It has been one interesting week to say the least. The stock market went up and down like a giant roller coaster, cities and countries across the globe were in turmoil, and so much more. I spent most of my week on the road, which is getting to be a little weird for me. I never thought that I would be the traveling salesmen type that lives out of hotels. The sad part is that without the travel I would be bored out of my mind sitting around at home. Most of my weekends are spent sitting in front of the TV watching a movie or playing a video game. I might work out for a few hours but thats it.
Hopefully this upcoming week will be better since I am going to a conference. Also, I am seriously contemplating getting an iPad but I'm waiting for the iOS 5 to be released first. I hope it will be in September so I can get one before I got to France in October. Speaking of France, I figured that I could have work pay for my trips in that the extra per diem money would eventually pay it off. My goal is going to be to pay off the other cards first, and put a few extra hundred dollars towards the Hilton card each month. I think I would have it taken care of by Christmas.
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Sunday, August 7, 2011
When dealing with the government, double it
I have been appling for my wife to come to the US and I originally was told that the process would take three months. I checked up on our application last week and found out that it will be five months. The five months is only for the immigration side of it. The state department has another three month processing time. Its all a big pain in the ass.
So, I booked two flights to go to France. One is in October, and the other is over Christmas. I promised Natacha that we would not spend a Christmas apart. The flights cost $2,200 altogether which is not too bad. It will definitely put a hit on my debt reduction for a few months. It will be nice to see my wife and spend some quality time with her. I miss her very much.
As for my debt reduction plan, I am going to pay $1,000 from my first pay check towards a specific credit card (right now its Bank of America). On my second pay check, I will pay $350 towards my American Express and $650 to my HiltonHonors card. That will pay off the Amex, which I want to do every month. In September, I will repeat the process but apply the full $1,000 from the second pay check to my HiltonHonors card. I also have some extra money from my travel for work so that will help. Once the HiltonHonors is zero, I'll put the $1,000 back into the reduction plan, which should be around November.
So, I booked two flights to go to France. One is in October, and the other is over Christmas. I promised Natacha that we would not spend a Christmas apart. The flights cost $2,200 altogether which is not too bad. It will definitely put a hit on my debt reduction for a few months. It will be nice to see my wife and spend some quality time with her. I miss her very much.
As for my debt reduction plan, I am going to pay $1,000 from my first pay check towards a specific credit card (right now its Bank of America). On my second pay check, I will pay $350 towards my American Express and $650 to my HiltonHonors card. That will pay off the Amex, which I want to do every month. In September, I will repeat the process but apply the full $1,000 from the second pay check to my HiltonHonors card. I also have some extra money from my travel for work so that will help. Once the HiltonHonors is zero, I'll put the $1,000 back into the reduction plan, which should be around November.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Debt Busters
About a year ago, I was featured in CNN Money.com "Debt Busters" article for having a unique way of removing debt. I used a 4 bank account system and had really good success with it. Yesterday, I was contacted by the writer, Blake Ellis, for a follow up story. After thinking for a while, I realized that in the past year I have been able to pay off $5,000 in credit card debt. This is all while getting married and moving to a new position across the country. I think thats pretty darn good!
As soon as the new article gets posted, I'll link it to here.
As soon as the new article gets posted, I'll link it to here.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
End of the Month
Well, another month comes to a close. July 2011 was a good month for me. I had my visa application accepted, I paid $2,000 towards my credit card debt, and I started a new diet & exercise program. Reviewing the last month, there are a few areas I need to improve upon. Firstly, is my exercise. I have to come up with a way to effectively exercise three times a week and by exercise I mean weight training. I am already running two to three days a week in training for a 5K. Side note, my sister told me about the Bryn Mawr Running Company in Media and how they conduct Saturday morning runs. I might stop by and grab a schedule. With the weight training, it is a little difficult because I travel three days a week and I like a routine when it comes to exercise. I am going to start bringing my TRX system with me so I can exercise in the hotel. Secondly, I have to cut down on my book buying. Borders Book Store is going out of business and I think in the last two weeks I have spent over $300 on books! The plus side is I now have enough reading material to last me for about a year. I can easily polish off a good book (400+ pages) in about two weeks. Thirdly, I eat too much at dinner time. I have noticed that I will eat an appetizer, a full entree, and a dessert at almost every dinner. It is difficult for me because I end up eating out a lot with the traveling. I must eat more salads as my appetizer, smaller portions for the entree, and stick to fruit for dessert.
