Customer Service, or Lack Thereof…

Still awaiting an online response from Countrywide regarding my PMI situation.

Their website claims a 1-2 business day response time because they need to individually research each inquiry or some such nonsense.

Thing is, my first inquiry was on July 16.

Not even including that specific day, it’s now been 3+ business days.

I just submitted another long-winded and slightly more obnoxious inquiry with essentially the same question, “Will you drop my PMI at 78% like you’re supposed to?”

I’m almost to the point where I’ll pick up the phone, but chances are, that won’t result in a real solid answer either.

I’m pretty familiar with how call centers operate and, sadly, I’m already quite aware that my inquiry is not a question that level one support will be able to answer.

Level two (or three) will likely just tell me what I want to hear just to get me off the phone and out of their ear.

That’s probably why I haven’t received any answer at all online. Ignore the customer — they’ll go away on their own eventually…

Customer service is truly wonderful these days…

Posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:17 pm by Brainy Smurf
Life, PMI - Mortgage Insurance, Rants | 1 Comment »

Credit Card Rewards are a Complete Joke

I’ve often read about people taking advantage of these “rewards” that their credit cards offer and how wonderful they can be, but I’d never actually taken advantage of one.

Having charged over $2k on my Citi Rewards card — my only card with rewards — during vacation a few weeks ago, I see that my statement has been handsomely rewarded with a sizable number of “ThankYou” points.

So I went over to see what kind of rewards my “ThankYou” points could get me.

Turns out, not much.

Let’s see… A cash-back check for $50 would cost me 8000 ThankYou points…

Now I know that a few of my purchases earned double and sometimes even triple the ThankYou points, but technically, the big reward is a mere $50 for spending $8000 dollars.

Think about that.

What it really says is, “Spend $8k with us and we’ll give you $50 back!”

Frankly, I’m insulted.

But, wait, there’s more! Spend $16k and they’ll throw you a Benjamin! Wow, such a deal.

Really… that works out to just five-eighths of a percent back.

Not much to get excited about, huh?

So, since I’ve only spent a few thousand dollars (over $5k), the only thing I really qualify for is a subscription to an assortment of magazines that I don’t really want anyway. They’re also magazines that I could get for free countless other places too…

Gee, thanks… That’s an awesome reward.

Posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 4:28 pm by Brainy Smurf
Credit Card, Rants | 8 Comments »

Batmania Sweeps the Nation but I’m Not Buying It…

Batman this, Batman that…

Where’d all of this hype come from? Who’s responsible? And how many times can they make the same movie over again and still generate this much hype?

I don’t understand it.

I can’t claim to have seen the latest movie or even the previous 3 Batman movies.

That one with Danny DeVito as the Penguin sealed it for me — Batman movies from there on out would a complete waste of time.

(Perhaps I should have more accurately said that Tim Burton movies are a waste of time… Waste of money too…)

The original Batman television series from the 1960′s was easily the best. Even the 1966 full length movie ranks right up there, even though it just felt like a really long episode.

Adam West was the best Batman ever. No doubt in my mind. He made the character fun.

“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.“

To this day, while watching Family Guy, I can’t help but think of Batman every time Mayor West speaks. Adam West didn’t just play Batman four decades ago. Adam West *is* Batman.

I remember when the first (but actually the second) Batman movie came out in 1989. You know, the one with Kim Basinger?

I was pretty excited (there was HUGE hype then too!), but then disappointed to see the, well, new and supposedly improved Batman. First off, his Batmobile sucked.

And since when did Batman wear all black?

Where did those washboard abs come from?

Why wasn’t anything labeled in the Batcave?

And really, who decided that Batman should now where more eyeliner than a crack whore? Tim Burton?

And, lastly, was it just me or was it hard not to just keep seeing Mr. Mom or Beetlejuice in that movie?

In the end, I thought Michael Keaton was an alright Batman. A terrible Bruce Wayne though. Jack Nicholson was also a decent Joker. Not as great as Cesar Romero, but still, pretty good.

I watched the 1989 movie this past weekend on ABC Family. At the same time, TNT was showing “Batman and Robin”. See what I mean about the hype? You couldn’t escape it this past weekend.

Remember when movie hype actually lasted for almost and entire summer? I’m thinking about movies like Independence Day, Terminator 2, and even Ghostbusters…

Every fast food restaurant had some sort of collectible glass available, I mean, the movie was a big deal. There were arcade games that were actually good — not just commercials for the movie. They even made action figures that people actually wanted. I don’t know — it was like they actually put some effort into marketing the movie.

