Saturday, September 16, 2023

Savings Accounts

 


I have 2 savings accounts, one with Ally and one with Marcus.  My Ally account is paying 4.25% and my Marcus account just sent an email stating that the rate was raised to 4.40%. I remember when I opened my Ally account and I THINK it was paying 0.6%.  It has increased 7X since I opened it!

My Ally account has over $16,000 in it and I earn approximately $57 a month.  

My Marcus account has over $38,000 in it and I earn approximately $135 a month. 

That's almost $200 a month in passive income!!!! 

I want to find additional ways to increase my passive income.  I want to make money while I sleep!

I only have my savings accounts, my brokerage account and my retirement accounts as passive income. 

What do you do to earn passive income?  Comment below! 




Sunday, August 6, 2023

2023 Goals

 

I haven't really sat down to make any goals for 2023.  I know it's August, but I figure it's never too late. 

1. Contribute $15,000 to retirement with the goal of having $145,000 by the end of the year.  As it stands today I have approximately $138,000.  I do no yet qualify for my firm's 401k plan. 

2. Pay the mortgage down into the $140,000s. 

3. Donate $1500 to charity.   

4. Increase savings to $57,500. 

Do you have any goals for 2023?  Please share in the comments. 

Saturday, August 5, 2023

Update on Job Application

 

I did not get the non-litigation position that I applied for a few months ago. I just found out on Thursday.  It was not unexpected and was definitely a long shot from the beginning.  There a few more non-litigation positions that I will apply for, hopefully, tomorrow.  I just want to stay in the same salary range, $140k to $160k.  My job is entirely too stressful, and it affects my mental health.  I have tried anti-anxiety and antidepressants and they do not seem to help very much. I'll keep pushing along and find the right fit for me.  

Sunday, July 23, 2023

 


Hello.... Is anybody out there???? Wow, I have been gone a super long time!! I miss blogging!  I have been intermittently reading blogs over the past couple of years but have not been able to comment from my phone.  I hope all is well in the personal finance world.  I have so many updates to provide!  I'll be brief and start with the basics for now. 

I changed jobs in January.  I am working for another law firm.  My dream is to get into a non-litigation position. I hope one day I can transition into that kind of work. My base salary is the same.  $160k a year.  There is a non-litigation position I have been eyeing which would be approximately $220k a year. However, the position has been empty since at least October of 2022. I'm not sure why it has not been filled. It has been advertised 3 or 4 times. 

As of today, I have approximately:

$54,000 between 2 savings accounts. 

$121,000 total in my Roth and taxable brokerage account 

$17,000 in my 401k from my old firm 

$30,000 in checking. 


I owe approximately $152,381 on my mortgage. 

I pay off my credit cards monthly. 


Zillow has estimated the value of my house as $432,000.  


My net worth including my home is about $501,619. 



Saturday, March 19, 2022

Where Does The Time Go!




 I don't know where the time goes. The last time I blogged was in September! It's March now and I have turned a year older. I have been at my new job for a full year. I just had my annual review and received a $10,000 increase.  I will now receive monthly bonuses for meeting my required hours and my quarterly bonus rate has increased. 

This job is very intense and I'm not sure how much longer I will stay.  My boss is very Type A and aggressive. It causes a lot of undue stress. I tend to work 13 hour days and every weekend.  I'm not sure that's worth $160k a year ($170k with a year end bonus). However, I did get over $18,000 in bonuses last year.  I am considering going on anti-anxiety medication due to the stress. 

The bright side is that I am now eligible for participating in the company 401K! I am contributing $10% and my firm matches up to a certain amount. I contributed $660 and the match was $100. 

Anyways, I am off to get some work done. 

Sunday, September 19, 2021

Looking Forward to Autumn


 Hi Friends!  

It's been such a long time since I have been able to blog! I hope you are all doing well.   My new job has taken up so much of time time. It's a very difficult job. I definitely only plan to work here for a max of 10  to 11 years.  The hours are killer and I don't want to be working 12 to 14 hour days everyday in my 50s and 60s. My goal is to retire from this job at 48 or 49 and take a much less stressful job until retirement. (Unless I get fired or demoted.) 

The job does pay well and definitely has incentives to encourage people to work hard. In my first 7 months of employment I have received almost $8k in bonuses. I don't expect my bonuses to be anywhere that high in the future. So the plan is to really work hard for as long as I can and invest/save that money to push myself toward early retirement. 

Right now my roth and my brokerage account have about $95k total in them.  I have 5 more months before I am able to participate in the firm 401k. The stock market has not been cooperating with me over the last few days so my balance has stayed pretty level over the last few months despite continued contributions. I am pushing towards that $100k mark.) 

My car is completely paid off, in less than one year! My savings account is back over $10k.  

Financially things are going okay.  I need to be a little more strict with my finances and track things a little more carefully.  I haven't been as diligent since taking this job due to the time constraints.  

I can't wait until Fall officially arrives.  I am looking forward to less humidity and cooler weather. I just love Halloween. 

I hope you all are staying safe and healthy!


Monday, July 5, 2021

Updates!

 



Updates!! I have not blogged since March! The last few months have been a whirlwind.  Last I left off, I updated you all that I had been offered a promotion.  It's a lot more work and very stressful, but I like it.  I'm always busy and I think that helps me function better. My base salary is now $150k a year.  That feels unreal. 

I haven't had time to do much else.  I have been working like crazy.  My investment accounts Roth and brokerage are just shy of $90k. That was my old yearly salary at my former firm.  I loved investing in my Roth, but I can't do that anymore.  I need to look at backdoor Roth options. For now, I am just contributing to my brokerage account.  

My car, I did purchase a car in August of last year.  I financed almost $12,000.  As of today the balance is down to $3,975.  I will be paying it off in the next month or 2. 

My savings account is up to about $6,400.  (I had taken most of it out in August of last year to put as a down payment on my car). My plan is to get it up to $10,000 before saving for anything else.  I should be there soon as I will get a $5,000 bonus in August.  I will also likely qualify for a smaller productivity bonus in August as well ($500 or so).

I have been paying extra on my mortgage.  It is now down to $174,831. 

I am now qualified for the office health insurance so I no longer have to pay $700 a month for health insurance through the marketplace.  Yay!  That change has really helped over the last month.  I cannot wait to see where I am at the end of the year. 

I miss you all.  I am still reading your blogs in my spare time so I can keep up to date.  :)