Goals for August:
Goals for August:
- Start weight training at least two days each week
- Pay $2,000 towards Bank of America credit card
- Do not purchase anymore books
- Lose 5 pounds through better eating habits at dinner
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Good News! Good News!
A couple of good things have happened in the last few days, well, more like I learned of some good things. First, since I am now being assigned to travel to Scranton three nights a week for work, I will save almost $300 a month in expenses. I don't have to pay for food four days a week because its covered by per diem and any left over food money is mine to keep. I get $56 a day to eat and I usually only spend about $50 (breakfast is usually free, lunch is $10, and a decent dinner about $30-40). Thats $6/day x 4 days x 4 weeks = $96 in my pocket. Also, because I am not at home, my utility bills are down, my grocery bill is cut in half (down to $25 a week now), and I don't drive as much. This all lowers my expenses another $150-200 for the month. It will be awesome to see the actual totals in a couple of weeks. I should be able to pay off my credit cards all the faster now.
Second good thing. I am staying in a Hilton and I get HiltonHonors points for staying plus I am paying with a HiltonHonors credit card (travel voucher pays it all off every month), which allows me to gain a lot of points each trip. Well I did the math, and I will become Diamond level by New Year's which has many added point accumulation benefits. The even better thing is that after a year, I will have almost 150,000 points which will allow me to pay for my honeymoon! That alone will save me thousands!
Final good thing. I talked with a very experienced immigration agent about Natacha's visa issue. He explained the process to me in depth and basically its all gravy from here. The CA Service Center will approve the application, then its forwarded to Paris, and then the interview. He told me that if for any reason something occurs, to call him and he would straighten it out. In hindsight, he also told me that if he was called, he would have been able to get Natacha out of detention for a couple of weeks when she first got here.
Now I am off to Border;s to take part in their bankruptcy sales!
Second good thing. I am staying in a Hilton and I get HiltonHonors points for staying plus I am paying with a HiltonHonors credit card (travel voucher pays it all off every month), which allows me to gain a lot of points each trip. Well I did the math, and I will become Diamond level by New Year's which has many added point accumulation benefits. The even better thing is that after a year, I will have almost 150,000 points which will allow me to pay for my honeymoon! That alone will save me thousands!
Final good thing. I talked with a very experienced immigration agent about Natacha's visa issue. He explained the process to me in depth and basically its all gravy from here. The CA Service Center will approve the application, then its forwarded to Paris, and then the interview. He told me that if for any reason something occurs, to call him and he would straighten it out. In hindsight, he also told me that if he was called, he would have been able to get Natacha out of detention for a couple of weeks when she first got here.
Now I am off to Border;s to take part in their bankruptcy sales!
Saturday, July 23, 2011
New Juicer to go with the new diet
I bought a juicer today to help me with my new diet goal of losing 10% of my weight. I also bought a scale. Today I weighed in at 186.9 lbs while wearing cargo shorts. My goal weight would be 170 lbs.
The juice is a Jack LeLane Ultimate that Costco had on sale. I tried a mixture of fruits and veggies for my first go round. I quickly realized that to get 8 oz. of juice I don't need a lot of vegetables. I think I am going to start growing some vegetables for my juicer, like cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes. I think the juicer will give me the sweet cravings I have and still allow me to have good food. I am going to try some more recipes tomorrow.
The juice is a Jack LeLane Ultimate that Costco had on sale. I tried a mixture of fruits and veggies for my first go round. I quickly realized that to get 8 oz. of juice I don't need a lot of vegetables. I think I am going to start growing some vegetables for my juicer, like cucumbers, celery, and tomatoes. I think the juicer will give me the sweet cravings I have and still allow me to have good food. I am going to try some more recipes tomorrow.
First Payment made...and I'm fat
I started a debt pay off plan and wrote down every payment I was going to make and on what date I was going to make it. I paid the first payment today ($1,000 towards my Bank of America credit card) and I paid off my CitiBank credit card for the month. It is the first step of many but at least now I have a defined plan that has visual cues for me to follow. Pretty soon I will be debt free!
The other day I was talking with my wife via Skype and she says "I see you haven't lost any weight." It kinda sucks when you have been in good shape all your life and then it all of the sudden becomes difficult to maintain a healthy weight. I have started running two to three days a week and also I started a push-up program. I guess its time to step it up a notch. From today on, I will:
The other day I was talking with my wife via Skype and she says "I see you haven't lost any weight." It kinda sucks when you have been in good shape all your life and then it all of the sudden becomes difficult to maintain a healthy weight. I have started running two to three days a week and also I started a push-up program. I guess its time to step it up a notch. From today on, I will:
- Not drink soda or heavily sweet beverages
- Not eat candy or sweets
- Exercise 5 days a week
- Drink 60 ounces of water a day (2 Nalgenes)
- Eat a high protien, low fat diet
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Future Plans
I turn thirty this year and I don't have much to show for it. I still have a large car loan, massive credit card debt, and student loans on top of it all. I don't own a home and my wife currently lives in another country. That is all going to change.
