Step3 Prophet

Awesome V-Day Weekend

This was an awesome three day weekend for me and Mel. She's here with my in San Diego before I make the transition to Japan, so we are making the most of it.

On Saturday we went to the San Diego Zoo. It was very nice as zoos go, although zoo's make me feel sorry for the animals kept in small cages (especially after seeing the Point Defiance zoo!). On the bright side, I got in free with my military ID. It turns out that three major attractions in San Diego offer free entry to military: The SD Zoo, the Animal Park, and Sea World. The cost is normally $35. While we were at the zoo we met up with some friends of Mel. I ended up getting a gorilla hoodie because it was a bit chilly. That evening we went downtown to look around and have dinner. We didn't make any reservations, we just walked around the city taking in the sights. We ended up at Las Hadas because they offered us a free appetizer coupon at the door and it wasn't that busy. It's a recently opened restaurant with an urban Spanish theme. The food was quite good, and the service was some of the quickest I've ever seen. The interior decor is urban night life with a mix of Latin pop and English music coming over the speakers.

On Sunday we chilled for most of the day and then went to the Fashion Valley mall.  Some of the worst parking I've ever seen for a mall. It was yet another of San Diego's open malls, and the store selection was impressive. It was the first time I've seen a Sony store before. Our big purchase ended up being from The Art of Shaving. An upscale shave store, who knew? Mel bought me a travel shave kit with a pre-shave oil, shave lotion, a badger hair brush to lather with, after shave, and a fancy blade handle for disposable razor heads. I'm still trying it out, so I'm not sure it it's worth all the extra effort, but it is an interesting experience. The lady at the store was enthusiastically giving demos. After the mall we went to dinner at an Italian place in Point Loma called Solare. It was well worth it. I had a black ink pasta stuffed with broccoli and sea bass in a tomato lobster sauce and Mel had sausage potato dumplings that were very rich. Portion sizes  were just right, but it was a little on the expensive side.

On Monday it was crazy weather for San Diego: Cloudy skies, high winds, and heavy rain. We stayed inside and listened to the sound of the waves crashing on the beach and the wind blowing. That evening we went to visit some relatives of Mel's who live in El Cajon. They were very nice, and fed us dinner.

All in all pretty good.

Weekend Update - music, food, and politics

To escape from the drudgery of work I took a few days off this weekend. I was going to take Thursday through Sunday off, but it ended up that I had too much unfinished business on Thursday, so I did Friday through Sunday instead.

This turned out to be an good weekend. I did a lot of sleeping in to catch up on my rest. Mel came over on Thursday and telecommuted from my place on on Friday. Then we went over to her place for Friday and Saturday night.

On Friday, on the way over to Mel's place we picked up my 4th Designed Dinners order. They brought back calzones this month, so I'm excited about that. As a gift for picking up the order early, the manager gave me a bottle of Black Opal Cabernet Merlot. Mel says she likes some other varieties they produce, and I've heard good things about Australian wines, so I'm looking forward to trying it out.

On Saturday we went around town with Mel's brother, who was visiting Seattle as part of a gig. He's in the U.S. Army Jazz Ambassadors band, who were playing with the Seattle Symphony at the Beniroya hall. That afternoon we watched the new Futurama Movie "The Beast with a Billion Backs" and for the evening he got us comp tickets to the show. It was an impressive review of Jazz history, along with some performances by up and coming young jazz artists. Afterward we saw two other Seattle landmarks, The Lusty Lady and Deja Vu.

Today I'm taking it easy while Mel does her thing at a fiber festival. I've started adjusting my investment contributions to match the plan I came up with last week. The sticking point is which bond fund to invest in, and how? I'm leaning toward waiting until the start of next year and buying into a fund as part of my 2009 IRA contributions. I'll save the money now, so that when January hits I'll buy the fund right out with new money instead of stealing from my existing IRA contributions. Putting it in my IRA has a lot of advantages. Since these types of funds pay large dividends regularly(quarterly, or even monthly), keeping them in a tax advantaged account makes sense. In a regular investment account you would owe taxes on all those interest payments. When I buy the bond fund, I may just make all of my IRA contribution at that time. That way I don't have to think about it for the rest of the year. It would simplify the number of monthly transactions I make for my investments.

Another piece of business I took care of today is canceling my Netflix subscription. While I'm a firm believer in the product, I just don't have the time to watch enough DVD's to make it cost effective. I tend to value a product or service by how often I use it. With the amount I'm using Netflix recently, I think I'd be happier keeping the $15 a month. Soon to be on the chopping block: XM radio. It's a another service I really like, but don't get to enjoy very often these days.

Finally, I filled out my absentee voter registration card. I'll send it out in tomorrow's mail( along with my last netflix dvds). I've been putting off doing this for a while, but I think I'll be able to get the letter in under the deadline. If I don't make it I won't be too disapointed since I'm not very enthusaed about either candidate. Charles Wheelan over at the Yahoo! finacial expert page does have some interesting points to make though.

