll post the results on Wednesday, December 26th.

The choices are as follows:

• $0 - $100
• $100 - $500
• $500 - $1000
• Over $1k

I know I said it before, but THIS will be my last post until after Christmas. Again, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney for more great articles in 2008.

Sponsored by: Mvelopes Personal Budget - Online Personal Budgeting. 30 day free trial.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone! I'll be taking a break for a few days but I'll be back on Wednesday, December 26th. I wish everyone a very safe and HAPPY HOLIDAY!

If you are one of those folks who wait until the last minute to do your holiday shopping or just need to pickup a few more items, be sure to be safe this holiday season. There are alot of people out there who are not willing to get a job and purchase their own gifts and would much rather just take yours.

If you will be out shopping in the next couple of days (or anytime for that matter), remember these basic tips:

• Shop during the day, if possible.
• Shop with a friend or family member. Especially if you shop at night.
• Don't carry large amounts of cash. If thieves steal your hard earned cash, there is a good chance you will never get it back.
• Use a credit card (if you plan to payoff the purchase in full). If thieves steal your credit card, as long as you report it asap, you will not be responsible for the unauthorized charges.
• Don't carry a purse or wallet. It's best to carry only your ID and a credit/debit card.
• Be aware of your surroundings. Know where you are and who is near you at all times.
• Keep your packages out of sight. Place packages in the trunk where they are not visible from the outside. If you have an SUV, be sure to make sure your items are not easy to see by someone walking by your vehicle.

The easiest way to stay safe and avoid the crowds is to shop online. I guess at this point, it is a little too late.

Sponsored by: Mvelopes Personal - The Simple Smarter Online Budgeting System

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I have a credit card from one of the big home improvement stores. When I bought my first home four years ago, I figured I needed a credit card from one of the big home improvement stores in case I needed emergency repairs or supplies for my home. Knowing then what I know now, I would have setup a special savings account for home repairs.

I bought several things over the first two years with the promotions the stores would run. Make any purchase over $299 and pay no interest for six months or twelve months. Of course, I would never pay the balance off before the promotion ended and would end up paying more interest than I saved over the course of the promotion.

When I decided I wanted to get out of debt, this was one of the cards I paid off first. I've had a zero balance on this card for over two years. I've used the card since I've paid if off but promptly paid the balance in full the next month.

Lately, the big home improvement store has been sending me 2-3 coupons a month advising I can save 10% since I am such a valued customer. This is nice but the only way they will let me save 10% is if I use my credit card and I can only save up to $200. If I am such a valuable customer, why don't they let me use whatever method I want to pay for my purchase?

And why can I only save up to $200? Where do these coupons end up? In the shredder along with my pre-approved credit card applications.

Post sponsored by: GameFly - Online Video Game Rentals. Rent before you buy.

Today is the day that I usually do my weekly budget and Networth updates. Sometimes, I get a little obsessive and update it 2-3 times a week.

While updating the numbers tonight, I realized that I have hit my 2007 Networth goal of $65,000. Right now, the number is actually sitting at $65,334.43 to be exact. I'm happy about it but I will not celebrate until the end of the month. With the wild swings in the market, I could exceed my goal or fall way short. Right now, it's just too close to call.

Income
I've received my last paycheck of the year (will go into my account on Thursday). I've received my bonus (more on the distribution in another post), the payment from the insurance company of the party that rear-ended my car last month and the December rent from my tenant. I am not expecting any more income this month.

Expenses
All the major expenses have been paid for the month (mortgages, car payment). I still have a few utility bills left and my homeowners association fees. This will be less than $500. I'm almost done with my holiday shopping but that money had already been saved and accounted for.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the stock market stays in the green. If the stock market is good to me, I'll be good to the stock market by feeding it more money (investing).

This post sponsored by: Discover More Card "More ways to earn cash than anyone else."

