| 02/05/2010
It's looking like we're going to get a very nice tax refund this year...
Florida?
02/06/2010
Looks like the market is finally starting to pull back.
I moved a little of the cash in our 401k back into equities. I also purchased some shares of DIG on Friday when it dipped under 30.
02/18/2010
And back up we go. It's all about the dollar. Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy... USA? This debt thing. What a mess. But somehow the market loves the weak dollar. Of course, the big multi-nationals clean up and look good as the dollar continues to plummet. But the end game for the kind of reckless spending all of these countries have been doing is often not very pretty.
Heading down to Florida at the end of March. Whoo Hooo!
02/27/2010
It's clear my job is wearing on me again. I talked to my wife about bailing on the 401k / IRA contributions and doubling down on the mortgage. Crunching the numbers, an aggressive pay-down of an extra $1,000 in principle each month would allow us to pay off the house in about nine years, and adding $1,500 would bring us down to just seven years.
What's more compelling is the amount of money saving in interest. A $1,000 principle payment results in a savings of $102k over the length of the loan, and a $1,500 payment saves $114.
Currently we are paying an extra $500 a month - a savings of $78,000. With our current payment we are on track to pay off the house in 13 years. Not good enough...
On another note - we've received both our Federal and State Tax Refunds back - about $5,400. Most of that money has already been spent - $1,000 to replenish the "Stay at Home Mom" checking account, $2,500 into our ROTH IRA for 2010 (Vanguard Index 500), and $1,000 for plane tickets to Florida. We also have to put aside a little money for some work we're having done on the house - we're having a small siding job done.
Stay the course! |