I've got those working blues

Lately work has really been getting me down. I've been working 12-15+ hours a day, which really sucks because I'm on salary. It's also left me with very little time to blog. When I've been able to get away for a little while, I spend time with my girl friend and take care of those little things like laundry, dishes, and making a lunch to take to work. Special thanks to Mel for helping me with the household chores.  The one bright spot(besides seeing Mel) was going sailing last Sunday after I got off work. The weather was phenomenal and a friend of mine knows how to sail a little catalina type boat, so Mel and I went sailing with him on Sunday. We sailed around the sound for a few hours, and I got a horribly moderate sunburn on my legs (I was wearing a jacket for the wind, so my arms are fine). It's moderate because I won't be peeling, but I was darn close.

I didn't even have time for my regular Aerogarden update. Oh well. This job has taught me a lot about priorities. If you have to set prorities, something isn't getting done. It's also shown me how difficult it can be to try and meet a million different requirments with an undermanned staff. I'm still learning how to get organized enough to at least remember what I'm neglecting to do.

First of month net worth update

Once again I've updated my overall financial activity on NetworthIQ/Step3 . I've pulled finally pulled out of the slump from 2 months ago! Click on the link to see all the not too transparent details!

Major changes this month:
-Retirement accounts are up due to my REIT activity. Non-retirement stocks are up only due to cash infusions (ie: buying more)
-Credit card debt and cash are both way up due to 0% APR arbitrage plan and aggressive saving.
As a side note, For my cash cushion goal total I only count the portion of my money that's in my high interest savings account and NOT needed to payback my 0% credit card loan.
-Loans are flat as I had to write off some of my defaulted loans. I've been taking money from LC and putting it in Prosper during LC's quite period.

Also this month, I plan to come up with a financial allocation plan, as run some projections on how my net worth will change of the next 10-15 years with that allocation plan.

Laptop Sold!

I had some time off from work on Thursday and Friday, so I finally got around to doing some things I've been putting off. Specifically, after I got my EEE PC I said I would sell my old laptop to offset the cost of the new one. Mission complete!

Yesterday I moved all of my critical files off the laptop and deauthorized ITunes. I then deleted all the partitions and did a hard format of the disk. That way it will be difficult to recover any files if my buyer is maliciously inclined.  The format took a while, so I let it go overnight. When I woke up this morning I completed the install and made sure the basic devices all had drivers ( audio, video, and internet).

I put the ad on Craigslist at about 12:30 today, and by 5:00 pm I had at least 5 offers. That is somewhat unusal. Some things just sell more quickly than others. I try to fairly price all my items, but it's hard to gauge demand before I put it out there. The only other item I've had get that kind of interest in such a short time was my WACOM tablet. One of the buyers looked promising, since the area code of the phone number he gave me was local, so I called them up and we arranged to meet this evening.

At 8:00 pm a young man showed up at my door and I let him in to inspect the laptop. I could tell after a few minutes that he was sold. I continued to show him some of the features and the few defects that the laptop had, and then we completed the transaction. I do believe this is the fastest turn around I've ever had with CL.

I'm still waiting for my rebate from Asus. When that comes in my final price for the EEE PC will be $519 - $100 ( rebate) = $419 - $200 ( sale of old laptop) = $219! Not bad for a new PC.

Also, I found all of my camera accessories. I put my camera up for sale a few days ago, but no interest yet. If only old digital cameras were as functional as old laptops.

July Networth Update( and 100th Post!)

I've updated my networth on NetworhIQ. This month saw a rebound in terms of overall net worth, but that was mostly due to aggressive saving on my part. Now that my car loan is paid off, over half of my salary goes to investments and savings.

My cash cushion took a hit last month due to troubles getting my credit card arbitrage system in place. I deemed it better to use some funds from savings than pay more in finance charges. Also, on a lighter note, I switched my goal tracker from a bar graph made in GIMP to a gauge from google docs. I figure it will be easier to update.

A review of my goal to have $12,000 by the end of the year shows that at this time it would be unrealistic. I would have to save over $1600 a month to meet that goal! I think that meeting it in the next 5 months is not really necessary. I would rather use most of that income on potentially more rewarding investments like stocks and peer to peer loans. To that end I'm only going to be saving about $600 a month, in which case it will take me about 12 more months to have sufficient funds.

Finally, this makes my 100th blog post! Actually, I wish I would have reached this milestone sooner, but I haven't had time to make very many quality posts. Here's to trying harder in the future to make more time, or use my time more efficiently.

Eee PC

My Asus Eee PC 900 arrived today! That was pretty fast for free shipping. I think it was coming from California though. Unlike my camera order. I got an email today saying that my order wouldn't arrive until the 22nd of this month! It's shipping from the east coast. Oh well. My old camera will slug along until then.

