Wednesday, April 19, 2006

An incomplete financial picture

I realize that we haven't done the net worth spreadsheet yet, nor have we given an accurate picture of where we stand and what's in the bank. I have some of those figures handy, but not all. Truth is, as much as I read these blogs I have no idea how to determine how much our house is worth--more than what we paid for it, considering the changes that we've made. But I don't feel comfortable doing comps or just makin' junk up. So, I have no idea how to deal with the net worth chart.

Credit card balances:
The Amex from Hell: $13870.68, this down from about $15,600 earlier this month (yay, tax refund)
My visa: $498.61 (of which $300 will be reimbursed)
Spouse has another $500 or $600 on other credit cards.

Student loans:
$72,000 at 3%
$16,000 at, gulp, 8%

Money in the bank:
My 401k: $28,370.29
My IRA: about $2,600
Spouse's various 401ks/IRAs from three different jobs: about $60,000
Fidelity cash: $3,000
ING cash: $7,500
T Rowe price index funds: $880
Checking and money market accounts: about $2200, most of it put aside for part of the mortgage payment this month.

Our saving pattern, too, has changed since one of my earlier posts. I now put $50, not $60, twice monthly into T. Rowe Price index funds. I lowered the deductions for each because I may add a third fund, and the minimum deduction for each is $50. We still deduct $30 weekly from the joint account and funnel it to ING, but we now deduct an additional $400 monthly from spouse's paycheck, bringing monthly savings to $520. Maybe $620 in index funds and savings is high considering we owe so much on the credit cards, but it makes us happy to be saving. And we've gotten used to the money not being there, and being able to check our savings progress online.

We have a house. We have one car that's paid for. We're getting another car. Student loan payments amount to about $360 a month, and credit card minimums are another $330.

What else?

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