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out all the great articles at the Naughty or Nice Edition of the Carnival of Personal Finance hosted by Get Rich Slowly.

My article: "The Breakup", was featured in the "Tinsel Lined Tree" (budgeting) section.

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I have been putting off filling out and sending off my holiday cards. I must do it today or I will have to save them for next year. All of my friends and I have agreed to have a frugal Christmas and will exchange holiday cards instead of giving gifts. Before I start doing my cards, I'd like to highlight some of my favorite posts from this week.

From the M-Network:

• Moolanomy signed up as a Prosper Lender. Pinyo has been busy with his new son. Congrats Pinyo!
• Lynnae over at beingfrugal.net wants to know Do you have a will?
• ChristianPF talks about dividing large bills int smaller chunks to make them more manageable. I started doing this myself and it works SO much better.
• Gather Little by Little's neighbor Thanked God for Credit Cards. And this is from a ministers wife!
• Paid Twice has taken on the title of "Shopping Queen". It looks like she'll still come in under budget for the month.
• My Two Dollars saved $7 on his electricity bill without spending a dime. $7 may seem like a small amount but it certainly adds up. You wouldn't flush $7 down the toilet would you?
• Plonkee Money finally made it to the end of her blogroll.
• The Dough Roller lists Four Incredibly Useful Financial Calculations you can do in your head. This is pretty interesting and very useful.

And from my blogroll:

• Patrick from Cash Money Life wants to know "How much does a Nintendo Wii cost"? Mine was free!!!
• Debtfree4ever takes a look at his monthly utility bills. I really like his blog title!
• Hustler$$$Blog highlights the new California Gift Card Law. If you are looking to make a little extra money or for the latest deal, be sure to visit Hustler's site.
• My Dollar Plan offers Ten Tips for Holiday Shopping Online.
• My Open Wallet wants to know why alot of her bills are due on Saturday.

That's all for this Sunday. Be sure to visit all the great articles mentioned. Subscribe to SingleGuyMoney for more great articles.

Recommended by SingleGuyMoney: Get 100% free stock trades at Zecco.

I'm not really into playing video games but after hearing alot of talk about the Nintendo Wii, I checked it out and decided I really wanted one too. I'd heard about how hard they were to get and how much people were paying to get them but I refused to pay an inflated price.

My neighbor works at Wal-Mart so I asked her if they had any available. They had none at that time but they were getting in a shipment soon. She said she would keep and eye out and let me know when they came in. I was able to get 3 Nintendo Wii's for about $240 each. I only needed one so I decided to put the other 2 on Ebay after reading HustlerMoney's post on Side Income: Learn to Ebay Hot Items.

I listed the item for 7 days with a starting price of $100. For the first 5 days, I only had 1 bid on each of them for $100. I've used Ebay for over 5 years so I knew that the bidding would pickup as the auction came to a close. I wasn't real worried that I would get less than I paid for them because everyone wanted to get their hands on one of these.

The auction ended on Friday and I sold both of them for over $410 each. After Ebay listing fees, Paypal fees and shipping, I was able to make a profit of $291.89. Not only did I get my Nintendo Wii for free, I made an additional $50!!!!

Did you purchase a Nintendo Wii for Christmas? How did you pay?

I have been looking for a good business credit card to use for all my rental property expenses. I'd narrowed it down to 3 and I finally decided on the Discover Business Card. I have a Discover personal card and I have been really happy with it.

The Discover Business Card offers the following benefits:

• 0% Intro APR. Balance Transfer fee is 3% with a $75 maximum fee
• 5% Cashback Bonus on office supplies
• 2% Cashback Bonus on gas
• 1% Cashback on all other purchases
• Earn 10% Cashback Bonus on first $2000 on restaurant and electronic purchases.

Note: I am a Discover Card affiliate and would greatly appreciate it if you apply through this link.

You do not need to "own" a business to apply for a business credit card. You can apply with your social security number where it asks for a Tax ID number and you can put your name as the business name. I would not recommend "making up" a business.