If you read the comments on my last weekend update. you'll know my remorse 24 hours later when I discovered that Asus has unveiled the Eee PC 1000H. It's bigger(but still very small with a 10" screen size), has 4x the HD capacity, almost double the processor power, and the potential for twice the RAM capability, all for the low low price of $700. Honestly, that was exactly what I was looking for in an ultra small laptop but unable to find. The 900 was a compromise, but one I felt I could live with better than spending a $1000+ on a new laptop, which was what the nearest competitors with non solid state drives were going for.

Don't get me wrong, I'm getting a good deal on this laptop. Several things I am excited about. It has the larger battery(5400mAh). It is still a ridiculously small laptop, and easily portable. It's double the RAM of my current laptop. Finally, it comes preloaded with linux which I'm still curious about.

Other factors that go into the decision making process are the fact that it's non-refundable, and the new 1000H isn't really out in the US yet.

So my decision is to carry out the plan as briefed. I'll send in for the $100 mail in rebate, try to get $200 for my old laptop on craigslist, and end up with a cool and functional gadget for about $200 cost to me. In a year I can evaluate my options, which will most likely be to sell my eee pc 900 for a decent price and upgrayedd to a new or used 1000H. The second d is for a double dose of eee pc.

Here is what I got inside the box: (left to right) battery, charing cords, laptop, software disk, linux disk, warranty, guide book, quick start guide, and neoprene carry case.
 

Weekend Update

I've been pretty busy the past week, so it's been a slow week for blog updates. Working form 7am to 8pm most days is quite depressing.  I did have some time off  Saturday and Sunday, so  this weekend Mel and I did a little shopping and exploring. I picked up my 3rd box of Designed Dinners. I've been very happy with the food quality. I buy about 32 servings at a time, which equals $5 a serving. The meals tend to last me for about a month and a half before I order a new set. Using Quicken reports, I was able to see how much I've been spending on food.

Monthly Average food spending
	Last Year	Last QTR
Groceries	132.75	174.67
Dining Out	374.42	356.33
Total	507.17	531.00

As you can see, my overall food spending has gone up slightly although I'm spending less on fast food, and more on groceries (in which I include designed dinners). So while my spending remains relatively unchanged, at least my eating habits are better.

I also decided too make two major purchases this weekend. The first is a new digital camera. I've been looking around for a while, and considering many options. I finally decided on the Olympus Stylus 840. Mel has been looking recently too since she cracked the lens on her old camera, and was looking closely at this one as well, which drew me to it. It's got the right combination of features, size, and price. I bought it today on amazon for $220, including a memory card and extra battery. I had to resist the urge to go more upscale, since my picture needs are really quite modest. To further off set the cost, I'll sell my old 3.34MP Pentax Optio on craigslist. My goal is to get $50-$60 for it.

The other big purchase I made this weekend it a laptop. The Asus eee pc 900 to be exact. When it comes to portable electronics, I like my gadgets to be truely portable. My old 14" HP is by no means one of those home laptops that you never actually take anywhere, but at the same time it weights about 9lbs with charger and case. And the case is a requirement. It's not something I could easily put in a backpack or carry on. The eee PC takes things to the small extreme while still providing laptop functionality. It's 2lbs heavy, and has a 9" screen. 1 GB Ram and 20 GB solid state hard drive. I paid $520 for it at Zipzoomfly and there is a $100 mail in rebate from Asus this month. Plus, if I can sell my old laptop for about $200, I can cut the cost of this purchase down significantly.

The eee PC also comes preloaded with Linux. This will be my first non-windows OS. I've been very interested in Linux for a while now because I hate spending money when it can be avoided. I use Openoffice, Gimp, and just about any free alternative to high priced software out there. So this will also be a trial run to see how fully I can divest myself of windows. More to come when I actually get the products.

Monthly Finance Update

I've updated my net worth on Networthiq. Click the graph in the sidebar for the details, or for those of you with a feed setup link here. The down trend this month is due to losses in stock market value, which looks bad on paper but as I pointed out in the last post, is really a good thing for me now. I've been very busy at work this week, so not a lot time to post.

Good News Everybody

I got an email from HSBC today. They are raising their interest rate back up to 3.5% This will have good implications for my 0% APR schemes. I'll have to work harder to keep track of the money though. Unless ING does a matching increase in their rates.

Tomorrow I'll be flying in to Louisiana to visit my girl friends family for a little vacation. It will be a long day of flying. Her parents live in Lake Charles, and getting the airline tickets was quite interesting. The closes air ports are in Houston, TX and Baton Rouge, LA. Surprisingly, flying to Baton rouge was cheaper than flying to Houston, which is a major hub, by about 50%. Even more surprising, since one of our layovers is in Houston! 

My grandparents live in Houston, and I hope to visit them while in the area. Also on the agenda is air boat rides through the bayou and tours of the Tabasco factory.