Now though, as much as they’ve been making of this Dark Knight movie lately, in another week, it’ll be old news. No one will care.

Some Martin Lawrence in drag movie will come along and knock it off the top and the poor Dark Knight will be forgotten, the action figures will be in dollar stores across the country, the related video game will be in the bargain bin at BestBuy, and Heath Ledger will go back to just being that guy from the gay cowboy movie that OD’ed or something.

Anyone remember that Indiana Jones movie that came out earlier this summer with much fanfare?

Yeah, I didn’t think so…

Of course, this is all just my opinion.

I could be wrong.

Posted on July 22nd, 2008 at 8:08 am by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Movies, Rants, Retro, Television | 2 Comments »

Debt Payment: Check | Savings: Um, Maybe Next Year…

I’ve just updated my side bar progress for my
2008 goals and so far, I’m well ahead of pace.

My financial goals added up to $30846 this year. To date, I’m right around $21k of the way there or just under 70%.

We’re just over the half way point of the year, so things should be looking great, right?

Well…

Starting at the top, I have finally conquered the credit card monster. I’ll never again approach my all time high of around $28k. I’m done with that forever and by “that”, I mean carrying a high interest balance.

Since paying it off in full, I’ve run up around over $1k every now and then, only to pay it off in full before the statement is issued.

Moving down to my savings goal, I dunno, lately I’m just having a hard time imagining this goal coming to fruition in the next 5 months. Simple math tells me that it can be done (at the rate of $2k per month).

That number seems crazy-high to me, but it’s right around the amount that I’ve been throwing towards debt for years now. With the debt gone (just around the corner), it shouldn’t be a problem but for some reason, I just can’t imagine throwing that kind of money towards savings on a monthly basis…

Ahhh, the PMI…

While I’ve reached the goal I set back in December, I can’t yet claim that I’ve eliminated PMI. It’s been an on-going process and I’m still sending additional money towards my mortgage to make it finally happen. (please?) So, while this goal may appear to have been completed, it continues to suck up a large portion of my monthly budget which would otherwise go elsewhere…

The last goal is my auto loan — listed last because it has *always* been the lowest priority.

That’s about to change though as I’ve already initiated a payment plan that will see it drop a minimum of $900 per month starting this week and being in my “Red Zone“, it will be done and over with by mid-September and possibly even sooner.

In the end, three out of four isn’t bad. I’ve mastered debt repayment already, but getting the hang of saving is still a work in progress…

Maybe next year…

(I know, I know… It’s only July…)

Posted on July 21st, 2008 at 10:16 am by Brainy Smurf
2008 Goals, Finance, Life, Savings, Success | 1 Comment »

My Mistaken Interpretation of the FDIC’s Coverage

With the collapse of IndyMac and the news that it was the second largest bank failure ever (I’d never heard of them), the role of the FDIC is getting some press. So far, so good… In comparison to FEMA, the FDIC looks to have their act together.

Now I’ve always known about the whole $100,000 per account rule. Every bank teller window has a little sign. Every bank commercial mentions it with some super fast-talking at the end. It has something to do with the max that the FDIC would insure. Makes sense to me.

I don’t have any accounts that large, but when daydreaming about winning the lottery, I have put some thought into it.

Like, let’s say you win a million dollars. It’s no wonder that it’s suggested that you seek come money help before you even collect your winnings.

At first glance, it seems simple. Just open up 10 accounts and drop $100k in each one. Just to get you all set up before you start sending money this way and that way.

Simple enough, right?

But what about the interest? It’s going to put you well over the $100k mark in each account in no time…

Oh crap.

Alright, make it 12 accounts with $83k in each one. You know, room for growth. That would work, no?

I had it all planned out in my head. Probably not wisely, but I had it all planned out.

But now, having heard a few of the horror stories from account holders at IndyMac (as well as an hour or so or research on the FDIC website), I now realize that my plan wouldn’t work at all…

See, the FDIC really does insure $100000 worth. But it’s not per account like every single bank commercial I’ve ever seen seems to imply.

They only cover $100000 per depositor (in my case, per person) per bank.

There’s the catch. Per bank.

So my plan just got a lot more complex… Can you imagine having 12 different bank cards in your wallet?

(Oh wait, I can… I used to carry that many credit cards?!)

So now, upon winning the lottery, and before I start spending my new found fortune, I’d have to go out and find at least 12 different banks and open a new account at each one of them?

