Andy Hough

2008 Online Income Total $4644.28

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I just added up my online income for 2008 and came up with a total of $4644.28.  I need to double check and make sure I added everything up correctly but this figure is at least close to correct. This is my profit after expenses but before accounting for taxes.  Last year my online income didn’t even break a grand at a total of $883.84.  If I could increase my income at the same rate this year I would be doing very well.  That isn’t likely to happen but it would be nice.  I’m setting a more realistic goal of just making at least $1 more this year.

I need to come up with some ideas on how I can increase my income this year.  Last year I hired David at My Two Dollars to optimize my website for Adsense and that paid off handsomely.  Now I just need to figure out what else I can improve and how to do it.  Or pay someone else to do it for me.

January 2009 Net Worth

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Many PF bloggers share their net worth and I’ve decided to do the same.  This is my net worth as of the end of January 2009.

Assets: $29,866.68

  • Cash Savings – $20,383.05
  • Stocks – $5119.35
  • Roth IRA – $4031.67
  • P2P Loans – $332.61

Liabilities: $4109.60

  • Credit Card – $4109.60

Total Net Worth: $25,757.08

It had been a very long time since I had last computed my net worth.  I was a little surprised by how much I have in cash savings.  I’ve been putting off investing more in stocks because I didn’t feel like I had enough liquid assets.  I can probably safely put some more in stocks.

My credit card debt is part of a student loan debt that I paid off with the credit card using a balance transfer offer of 3.99% for life.  I’ve seen several reports of credit card companies changing the rates or charging a $10 monthly on deals like this but so far that hasn’t happened to me.  I’m going to be sure I have enough to pay the card off in case that happens. I might pay it off in a few months anyway just to have one less thing to worry about.

I’m not including my student loans in my net worth statement.  There are a couple of reasons for this.  One is that doesn’t appear that I will have to pay on them in the near future and they may eventually be forgiven.  The other reason is that I think I will get a clearer picture of my net worth without including the student loans.  They will continue to capitalize and make my net worth appear to diminish even if I increase my assets.  I’m sure some people might not agree with leaving my student loans out of my net worth computation but I think it is better to leave them out.

January 2009 Goal Review

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I set three goals for myself this year. I’m going to check on my progress at the end of each month to keep myself accountable and to see if I need to make any changes to meet my goals.

My first goal was to increase my passive income. I purchased several dividend paying stocks this month which should help me reach this goal. Sometime this month I need to add up how much passive income I made last year. This will allow me to know exactly how much passive income I need to make this year to reach my goal.

My second goal was to lose thirty pounds. My weight has gone from 214.1 at the start of the month to 213.6 at the end of the month. I’m going to count that as no progress since my weight fluctuates more than a half pound from day to day. I had several sub related to diet and exercise to help me lose weight. The only one I’ve come close to keeping so far is doing the hundred pushup challenge. The others I need to work on this month.

My third goal was to increase my subscribers to 500 from 300. I made some progress on this and my subscriber count spiked up to over 350. It has since come down and is hovering around 325. I should be able to steadily increase this amount over the year to reach 500 and I have some more plans to increase the number of subscribers to TFM.

I did ok on my goals for this month. Two out of three ain’t bad but I’d like to make that three out of three this month.

Consolidating My Student Loans

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Now that I have received all the student loans that I am going to receive I have begun the process of looking into consolidating my student loans. I have Subsidized Stafford Loans, Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, and Grad Plus loans with two different lenders. I’m not sure if my lenders would send me one bill each for all of my loans but I know when I log into my accounts they calculate the payment separately for each loan. Consolidating my loans will make paying back my loans simpler.

My primary reason for wanting to consolidate my loans is to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. In order to qualify for this program you need to have your loans in the Direct loan program. It is my understanding that even if you have already consolidated your loans you can switch to the Direct loan program to take advantage of the Public Service Loan Forgiveness. This program will forgive remaining debt after 10 years of eligible employment and qualifying loan payments. That could end up being a great deal for me. The only downside is that the forgiven debt will be considered income which would result in a large tax bill.

Once I have completed the loan consolidation process I will provide an update on my experience getting my loans consolidated.

My Cost for School Supplies- $0

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The best way to save money on school supplies is to not buy any. Other than books I haven’t needed to purchase anything for law school this semester. I’ve previously posted strategies for saving money on books and using these strategies I was able to get the two books I needed fairly cheap. These books have the added advantage of being great resources for studying for the bar and when I’m finished with them I should be able to sell them for close to my purchase price.

The only other thing I need for school is pen and paper and those are both things I get for free. When I have to print something to turn in I have to pay three cents a page but other than that I won’t be spending any money for school supplies. I’m sure many of you have other school supplies you must have but you should analyze whether you really need them before you make the purchase. This is a cost of education that can most likely be reduced. If I needed a loan I could find out more at studentloans.gov.

Another way that I have reduced my overall spending on schooling is by taking classes online. I won’t spend anything on the classes that I take online, since most of the material is available on the computer. The books that go with the course are mostly unnecessary because most of the information is available through the school‘s online portal. I don’t even need a pen and paper, as I can take notes on my computer while I watch lectures remotely. The fewer supplies I have to purchase before attending class, the more money I will save in the long run.

It is even possible for me to earn my entire degree online, which could help me to cut down on my expenses even further in the near future. In fact, online universities allow me to save on things like fuel and parking, since I don’t have to leave the house to attend class. If I choose to further my education after completing my current degree, I plan on doing it exclusively online because of the cost benefits. Master’s and doctorate programs are quickly becoming more abundant online, giving students who want to work full time while attending school the chance to do so.