I’m pretty surprised how well things went this month. Maybe it’s the fact that my investments didn’t actually go down too much.
My 401k performed well.
Just one big expense this past month, auto insurance premium.
Upcoming expenses:
- Vacation (still haven’t started my fun fund)
- Dog boarding while I’m away
On target to meet 2006 goal? No. Projected annual increase in networth? ~$87,000.
Steven
August 1, 2006 at 9:01 am
Nice work saving!
freedumb
August 1, 2006 at 9:28 am
Thanks Steven!
LAMoneyGuy
August 1, 2006 at 9:32 am
Wow, that’s a great month. Mind asking how your 401k is allocated? July was mostly not a great month for the market.
freedumb
August 1, 2006 at 10:05 am
Yo LMD, you’ve been quiet recently! Glad to hear from ya.
Since my post about my 401k returning 0.4% YTD, it has bounced back to 1.9%. At the beginning of June, my ROR was 1.3%. So really, this month’s ROR only increased .6%, but better than down overall. If I can hit a ROR of 5-7% for the year, I’ll be happy. I’ve been waiting to reallocate my retirement, but just haven’t got the guts to do it yet. I have a really conservative 401k:
20% – Money Market (Up 2% for the year)
45% – Bonds (Stable Value 20%, up 2.6%, Total Bond Market 5%, down 1.1%, TIPS 20%, down 2%)
20% – Total Stock Market Index (Up 1.2%)
10% – Total International Stock Market Index (Up 5.9%, should’ve put more money here!)
LAMoneyGuy
August 1, 2006 at 10:52 am
Thanks FF,
I agree with you. A 5-7% return for this year would not be bad. You sure are conservative. Not a bad place to be right now.
Things have been fairly busy. I think I’m going to target about 3-4 blog posts per week. It was starting to take up too much of my time. I’ll still check in with you regularly.
freedumb
August 1, 2006 at 7:52 pm
LMD, Hope things settle down soon!
Looking forward to reading your posts whenever you get to them.
mapgirl
August 2, 2006 at 3:02 am
Brownie! (yay!) Nice doggie!
I’m surprised at how conservative your 401k portfolio is. If I’m not mistaken, you’re still in your 20′s and won’t retire for another 40 years (assumping you wait till you’re in your 60′s). Is there a plan to pull cash from your 401k to make a house down payment? Or do you feel that the interest rates on cash and bonds are so good that you’ll take the lower risk since it’s easy money?
I’m really fascinated by the 20% on Stable Value Bonds since I hold practically no bonds and they’re Treasuries in a bond fund. I’m not sure what ‘stable value’ means. Is that just a highly rated corporate bond?
Single Ma
August 2, 2006 at 8:14 am
Nice increase! So you’re still hanging on to your $87k increase goal? LOL
Cute title change too!
freedumb
August 2, 2006 at 9:34 am
Mapgirl, Yeah, I’m an old fart when it comes to my investing habits. But I can swing extremely aggressive at times as well. Depending on the mood. Right now, I’m just not feeling this market. So, I’d rather have a nice steady increase than risk losing. I can tolerate not making huge gains…I really beat myself when I see red. And I added that “About Brownie” section because of your comments btw!
SingleMa,
Thanks! I think Brownie is the main attractor to this site personally.