In the next 12 months (July 2011 - July 2012), I will pay off all of my credit cards and make as big of a dent in my car payment as I possible can. Right now, I am paying $1,000 every paycheck towards this goal. Yes, if you do the math...26 paychecks in a year x $1,000 = $26,000 = the amount of credit card debt I have. It will be a little stressful at times, but I do have leeway in this plan. If in one month an unforeseen expense comes up, I can still pay cash by reducing my debt payment a bit. At least I won't be accruing more credit card debt.
The next phase (July 2012 - July 2013), I want to buy a multi-unit home, like a duplex or fourplex. I figure that with no credit cards to pay, I can save almost $2,000 a month plus any money my wife can put away as well, which should be almost $10,000 for the year. So that would give us about a $34,000 plus another $6,000 that my wife had previously, for a $40,000 down payment or 20% on a $200,000 house. Also, my wife have has already saved $16,000 which would be used as renovations/emergency money.
After that, its onto the family phase. We hope to start a family after getting our first home and that will definitely cut into our investment ideas. For the next two years (July 2013 - July 2015), I would like to save $50,000 for a down payment on an residential property. That's about $2,000 per month towards the down payment and an other $1,000 per month towards the kid's college fund (wife's salary). The residential property would be our primary home and the duplex/fourplex would be come our investment property.
It is now Fall 2015, and God willing, we have two kids and a dog, living in a good home. Repeating the process from earlier, we save $50,000 for a down payment on our second investment property over the next three years. So by 2018, we will have purchased our second multi-family property.
We continue the same process every three years. 2021, another property. 2024, another property. 2027, another property, which brings us to five investment properties total. The first one was purchased 14 years earlier in 2013 and should be almost paid off (bi-weekly payment plan). At this point, we would look at where we want to be in life in the next ten years. I would like to not be working and have a steady income coming in. The plan from this point would be to sell off the first three properties, take the profits, and using a 1031 exchange purchase a large 40-unit apartment building.
Then for the next 5 years, we would pay down the remaining two smaller investments and improve the apartment building. In 2032, I will be retired from the government and my kids will be off to college. Al this time, we have saved $1,000 a month (kids get expensive so I had to cut back on the investments) for a total of $60,000. I would want to sell the smaller properties and purchase a second large 50-unit apartment building with the $60,000 and 1031 exchange of the other investments. That would give me 90 apartments generating $90,000 per month ($1,000 rents) with a Before Tax Income of $10,000 per month. (A 89% Operating Expense and Debt Service rate is very high but I am being conservative)
From here, we would live life where ever we want and how we wanted. Our primary home would be paid off and we could manage the two apartment buildings on our own. As we saved more money each year, we would make large equity payments to the properties so that by the time we both 60, the apartments would be paid off. That would mean at age 60, we would own outright a home, and 90 apartments that generate $60,000 per month in income. Life would be good...
In the next 12 months (July 2011 - July 2012), I will pay off all of my credit cards and make as big of a dent in my car payment as I possible can. Right now, I am paying $1,000 every paycheck towards this goal. Yes, if you do the math...26 paychecks in a year x $1,000 = $26,000 = the amount of credit card debt I have. It will be a little stressful at times, but I do have leeway in this plan. If in one month an unforeseen expense comes up, I can still pay cash by reducing my debt payment a bit. At least I won't be accruing more credit card debt.
The next phase (July 2012 - July 2013), I want to buy a multi-unit home, like a duplex or fourplex. I figure that with no credit cards to pay, I can save almost $2,000 a month plus any money my wife can put away as well, which should be almost $10,000 for the year. So that would give us about a $34,000 plus another $6,000 that my wife had previously, for a $40,000 down payment or 20% on a $200,000 house. Also, my wife have has already saved $16,000 which would be used as renovations/emergency money.
After that, its onto the family phase. We hope to start a family after getting our first home and that will definitely cut into our investment ideas. For the next two years (July 2013 - July 2015), I would like to save $50,000 for a down payment on an residential property. That's about $2,000 per month towards the down payment and an other $1,000 per month towards the kid's college fund (wife's salary). The residential property would be our primary home and the duplex/fourplex would be come our investment property.