(I’m not sure I can even name more than 8 banks with local branches.)

Then, I’d have to keep track of where the balances fell in each account to make sure I don’t go over $100k or overdraw one of them. Wow… That’s a lot of work. And I’d still be too cheap to hire someone to do it for me…

Kind of makes the Scrooge McDuck method of banking look a lot more attractive…

Posted on July 20th, 2008 at 6:54 am by Brainy Smurf
Current Events, Finance, Mistakes, Savings | 2 Comments »

Seems I Spoke Too Soon about my Property Taxes…

Yeah, sure, the personal property tax on my two cars went way down (un-expectedly far down) this year, but upon logging in to my Countrywide account this morning, I see that they’ve just paid the city $1912.09 on my behalf for the property taxes on my home.

That’s up nearly $269 from the last property tax payment back in January 2008. Ouch.

Now I can’t say that an increase was completely unexpected — back in April I posted an article from our local paper with this quote:

“Most homeowners will see a property tax hike of at least $150 this year if the proposed budget eyed by the city’s Board of Finance is approved.”

With my personal property taxes (on the cars) dropping so much, I assumed that this tax increase (the budget was approved) would take effect in 2009. Evidently, I was mistaken. I hope, anyway…

So now I’m not sure whether to pat myself on the back because this proves that my house is more awesome than everyone else’s in town or if I should be irate that my taxes went up so much more than $150…

(In reality, my house is smack dab in the middle when it comes to awesomeness in the city.)

Sadly, though, this large of an increase will effectively wipe out half of the savings I’d receive if I ever manage to settle my PMI issue with Countrywide…

Too bad I didn’t realize how great I had it back in 2003…

Posted on July 19th, 2008 at 6:12 am by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Mistakes, Taxes | 1 Comment »

Low Utility Bills: Unexpected Vacation Benefit

I like to think that I’d thought about this in the back of my mind before we even left, but I didn’t think the difference would actually be that sizeable.

Last month, we shut the house down and went on vacation for 10 days. While our excursion wasn’t exactly inexpensive, we had planned for it financially and it has already been paid for in full. We’re right back to our regular month-to-month budget.

So it was a pleasant surprise yesterday when the bills came in. All four monthly utility bills arrived yesterday — electricity, natural gas, phone, and cable — and normally I hate when that happens…

With the exception of the cable bill (which actually went up 1 cent), they were all significantly lower. In fact, the electric bill was the lowest it has ever been since 2004 (when we first started using CFL’s exclusively).

Weather-wise, the previous billing cycle was very similar to this most recent billing cycle. I mention the weather because it’s very strongly associated with the gas and electric bills in our neck of the woods. In the winter, the gas bill alone flirts with the $400 mark.

Granted, summer bills are generally lower than winter bills but sometimes running the air conditioners regularly can inflate the electric bill substantially — sometimes over $200 — but not while you’re on vacation.

Here’s the run down, along with some historical numbers:

So, while June 2008′s numbers may have been a little high for a typical summer month (I must have turned the heat on every now and then to get the gas bill that high), comparing my most recent bills to the same billing period last year shows that it still cost us $50 less to keep the house running in 2008.

The fact that the rate on all 4 bills has gone up since that time makes it even a little more impressive.

Bettering that, we’ve got $470/month budgeted towards these 4 bills. July cost us less than half of that.

But really, a $50 savings over an entire month isn’t that much money, I know that, but it’s been a long time since I last spent less than $250 on utilities in any given month…

It was in 2001 to be exact — before I even had a house…

Posted on July 18th, 2008 at 8:02 am by Brainy Smurf
Cutting Costs, Finance, Vacation | 2 Comments »

Low Turnaround Neighborhood on the Cusp of Turning Towards the Better

You know that one neighbor you have that you just wish that you didn’t have? Everyone’s got one.

Our’s lives across the street. Luckly, not directly across the street from our house, but around the corner and across the street from our extra lot. Their house faces the side of our house.

Why don’t we like them?

Well, they’re loud — for one. They throw trash in our yard. I happen to know that Miller is their beer of choice based on the broken bottles and Marlboro is their chosen brand of cigarette. They also like to park their car along our curbline — sometimes even up on the lawn.

In the Fall, they’ll even blow their leaves across the street and pile them up on our curbline — and then park on top of them so as to “hide” them or something. Yeah, thanks…

(They don’t have a dog, but I also like to blame them for all of the dog poop in my yard too… I know, that’s not fair, but if I have to blame someone, I’m going to blame them…)

Their teenage children like to skateboard late at night (this is worse than a bouncing basketball — trust me).