Those sneaky credit card companies are always out to make an easy buck. I paid off the remainder of my credit card debt last month but I got a bill this month for the remaining interest charges of $20.99. I immediately went online to schedule my payment. The payment is due on the 17th of this month. As I was scheduling the payment on the credit card company website, I had the option to schedule the payment to post on any day up to the 21st of the month.

Why would they even offer the option to pay on the 21st when my payment is due on the 17th?

The credit card company wants me to schedule my payment AFTER the due date so they can promptly charge late fees and jack up my interest rate. Just a heads up; when you are scheduling an online payment, be sure you schedule it to post on or before your due date. (I usually schedule my payments to post at least 2 days ahead just in case there is a problem. (This gives me time to fix it if something does go wrong.)

I won't mention the name of the credit card company but they aren't located in my CITY. ;-)

SingleGuyMoney recommends T-Mobile for your cellular needs. 1000 Whenever nationwide minutes for only $39.99.

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I am curious to know how much you guys are spending for holiday gifts this year. Please take a moment to visit SingleGuyMoney and vote on the spending poll on the upper right side of the page.

Here are some of the posts I've enjoyed reading from my fellow M-Network members this week and would like to pass them along to you. If you haven't seen them already, please be sure to check them out.

• Being Frugal wants to know How Do You Track Your Money? I just downloaded with MoneyDance and will give a review once I've had a chance to check it out. Being Frugal uses Mvelopes but thinks it's too expensive.
• The Dough Roller had an article featured on the front page of MSN. You can read the article here. Congratulations DR!
• Ana over at DebtFREE Revolution had finals this week. Hopefully, she passed with flying colors.
• Paid Twice was nice enough to share her Kroger card and may get a deal on gas because of it.
• David over at My Two Dollars made his wife happy by making her a nice gift.
• Pinyo over at Moolanomy posted a great article comparing active and passive income and how it relates to your retirement.
• Plonkee wants to avoid giving investment advice. I've had several people at my office ask me to help them rebalance their 401k.
• Gather Little by Little has tips to make paying your yearend property taxes a little less painless.

I'm off to finish doing my laundry and getting ready for work tomorrow. Why does it seem like the weekend goes by so fast?

Working on my budget for the next few months, I realized I have a bit of extra cash coming my way. December-February are historically very good months for my finances. Where is the cash coming from and what do I plan to do with it?

• Bonus - My bonus from my employer is paid in December. I've gotten a bonus every year but the amount changes based on company profitability. The bonus is paid out in 2 payments with 75% being paid in December and 25% being paid in late January or early February. I've calculated that my bonus payment coming next week should be roughly $3200 after taxes. The February payment will be about $1000. About $2000 of this money will go to my Freedom account and Rental Property Savings account.Freedom Account funds will be allocated towards making sure I have money for all my upcoming insurance payments in 2008 (1yr of auto ins, 1 yr of homeowners ins, Umbrella policy) and my vehicle tag fees. Rental Property Accounts funds will cover my home maintenance plan policy and landscape charges. I haven't decided what I want to do with the other $1200.


• Auto Accident - I had a minor fender bender a few weeks ago. I didn't make a post about it since it was not a big deal. I was rearended while stopped at a stoplight. The other insurance company completed an estimate and the damages were about $582. I've decided not to repair the vehicle since the damage is strictly cosmetic and does not affect the function or safety of the vehicle. I may take 1/2 of his and buy a nice electronic gadget since I have been so good about denying these urges.

• State Tax Refund - I usually always get a pretty good refund from the State of Georgia especially since I've had the rental property. Last year, I got a refund of about $2200 but this was offset by the $1500 I owed the federal government. Based on my early calculations, I should get about the same this year. I will owe the feds about the same this year too. I know I need to adjust my withholding but I haven't done it yet.