It is now Fall 2015, and God willing, we have two kids and a dog, living in a good home. Repeating the process from earlier, we save $50,000 for a down payment on our second investment property over the next three years. So by 2018, we will have purchased our second multi-family property.
We continue the same process every three years. 2021, another property. 2024, another property. 2027, another property, which brings us to five investment properties total. The first one was purchased 14 years earlier in 2013 and should be almost paid off (bi-weekly payment plan). At this point, we would look at where we want to be in life in the next ten years. I would like to not be working and have a steady income coming in. The plan from this point would be to sell off the first three properties, take the profits, and using a 1031 exchange purchase a large 40-unit apartment building.
Then for the next 5 years, we would pay down the remaining two smaller investments and improve the apartment building. In 2032, I will be retired from the government and my kids will be off to college. Al this time, we have saved $1,000 a month (kids get expensive so I had to cut back on the investments) for a total of $60,000. I would want to sell the smaller properties and purchase a second large 50-unit apartment building with the $60,000 and 1031 exchange of the other investments. That would give me 90 apartments generating $90,000 per month ($1,000 rents) with a Before Tax Income of $10,000 per month. (A 89% Operating Expense and Debt Service rate is very high but I am being conservative)
From here, we would live life where ever we want and how we wanted. Our primary home would be paid off and we could manage the two apartment buildings on our own. As we saved more money each year, we would make large equity payments to the properties so that by the time we both 60, the apartments would be paid off. That would mean at age 60, we would own outright a home, and 90 apartments that generate $60,000 per month in income. Life would be good...
Learning about Real Estate Investment
Over the past few weeks I have been reading about real estate investing, especially small apartment buildings. There is a lot of information out there and my goal is to own an apartment building in two years. I firmly believe that if I research the topic, learn the material, and apply the concepts, I will be able to buy an apartment building. I never knew anything about buying real estate but the more I learn the more confident I become.
To me, having real estate as an investment (primary home doesn't count) is one of the safest ways to generate wealth. A lot of people might disagree given the state of the real estate market these past few years. My response to these naysayers is simple: don't buy what you can't afford. Too many people took on too much debt and when the collector came, they couldn't pay. A real estate investment should break even at the minimum, meaning that taxes, insurance, maintenance, and loan payments are all covered by the rental income. If it doesn't break even, its not worth buying...for me at least.
To me, having real estate as an investment (primary home doesn't count) is one of the safest ways to generate wealth. A lot of people might disagree given the state of the real estate market these past few years. My response to these naysayers is simple: don't buy what you can't afford. Too many people took on too much debt and when the collector came, they couldn't pay. A real estate investment should break even at the minimum, meaning that taxes, insurance, maintenance, and loan payments are all covered by the rental income. If it doesn't break even, its not worth buying...for me at least.
Monday, July 11, 2011
First big coupon trip
This past weekend I was able to purchase $75 worth f goods from Rite Aid for $7! I used some coupons, store credit coupons, and a few rebates that I had. Now I have enough razors, body wash, deodorant, and shaving gel to last me a whole year. My next target will be cleaning supplies (i.e. laundry detergent, bleach, paper towels, etc.). I am not ready to stockpile a large quantity of food because I don't eat that much. I have some canned goods and pasta because they will keep for a few years and are handy when I don't feel like cooking a big meal.
I used websites and blogs to help me with this shopping trip. WeUseCoupons.com and Bargain Blessings are two of my favorite sites. They are completely free and offer lots of ways to save using coupons. I probably spent maybe 2 hours last week prepping for the shopping trip. One hour was spent reading the forums, websites, and gathering information about upcoming deals. The other hour was used to prepare my shopping list and get the right coupons.
One thing I learned from all of this: Don't use a coupon just because it will expire soon. So what if it expires. There will be others. This happened to me at Genuardi's and I spent about $40 more dollars than I wanted to. I did get a lot of stuff at 55% off but some of it was a little over board. Lesson learned. Make a list, stick to the list, buy items only on sale or with a coupon, save non-perishables, and stay within budget.
I used websites and blogs to help me with this shopping trip. WeUseCoupons.com and Bargain Blessings are two of my favorite sites. They are completely free and offer lots of ways to save using coupons. I probably spent maybe 2 hours last week prepping for the shopping trip. One hour was spent reading the forums, websites, and gathering information about upcoming deals. The other hour was used to prepare my shopping list and get the right coupons.