At least one of them plays guitar. (I like Megadeth too, but c’mon, learn a new song… Or turn the volume down… Please?)

Full band practice takes place at their house too. Again, I like a jam session as much as the next guy, but they only play maybe 4 bars of any given song before moving to something else. It’s just noise.

And a few years ago, they used to ride around on those mini-motorcycles that are even louder than a real motorcycle. At 3:00 am. Loved that.

Thinking about it, I can’t really even tell how many children they have. I can’t figure it out. By now, their kids should have graduated from high school (they’ve been driving since I moved in), but they never seem to leave. Kids are always coming and going (and parking in our lawn, congregating in groups deeper into our lawn, and then dropping their Taco Bell bags before heading out). They seldom forget to empty their car ashtrays before leaving either…

They’re also the type of household that has a 80′s Camaro up on blocks in the front yard. They claim to be restoring it, but it’s been disintigrating into the lawn since I moved in 6 years ago. I’m not sure there’s anything left to restore.

I’d love to report them and get a blight citation thrown their way (unregistered vehicles are supposed to be out of site with-in the city limits), but the kids have had so many run-ins with the police over the years that the family is pretty chummy with the authorities. And then they’d tell ‘em that I was the one who reported them. And the next morning I’d find my car keyed and mailbox smashed. Love how that happens.

It’s this great realtionship they have with the police that allows them to get away with late night parties as well… On weeknights.

I gave up hope of “outlasting” them in the neighborhood long ago. While we’ve been here for 6 years now, we’re still considered “new”.

They’ve been there forever.

They’re townies. Lifers. You know, the type of people that pave their front lawn but still don’t actually park a car there? Or the type that converts a front porch into a bedroom? Yeah, they’re guilty of both… Call ‘em what you want…

But Monday morning my wife noticed something on the way to work in the little bit of grass still remaining in their front yard… a brown and yellow Century 21 sign!

Oh yeah!

Now I just need to pray and hope that the housing market is strong enough and that a mortgage is available to any potential buyers… I also have to hope that whoever does decide to move in turns out to be better than the current owners…

Anyone out there with a touch of class in the market looking to overpay for a 3 bedroom cape with an asphalt front yard covered with broken glass and cigarette butts?

Please?

Posted on July 17th, 2008 at 7:15 am by Brainy Smurf
Life | 13 Comments »

Red Zone Finances

Sometimes I find myself going into a sort of “kill mode” when it comes to debt.

You know, when you stray from the steady payment plan and just recklessly throw every last penny at one specific balance…

Know what I’m talking about?

For me, that happens every time a balance falls below $4k. And when that happens, well, it’s game time.

I have quite a bit of experience at this sort of thing. Not something to be proud of, really… I mean, who wants to brag about having carried many, many, many $4k+ balances in recent years? (Me.)

But the one thing that it has is exposed is a debt repayment pattern of mine:

An old MBNA credit card’s balance fell to $3563 back in May of 2006 and two months later, it was gone.

My Bank of America credit card’s balance fell to $3267 in December of 2006. By January 2007, it was gone.

More recently, my Citi credit card balance was $4500 in December 2007. I wiped it out in January 2008. Wow.

And my last remaining credit card debt, the Chase account… Well, in February it had a balance of $3518. But by the April statement, it was holding steady at $0.

See what I mean?

But the last few months have been sort of ho-hum for me on the debt re-payment front. Things are moving, yes, but they’re not very exciting…

I thought I was making great strides in the past few weeks in my quest to eliminate PMI by knocking off an extra $6000 off of my mortgage balance over the year, only to find out that I need to knock off another $2500. And even that might not do it. Not happy about it.

But in the meantime, my auto loan balance has snuck through the $4k’s and now sits with a balance of $3986.

You know what that means?

Time for the red zone offense to take the field.

Yep, two months or less until Toyota mails me the title.

This is my red zone.

(Yeah, yeah… I know this is the wrong time of year to make football references… Go Bears!)

Posted on July 16th, 2008 at 7:43 am by Brainy Smurf
2008 Goals, Credit Card, Finance, Success | 8 Comments »

Reaching the Automatic PMI Cancellation Mark

According to the Federal Trade Commission, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) must be terminated automatically by the mortgage company when the borrower reaches 22 percent equity in the home based on the original property value — most often, the purchase price.

In my instance, the purchase price of my home was $141k. A bargain, really. Even back in 2002.

