Keeping The Reins Tight….

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

In addition to serving some much deserved jail time, Michael Vick now owes the Royal Bank of Canada more money.

The order Wednesday from U.S. Magistrate F. Bradford Stillman requires Vick to pay $2.4 million, plus $499 in interest per day, starting Sept. 19, 2007, and the bank’s attorneys’ fees and costs of $11,950 plus interest.

Source: ESPN

Since I haven’t had the need to calculate interest on a 2.4 million dollar loan, $499 a day in interest seems astronomical. Vick has 17 months remaining on his sentence; during this time, he’ll accumulate $228,990 in additional interest. A fiscally responsible Vick would use his prisoner salary (~$5 / day) to make payments towards the principal.

Will this happen? Probably not.

As my mother says, ‘what goes around, comes around.’

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Just how much is in A’s Emergency Fund (as asked by Krystal)?

$7,200.

Despite having a stable job (and side jobs), I need to have six months set aside ‘just in case’. The longest I should ever be between jobs would be 3 months (the length of summer vacation) but the extra cushion lets me sleep better at night.

The funds are allocated in the following hierarchy:

Green boxes are ‘filled’ funds, yellow boxes need more money.

As of today (05.06), I’m 86.11% towards having a complete Emergency Fund. On Saturday, the percentage will drop to 75% when a set of new tires will wipe out the ‘car emergency’ money.

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The IRS made April an excellent month for my net worth. Tax returns had substantial impact on my cash position and retirement accounts. Because I spent two weeks traveling on someone else’s dime, my out of pocket food / gas costs were minimized. This all resulted in a net-worth increase of $4,744! Seven more months of hard work and I should be in positive territory by the end of 2008.

I was able to fulfill two of the April Goals. I feel short with actual Roth contributions; but, I did increase my Roth savings account by $310.43. I consider this goal a wash, I now need to give the money to Vanguard.

May should continue the string of great months. My stimulus check will arrive around May 15th and will be split into the Roth and Emergency Fund. I also hope to do the following by the end of the month:

1. Sell the Mountain Bike- I took pictures and priced similar bikes on eBay and Craigslist. It looks like I’ll get $125 for the frame and the wheel set, as the bike needs much more work than I realized. Whoever buys it will be getting a good deal.
2. $650 in alternative income- This is the last month I’ll have massive tutoring income. With school finishing, AP exams, and regular exam schedules, my in person income will take a hit. I need to generate close to $200 through Tutor.com.
3. $100 in groceries - A serious calf strain will keep me from running most of the month severely reduce my food consumption. This goal should be no problem.
4. No more plants- I’ve gone overboard with my apartment balcony. It’s a jungle full of fruits/flowers and I’d spend my whole bank account on plants if I could. Time to reel it in.
5. Track my expenses- The last two months, I’ve been rather lazy. No more!

May should be a most excellent month!

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Thanks to an Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich from Panera; I spent Friday and Saturday afternoons in the emergency room. During my little ordeal, I was pumped full of intravenous fluids, given a multiple shots in the bum for nausea and had a few prescriptions filled.

The cost for my weekend of excitement?

$20.00 Co-Payment
$12.00 For 3 Prescriptions
$05.21 for a Breakfast Sandwich(it came back up)

Of course, this doesn’t factor in the 35.43 taken out of every paycheck. I chose one of the more costly insurance options based upon my history of broken bones and freak accidents. The idea was to play it safe for the first two years, evaluate which of the five options available would have been cheapest, and then switch.

In my groggy drugged up state, I’m extremely happy that the weekend only lowered my checking account by $22.00.

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As of late, I’ve been supplementing my tutoring income by being an online tutor through Tutor.com.

The pay is peanuts compared to my in-person rate but the convenience of tutoring from home (in my pj’s) can’t be beat. However, I’m having a hard time deciding what to do with the extra money I’ve been earning.

The ‘future focused A’ wants to send every penny to his Roth IRA. The ‘not-so-future future A’ wants to save half and spend the rest on much needed / wanted items that aren’t essential to A’s survival. The ‘in the moment A’ wants to spend it all on having fun; it’s been a long time since he’s spent any money on non-essential or budgeted items.

Which one will win out?

The ‘not-so-future future A’.

I’ll use half the money to buy things such as more memory for my MacBook, decorations for my apartment, flowers for my porch or to lady friends out on dates. Half of each monthly check will be sent to my Roth IRA so it can compound nicely for the next 30+ years.

I can say with 99.7% certainty, I’ve enough self-discipline to limit my spending to only half of my fourth source of income.

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