The Blog is Back

Now that my little girl is getting a little more mobile, I am ready to start blogging again.

My Asset Allocation - July 2012

    

Essentially, all of our "investments" are in our tax protected accounts. Our taxable accounts consist almost entirely and are invested in savings accounts and CD's.


Investment allocation:

Domestic Stock 65%
Foreign Stock 7%
Bonds 15%
Cash Equivalents 13%


YTD Performance:
Account 1: + 7.14% - We are adding to this account on a bi-monthly basis. It is almost entirely invested in equity mutual funds.
Account 2: + 3.22% - A rollover IRA, I cannot add to this account. Almost all of my Fixed Income investments are in this fund.

Saving Money on Cable Bill

First of all, I have ATT Uverse which is vastly better than Comcast was. Nevertheless, my bill has been creeping up and I took some action to reduce my bill. First, I eliminated the sports package and then I cut back on my base package. Saved about $30 per month.

Bought a new car!

While I loved my Silverado and didn't want to sell it, it's guzzled gas and wasn't baby friendly. As a result, I have replaced it with a 4 cylinder Accord. With 0.9% financing and good resale on the truck, it was something that I had to do.

Best $66 that I ever spent

My wife and I just returned from our baby girl's 2^nd water babies class. I don't know who invented swim classes for 8 months old. I do know that they were GENIUS. Since she cannot swim by herself, my wife and I got to spend wonderful time playing with a little girl. Last week, I enjoyed it so much that I nearly cried.

Sometimes, spending money is worth it.

Comcast Defeat is Final

It took 3 years and many phone calls, but I have finally convinced Comcast that I don't actually owe them any money. Had they been able to manage the bill correctly, I would never have moved to ATT Uverse.

Saved $100 on Car Seats

My baby girl is growing and her days in the infant carrier are coming to a close. With that in mind, my wife and I decided to buy two convertible car seats for her. Although I am frugal, I am not going to skimp on something as important as my child's safety and the inconvenience a poorly designed seat would cause me. For a that reason, we bought a Britax Marathon for our family vehicle and a Britax Roundabout (smaller and cheaper) for my truck.

Using Amazon: We saved about $75 from what Baby's R Us wanted plus we probably save another $25 in sales taxes.

Connecticut to Tax Coupon Savings

Here in Connecticut, our idiot governor is planning on taxing savings from using coupons. If you save $1 using coupons, you end up owing the state 8 cents in "sales" tax on the purchase.

Isn't America Great!!!