As of this morning, the remaining balance is $112,535.99. That works out to 20.187% equity based on the original property value.

To reach the 22% mark, I need to pay down an additional $2,555.99 in principle — preferably before October of this year when the mortgage company re-evaluates my escrow account (where the PMI payment is drawn from) and re-calculates my monthly mortgage payment for the following year.

If this is the first post you’ve read of mine on the subject of PMI cancellation, you may want to take a look at this earlier post where I was, in my opinion, wrongfully denied cancellation by Countrywide.

I plan to do this as soon as possible and am currently evaluating various promotional credit card offers I’ve received in the mail to be able to make the additional payment as soon at this week.

The most attractive offer so far is from Chase Bank. It’s 0% until April of 2009 with a 3% transaction fee capped at $199. In this scenario, I’d write a check to myself for $2555 and be charged with a $76.65 transaction fee (3 percent).

My new balance with Chase would be $2631.65 at 0% for 8 months. That works out to around a minimum of $330 per month to pay it off before any finance charges come along. That wouldn’t be a problem.

If this plan were successful, it would prevent paying $85.15 in PMI charges for at least 4 months (possibly more), a $130 appraisal fee, and loads of difficult to calculate interest.

So, for a cost of $76.65, I could save an absolute minimum of $470.60.

Sounds like a good plan.

Before any of this happens though, I first need to get in contact with Countrywide and ensure that reaching the 22% mark will indeed automatically cancel PMI without any additional effort (or $130 appraisals) from me.

My interpretation of the law (and I read it like 50 times over) indicates that automatic cancellation at 22% has nothing to do with an increase or decrease in the value of the home, only with how much the mortgage is paid down. I have my doubts, but we’ll see…

(In all actuality, my wife will probably make the confrontational phone call. She’s *way* better at that sort of thing than I am. That’s why I married her!)

Worst case, I knock off a lot more principle, save a bunch of money, file a complaint with the FTC, and then see where that takes me…

Posted on July 15th, 2008 at 1:13 pm by Brainy Smurf
2008 Goals, Credit Card, Finance, Mortgage, PMI - Mortgage Insurance, Rants | 8 Comments »

FTC Bait? My Own Mortgage Crisis…

I knew it.

I knew it!

I knew that canceling PMI wasn’t going to be easy. I just knew it.

And I’m pissed.

Here’s the letter I received from Countrywide’s Mortgage Insurance Department yesterday:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT YOUR LOAN

Thank you for your recent inquiry about deleting the mortgage insurance on your Countrywide home loan. Your loan must meet current mortgage insurance cancellation requirements for this to occur. Please allow us to explain what this involves.

———————————-

WHAT THIS MEANS

The current value of your property must be equal to or greater than the original value of your property at the time the loan closed for the PMI to be deleted. The original value of your property means the lesser of the sales price or the appraised value at the closing of a purchase loan, and the appraised value at the closing of a refinance loan. A Certificate of Value (COV) is required to determine if the current value of your property is sufficient to meet this requirement. Your noteholder requires Countrywide Home Loans to select your COV provider. You will be responsible for the cost of the COV. Before you send a check or call to provide credit card information for you COV, we would suggest that you try to verify that the value of your property meet the above mentioned criteria.

———————————-

WHAT YOU NEED TO DO

If you choose to continue with the COV ordering process, simply complete the form at the bottom of this letter and return it with a check made payable to Landsafe Appraisal Services for $130.00. You must reference your loan number and write “COV Fee” on the check. Please do not include the COV fee along with your regular monthly payment. It must be sent separately.

Landsafe w ill [sic] contract a local Broker or Realtor to perform the COV, which will include an interior inspection and photographs. The Broker or Realtor should identify himself or herself and indicate that he or she was contracted by Landsafe. If he or she fails to do so, please ask. Our department will then review the COV and if it is determined that it adequately supports at least the original value of the property, your request will be approved. The insurance will be cancelled and your payment adjusted accordingly.

———————————-

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

Because of your timely payment record, we are able to consider your request; however, please keep in mind that any late payment may prevent cancellation.

If you do not take action within 60 days, please contact us at (800) 669-6607 to confirm your continued eligibility.

We look forward to receiving you COV soon so that we can take care of this matter for you.

Requirements are subject to change.

This letter supersedes any previous information that may have been provided to you.

So, basically, they want me to pay them $130 even though I’ve met the criteria required to cancel PMI. I get it.

“This letter supersedes any previous information that may have been provided to you.”

Yep, it must.