• Performance Bonus - This one is not guaranteed but I have it good shot at getting one (according to my boss). Once I have my performance evaluation in February, I will (hopefully) get a % salary increase. (Last year it was only 4%). If I exceed company expectations again this year, I will get a merit cash bonus of 3% of my yearly salary. Last year was nice surprise as I got a cash bonus of about $2500 after taxes on top of my salary increase. I haven't made any plans with this money since it is not guaranteed.

Having this extra cash will definitely help me complete my 2008 Financial Goal of adding an additional $200 to my car payment to decrease the principal balance.

Affiliate Link: Get 100% free stock trades at Zecco.

I've been so busy during the last 2 weeks, I forgot to tell you guys that Starbucks and I have decided to go our separate ways. It wasn't easy for me to say goodbye. In fact, I think there may have been a few tears involved...LOL. I decided that the relationship was not good for me or my financial future and I needed to make a change. Actually, there was another person involved that helped me with my decision.

My mother was tired hearing about me spending my hard earned money at Starbucks for something I could do at home for alot less money. She decided to give me my Christmas gift a couple of weeks early. I got a brand new coffee maker, coffee filters, a big container of coffee and coffee creamer. She was even thoughtful enough to buy me a nice new coffee cup.

For the past two weeks, I've been brewing my own coffee at home. I use the Vanilla Caramel creamer from CoffeeMate and I have a tasty drink for much less that I would have spent at Starbucks. I figure by making my coffee at home, it costs about .50 a cup instead of $4.24 at Starbucks.

I can't say that I won't ever go back to Starbucks. There will be those times when I need a quick "fix" and I may visit Starbucks here and there.

Don't worry Starbucks. I'm sure you will find someone new to take my place.

Are you breaking up with Starbucks or plan to breakup with Starbucks??? Have you broken up with Starbucks recently?

Apply for the Discover® Open Road Card. No annual fee, 0% APR on purchases and balance transfers, 5% cashback bonus on your first $100 in gas and auto maintenance purchases each billing period. Unlimited cash rewards that never expire. Secure online account numbers, dedicated fraud specialists that work 24/7.

It's almost Friday!!! I don't know about you guys but this has been a long week for me. For your reading enjoyment, be sure to check out the 1st Carnival of Financial Goals - 2008 Financial Resolutions Edition hosted by Patrick over at Cash Money Life.

My article, 2008 Financial Goals, was included in the roundup. I didn't make the editors pick but I'm still glad to have been included.

Some of my favorites:

• Randall from Credit Withdrawal wants to earn enough alternative income to pay his mortgage. I will definitely have to follow his progress.
• Mighty Bargain Hunter wants to track and categorize all money coming in and out of his household. I need to do a better job at tracking all my pennies too.
• Gather Little by Little plans to pay a minimum of $1000 a month towards his debt.
• Paid Twice wants to wipe out all of her family's credit card debt in 2008.
• Clean Simple Finance wants to consolidate and simplify financial accounts in 2008. I need to reduce the amount of paper I get from financial institutions too.
• Blunt Money wants to increase her cash savings by $4000.

Good Luck to everyone who posted their financial goals. I can't wait to find out who won the Ipod.

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I just happened to realize today that my 6 month blogaversary is coming up real soon. Technically, my six month anniversary is December 23rd but due to the holidays, I'll probably be too busy to celebrate.

I've made some big changes to my finances in only a short time. It will be interesting to see how things look a year from now.

Here are some of my prior posts with an update.

