zaurg tales

Does a site like Mint.com scare you? Here we are with billion dollar companies, who I’d imagine would put a lot of resources towards solid security (they didn’t because they don’t give a shit), getting hacked and our information free to the world and I’m over here voluntarily entering every username and password I have into Mint and trusting their word. It’s… just a tad unsettling.

Make sure to check out the Equifax breach to see if you qualify for a cool $125.

Equifax don’t give a fuck about our information, btw. They’re raking in the billions.

First month on the condo budget is wrapping up. I’m somewhat happy with it. Spent $519 on Home Upgrades which included a new TV and still managed to spend about $950 less than I earned so I’m pleased with that. I’m waiting for two transfers to complete before I update the Dashboard and should see strong progress there, just moving around house sale money to the right places is all.

…to making sound financial decisions.

Join me. Rapidly pay off that debt. Open that IRA. Setup that direct deposit to the savings account. Increase those 401k contributions. Pay extra every month towards your mortgage principal.

My addictive personality has me thinking… what if I adhered to my “efund budget” for a few months, how much could I save? The efund budget means what I would spend each month if I lost my job and had to solely rely on my emergency fund, so obviously expenses are cut down a bit. Things like Vacation and Home Upgrades would stop being funded. IF I did this starting in January 2020, I could throw approximately $1373 into savings. $500 towards IRA and $873 into taxable savings/mutual fund accounts. Combined w/ 401k contribution that would have me putting away just about $3k per month. Fuck yes.

How much do you all budget for Christmas spending? I think I’m a little behind so I’m bumping it up to $100 per month for the rest of the year in the budget. A few Christmas morning gifts are a must. Nothing too extravagant but just enough to make it a nice memory for all.

Kids. Camp. Summer. On Monday I’m shelling out $450 for kids sports camp. Monday is July 29th. That did not fit into July’s budget so… I moved $400 from Car Replacement Fund to Kids. That’s the way to do it right? I need to get the $ from somewhere and not carry over a negative balance into next month. Summer has been difficult for me to plan exactly as far as the kids expenses. I projected $300 per month for the year but the bulk of that comes in the summer.

According to this concerning review of American Retirement Savings by Age, the average strict (401k, IRA) retirement savings for my age (41) is $67k. The median number is scary I won’t even comment on that. I am definitely behind the eight ball as far as average with my current $42k retirement savings, but I am improving. Just two years ago I had approximately $15k. According to my current savings rate and this retirement calculator, I’m on pace to be way above average in a couple years.

However, looking at averages and comparing against averages is fun but is it really relevant? It may be much more important to calculate what will actually be NEEDED in retirement, using calculators such as NerdWallet’s or SmartAsset’s and then aim for that. This is something I’m struggling with because the numbers they come up with are quite a bit higher than what I’m currently on target for. To get on target to reach those savings goals would require stricter budgeting, greater sacrifice regarding my current lifestyle, probably an increase in income, and a significant amount of luck. When I see that list of challenging tasks before me it is very easy to say “I’ll be way above average at my current rate. How about I just shoot for a nice round $1 million number. That should be plenty!”

So as I was saying, what’s the cheapest way to survive in retirement years, cat food or rice and beans?

I would guess the few people reading this are already SomethingAwful.com forum members but if not, continue reading. The SA Forums have been the #1 best resource for me on the Internet for multiple topics, but right now I’m only focusing on personal finance. The extensive content available on various financial topics that are actively discussed, the feedback available from both regular Joes and professionals alike, and the platform available, is unparalleled. All of it for a one-time $9.95 registration fee. If you’re looking for solutions and advice about your financial issues/questions, I suggest registering and lurking for a month. Then make a post in the BFC Newbie thread. If there is enough interest, enough of a problem observed, perhaps a suggestion will be made to make a new thread. The lurking is necessary to understand beforehand that the response to your post/thread make contain a hefty amount of vitriol. You’ll need a strong stomach. Read my thread(s) and you’ll see. Despite making quite a bit of progress I was consistently met with what may seem like negative responses but really were just people trying to help and I brought about most of that negativity on my own. I was receiving pats on the back and “good job!” comments and then blew a couple thousand dollars on Bitcoin gambling, and the responses changed drastically. I end this post by admitting that despite my financial fuck-ups and despite the negativity voiced in my thread(s), I’ve improved my personal financial situation and mindset towards finances tremendously, and much credit goes to the anonymous goon-folks at SA. So much more so than I’d have gotten from anywhere else.

You may or may not know I have posted many details about my financial and personal life over the past 10 years. As I come upon what you may call a “10 year anniversary” regarding the time frame I’ve been posting online about my finances, I continue to read the LIE that I’ve made zero progress and that I’m in the same situation I was in 10 years ago. That is blatantly FALSE. Could I have made more progress if I’d being making all the right steps in the past 10 years? Of course! But to sit back and say I’ve done nothing is flat out trolling and trolling poorly.

Despite what some may believe, and despite the title of this post, this blog is NOT an attention grab. This blog is the continuation of sharing my progress for accountability. Hell I don’t care if I don’t have any followers. In fact I just may disable the following feature if that’s even possible. Anyway it’s about accountability, something that is very lacking in this day and age and was certainly lacking in my past.

About a week left in July and the budget is holding up. I highlighted the Grocery and Fun balances because those are the two categories that are the most “discretionary” and historically the most difficult for me to stay under. It is very important to stay within budget to be able to reach my 6 month savings goal, to have 95k saved, which I recently revised to make more difficult but still attainable.