I understand that the housing market is down and that mortgage companies like Countrywide are struggling but it was pretty clear (even on Countrywide’s website) that PMI cancellation could be requested at the 20% mark based entirely on the original value of the home. I’m past that mark.

While $130 really isn’t that much — my wife says it’s a great deal — the idea of paying them more to tell me that my house is worth more than it was 6 years ago doesn’t sit well with me.

Neither does taking time off of work to have a realtor come over and tour my house with a camera. The Fair Plan insurance inspections I’ve been subjected to are more than enough… Yeah, maybe I have privacy issues, but it’s really not cool to be forced to let strangers (essentially un-invited) poke their heads into your closets. And then demand money.

Heading over to the Federal Trade Commission’s website, on the subject of Private Mortgage Insurance they state:

For home mortgages signed on or after July 29, 1999, your PMI must – with certain exceptions – be terminated automatically when you reach 22 percent equity in your home based on the original property value, if your mortgage payments are current. Your PMI also can be canceled, when you request – with certain exceptions – when you reach 20 percent equity in your home based on the original property value, if your mortgage payments are current.

One exception is if your loan is “high-risk.” Another is if you have not been current on your payments within the year prior to the time for termination or cancellation. A third is if you have other liens on your property. For these loans, your PMI may continue. Ask your lender or mortgage servicer (a company that collects your payments) for more information about these requirements.

None of those exceptions apply to my loan. Not one.

My mortgage was signed after July 29, 1999. It’s not high risk, it’s current, and there are no liens on my property. No re-fi’s, no HELOC’s… Nothing…

Perhaps I should file a complaint with the FTC? That would probably be an even bigger hassle. You’d think that what the FTC says would “supersede” anything Countrywide says about the matter… You’d think…

But now I’m wondering if Countrywide will drop PMI without question at the 22% mark — where it’s supposed to drop automatically. While I’d prefer not to send the additional funds towards the mortgage right now, that mark is just around $2500 away. Do-able.

But if, at the 22% mark, they still come back with this exact same form letter, well, I guess I’m not sure what I’ll do then, but filing a complaint with the FTC will definitely look more attractive.

Posted on July 15th, 2008 at 8:11 am by Brainy Smurf
2008 Goals, Finance, Insurance, Mortgage, PMI - Mortgage Insurance, Rants | 10 Comments »

Try Living on 50% of Your Income

After reading about so many people super-saving their way to wealth by living off of 50% or less of their total income, my wife and I have been toying with the idea of giving it a try ourselves.

For a month.

Not this month, mind you. Definitely not happening this month.

I spent a few minutes running the numbers this morning and it seems that people run them differently. Some use their gross pay as a starting point. Some use their net pay. Some just use what seems like an arbitrary estimate of sorts.

For me, I’m going to use my bi-weekly take home paycheck amount plus my 401k contributions all multiplied by 26 (the number of paychecks per year) and then divided by 12 to give me a nice monthly starting point for my income.

This is my way of pretending that taxes don’t exist while pseudo-padding the numbers in my favor by making my income less than it actually is.

For instance, technically, I contribute 15% of my income towards my 401k. But using this calculation (which omits federal taxes, state taxes, and health benefits), I contribute 19.86% towards my 401k.

Make sense?

Basically, all I’m doing is using my actual take home pay for my calculations. Plus my 401k contributions. This is sounding a lot more complicated than it needs to…

Anyhow, after some “quality time” with my 99-cent calculator, the numbers look like this:

Savings (50% total)
19.86% – 401k
30.14% – Unaccounted For

Expenses (50% total)
24.95% – Mortgage (Minimum Payment)
11.36% – Auto/Insurance/Gas (Minimum Payments + Gas)
 9.34% – Utilities
 4.35% – Unaccounted For

I found these numbers shocking.

Each month, I feel like my checking account balance is pretty stagnant. And I’m supposed to have like 35% of my paycheck available? Really? No way.

But upon closer inspection, it actually does seem to jive. For the past few years, I’ve been sending all of that “unaccounted for” money towards debt — credit card, auto loan, and mortgage. It adds up pretty close.

So, essentially, I already have been living at the 50% level. All along…this whole time.

I’m just not seeing the wealth yet because I’m still carrying debt, so one thing at a time… Scratch the 50% idea for August and wipe out the $4000 left on the auto loan first.

I’ll revisit this idea again in a few months when, hopefully, I’m debt free…

Posted on July 14th, 2008 at 9:59 am by Brainy Smurf
Finance, Savings | No Comments »