• I'm starting to do it right.... - I posted about starting to save for those irregular expenses instead of paying for them with a credit card. I've saved enough to cover about 75% of my irregular expenses for a year. I should be able to fully fund that account over the next 2-3 months.
• Official Debt Tracker - I posted a debt tracker on the sidebar to keep track of my debt reduction progress. I started the year with over $66k in debt. I've since reduced this to a little over $47k.
• SingleGuyMoney is Mad - My cousin called me to "borrow" a thousand dollars and got very upset when I didn't loan it to him. He still hasn't gotten the money and WILL NOT get it from me.
• "I want to be rich like you" - My cousin (not the one that wanted to borrow money) thought that because I have a nice home and car, I am rich. I had to sit him down and explain a few things. He knows now that appearances are not always what they seem.
• $70 Error - I made a big mistake when changing bank accounts and learned an expensive lesson.
• Real Life Example of the Sucky Housing Market - Two of my friends were trying to sale their homes. They STILL have not sold them.

Be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here to get notified of all the latest posts. Don't be shy and feel free to leave a comment.

I'd like to take a moment to thank all my readers, RSS subsribers and email subscribers for reading my blog. I hope my blog has helped you with your personal finances and/or inspired you to take the steps toward getting out of debt and improving your financial health.




I'd also like to thank the following websites (in no particular order) for sending the most traffic my way:

• Cash Money Life


• My Open Wallet


• Hustler Money Blog


• Dimples Divine Domain


• No Credit Needed Network


• Online Savings Blog


• Beachgirl's Budget Blog

And for the most traffic sent from my friends at the M-Network (again, in no particular order):

• Being Frugal


• Debt Free Revolution


• Gather Little by Little


• Paid Twice


• Moolanomy


• The Dough Roller


• My Two Dollars

If you haven't already done so, be sure to subscribe to SingleGuyMoney to get notified of the latest posts.

Assets:

• Rental Property - $137,000
• Primary Residence - $193,000
• Car - $29,500
• Retirement - $41,775.28
• Cash (checking, savings) - $32,818.54
• Brokerage - $3,319.66

Total Assets: $444,992.98

Liabilities:

• Rental Property Mortgage - $150,162.23
• Primary Home Mortgage - $183,295.25
• Car Loan - $25,248.69
• Student Loan - $22,223.81
• Credit Cards - $ 0

Total Liabilities: $380,929. 98

Net Worth: $64,063, increase from prior month is 0.95%

Monthly Recap:

• Paid off the remainder of my credit card debt this month!!
• The market correction this month affected my net worth increase this month. This is the lowest net worth increase I've had this year. However, it was still an increase.
• I set a goal to have a net worth of $65,000 by the end of the year. I should be able to easily meet this goal unless we have another month of "market corrections".
• December should be a great month financially. I've already saved up for Christmas gifts and I should be receiving 75% of my yearly bonus. (The other 25% is paid late January or early February).

Looking back....

Since I started tracking my net worth in detail in March 2005, my net worth has changed as follows:

• Assets - increased $210,738.98 or 89.96%
• Liabilities - increased $153,664.94 or 67.61% (my new home purchase in April 2006 caused the increase)
• Overall increase in Net Worth - $57,414.04 or 863.50%

If you've enjoyed this post or reading about my personal finance journey, please subscribe to SingleGuyMoney here. Be sure to visit SingleGuyMoney to leave a comment or for more great articles.

It was a nice surprise when I logged into my E*Trade account today to find that the rate for their Complete Savings Account has been increased to 5.05% APY. The rate had previously been lowered following the series of rate cuts by the Feds.

I am a big fan of E*trade despite the recent news of them having financial problems and the recent $2.5 billion dollar infusion of cash from Citadel Investment Group.

Best features of the Complete Savings Account are:

• No minimum balance
• Just $1 to open the account
• Yields more than 8x the national average
• Easy access to your money with the Quick Transfer feature
• Secure online statements
• FDIC insured up to $100,000

In addition to a Complete Savings Account, I also have an E*Trade Brokerage account so it is very easy to transfer money back and forth between accounts.

TIP: If you need immediate access to funds from your savings account, transfer the money to your brokerage account and write a check from the cash portion of your brokerage account. I do it all the time and it works great. Just be careful not to exceed the withdrawal limitations of the savings account.