One thing I learned from all of this: Don't use a coupon just because it will expire soon. So what if it expires. There will be others. This happened to me at Genuardi's and I spent about $40 more dollars than I wanted to. I did get a lot of stuff at 55% off but some of it was a little over board. Lesson learned. Make a list, stick to the list, buy items only on sale or with a coupon, save non-perishables, and stay within budget.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Completed my petition
I was able to complete my I-130 today and mailed it in. An I-130 is a petition for a family family to immigrate to the US permanently. My wife, whose French, lives in Paris and I want her here with me. Go figure...a husband wants ot be near his wife. Anyways, it should take about three months and then I'll have my wife here with me. The crappy thing is that it can take up to 6 months if things are processed really slowly. We shall see.
In other things, I have started to unpack the remaining of my boxes from the move. I am realizing that I need a desk or at least a desk drawer. I m ight break down and get one of those 3-drawer plastic things so I can put some office supplies away. Its okay for a bachelor, which I am until my wife gets here, but I will need a bit more organizing.
I have many projects to do this summer: wedding photo album, 5K training, couponing, real estate investment research, and so on.
In other things, I have started to unpack the remaining of my boxes from the move. I am realizing that I need a desk or at least a desk drawer. I m ight break down and get one of those 3-drawer plastic things so I can put some office supplies away. Its okay for a bachelor, which I am until my wife gets here, but I will need a bit more organizing.
I have many projects to do this summer: wedding photo album, 5K training, couponing, real estate investment research, and so on.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Debt sucks
I am aggressively trying to pay off my $30,000 worth of credit card debt and its tough. Yeah, I know: how did you get $30,000 in credit card debt? The answer is I attempted to run an online MLM business and it didn't pan out. Stupid I know now, but I thought I could change the world by doing it so I don't regret trying. I am hopeful to pay off $15,000 by year's end. I contribute $1,000 each paycheck to knocking down the debt. I am living pretty frugally right now (coupons, no excess spending, etc.) but too me its necessary so that I can be closer to debt free.
Having this large chunk of debt is pretty stressful. I am constantly thinking about it and I should be focusing on other things. Like my new wife, Natacha, and how to get her into the country. Long story for another day.
Having this large chunk of debt is pretty stressful. I am constantly thinking about it and I should be focusing on other things. Like my new wife, Natacha, and how to get her into the country. Long story for another day.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Out of Shape!
Today I begin a running regimine so that I can run a 5K in late September. I am using miCoach from Adidas to help me with my goal. It is a free app that you can downlaod to your iPhone. It was great using it today because it tracks you via GPS and tells you when to pick up the pace or slow down. My only problem was that I COULDN"T RUN LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES!!!
I know its the beginning of the training but that is pathetic for me. I hope to get better and better with the running because I want to run the 5K in under 25 minutes. An underlying problem of mine is that I am overweight by about 20 pounds (I weigh around 190) and that I eat crappy foods.
Also, I started a new entertainment package I call "My Preferences". No it doesn't exist but I made it just for me. I use the internet a lot, watch movies a lot, and play video games. I don't watch a lot of TV, maybe 3-5 hours a week, and thats mostly because I like the noise in the background. So I have decided to cancel my cable, enrolled in Netflix and GameFly, and hopefully save about $50 a month. Each service is $15/month and my cable bill is $100 which does include the internet. Maybe I won't save $50 but at least I'll save close to it.
I know its the beginning of the training but that is pathetic for me. I hope to get better and better with the running because I want to run the 5K in under 25 minutes. An underlying problem of mine is that I am overweight by about 20 pounds (I weigh around 190) and that I eat crappy foods.
Also, I started a new entertainment package I call "My Preferences". No it doesn't exist but I made it just for me. I use the internet a lot, watch movies a lot, and play video games. I don't watch a lot of TV, maybe 3-5 hours a week, and thats mostly because I like the noise in the background. So I have decided to cancel my cable, enrolled in Netflix and GameFly, and hopefully save about $50 a month. Each service is $15/month and my cable bill is $100 which does include the internet. Maybe I won't save $50 but at least I'll save close to it.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Starting Out...
I started to blog all the things going on in my life so that I may have a record of what I have done. I turn thirty this year and I have many goals I want to accomplish. I will be blogging about life, finance, love, and anything that comes across my mind. This will be my online journal and I plan to write several times a week. A little here, a little there, and just let my story unfold. I hope you enjoy reading and commenting is welcomed.
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