As noted here, I’m trying to save (in retirement and non-retirement accounts) 60% of my gross income in 2007.  I’ve been tracking my progress towards my first goal (of saving $4000 in my daughter’s ESA) over at the NCN Network site. 20% of my gross income is about $16,000.  This amount will be automatically withheld from our paychecks and deposited into our retirement accounts.  Basically, the other 40% (or $32,000) will be money that I have to “manage” throughout the year.  If you divide $32,000 by 12 months, you get $2,666.66.  I was able to deposit $4,000 into an ESA for my daughter, which means that I’m nearly $1,350 dollars “behind” for 2007.  $4,000 represents 5% of my annual gross income.  If you add $4,000 to $16,000, the MINIMUM amount of money that I will have “saved” in 2007 will be 25% of my gross income.  YES!  So, while I’m bummed by the fact that I’m not saving at (quite) the rate that I wanted to be saving, I’m super-excited by the fact that I’ve already saved a SIGNIFICANT portion of my income.  I’m trying to determine what my next “specific” goal will be.  (I THINK that I’m going to open an ESA for my son, but I MIGHT open a Roth IRA for myself.  I’ll let you know.)

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As I noted before, I’m remodelling our bathroom. Since the last post, I’ve focused on cleaning the grout thoroughly, sanding down the walls, repainting the vanity doors, and replacing an old window. Below is a picture of the new window. Getting the old window out and the new window in was surprisingly easy. I’ve tacked the window into place with some old molding. I’ll purchase, cut, paint, and nail the new molding next week. Plus, I need to purchase some insulation to go around the window. I took the photo with my cellphone camera. Sorry about the quality of the picture, but I wanted to give you a visual to go along with the post. I’ll take some better pictures with my digital camera and post them tomorrow.

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As you can see, the bathroom is a bland khaki. My wife is at her mom’s house, and the two of them are going to Lowe’s tonight to pick out a paint color.

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I recently wrote “Guest Posts” for three of my fellow personal finance bloggers.

I wrote an article about Building A Support Nettwork over at Adult ADD and Money.

I wrote an article about Learning As I Go over at My Two Dollars.

I wrote an article about Super Simple Method For Debt Reduction over at Blogging Away Debt.

I enjoyed being a “Guest Author”. My personal finance blogging friends rock!

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As I mentioned previously, I’m remodeling our bathroom. So far, I’ve removed the old door, taken the doors off of the vanity cabinet, thrown away the old shower rod, scrubbed the grout, mopped the floor, puttied over the holes in the walls, and cleaned the shower. We have decided to keep the old shower, the old toilet, and the old sink, and simply paint the walls, replace a window, and hang a new door. I’ve already purchased new nobs for the shower and the sink and I’m going to get the new window, the new door, and a new shower-head tomorrow. My wife and the kids are out of town for the weekend visiting her parents, so I’ll be working on the bathroom Friday night and Saturday morning. The only part of the project that I’m a little worried about is replacing the window. I talked to my dad, and I’m pretty sure that I can do it. I guess we’ll all know by tomorrow night!

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I recently asked a few of my personal finance bloggers to fill out a “Debt Profile” questionnaire. Below, I have organized the pf bloggers into groups, according to their responses to the “Debt Profile” questionnaire. (The questionaire consisted of VERY generalized questions about credit card use and borrowing habits. Each blogger included in the groups below is invited to write a post, clarifying their ideas about credit card use and borrowing money!) “Thanks!” to all of the pf bloggers who participated.

Group 1: The Rate-Conscience Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who will borrow money to make major purchases, buy a home, purchase an automobile, or pay for college. Many in this group also use credit cards. They may or may not pay interest on their credit card purchases. Basically, they will borrow money if they can borrow it at a rate that is favorable.

Generation X Finance

Stop Buying Crap

It’s Your Money

My Money Blog

My Financial Awareness

My Financial Journey

Lazy Man and Money

Mapgirl’s Fiscal Challenge

The Finance Journey

Clever Dude

Money, Matter and Musings

The Sun’s Financial Diary

Poorer Than You

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Group 2: The Practical Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who would borrow money to pay for a house our for college. Most use credit cards but pay off balances each month. (Some borrow money at zero percent using credit card balance transfers.) Many of these bloggers try to pay cash for other major purchases. These bloggers will use a credit card for day to day purchase, but they do not pay interest on their credit card purchases.

Money Smart Life

Five Cent Nickel

Consumerism Commentary

Blueprint For Financial Prosperity

One Big Mortar Board

The First Time Homeowner

Pro Bargain Hunter

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Group 3: The Housing Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who would borrow money to purchase a home. A few of these bloggers might also borrow money to make another major purchase, but most would like to pay cash for all purchases. These bloggers may use a credit card, but they pay balances in full. Most use credit cards to earn cash back and bonuses.

Get Rich Slowly

Blunt Money

The Simple Dollar

Blogging Away Debt

Food Obsession

Mighty Bargain Hunter

The Digerati Life 

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Group 4: The Non-Borrowers

Personal Finance Bloggers who do not borrow money and do not use credit cards. These bloggers save money and pay cash for purchases. Many of these bloggers also hope to purchase (or perhaps have purchased) a home with cash. These bloggers may or may not have credit card accounts, but they do not use their credit cards.

Not Made Of Money

Getting Green

No Credit Needed

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I will have much more to say about these results at a later date. If you are a personal finance blogger and you would like to be added to a group, click the contact tab at the top of the page and mention “Debt Profile” in your message. If you are a pf blogger and you write a post about my findings, please let me know. Again, thanks to all who participated!

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Here’s my system for getting through life without using credit cards.

Cash

–I always have $200 cash on me.  I carry my cash in a money-clip.

Debit Card

–I always have a Debit Card on me.  I carry my Debit Card in my money-clip.  I wrap my cash around my Debit Card.

Checkbook

–I have a checkbook which I keep in my wallet.  I only write about 5 checks per month.  My checkbook usually stays in my glove-box.  If I have to write a check, I will tear a check from the book, fold the check, and put it in my money-clip.

Wallet

–I have a wallet.  I hate to keep it in my pocket, so it usually stays locked in my glove-box.

Credit Card

–I have a credit card that I never use.  It stays in the back slot of my wallet.

In the past 2 years, I’ve only made two purchases which required more than $200 in cash.  On those occasions, I withdrew the cash from the ATM, put the cash in my pocket, made my purchase, and went about my way.

Renting A Car or Reserving A Hotel

–I have rented a car AND reserved a hotel using my debit card.  (I know that some companies require reserving a car with a credit card.  So, if pressed, I could RESERVE the car with my credit card, but PAY the bill with cash.  So far, I have not had to deal with this situation.)  When I checkout or return the car, I pay my bill in cash or use my debit card.

Plane Ticket

–I’ve never flown, so I have no idea how this would work.

On-line Purchase

–I have a secondary checking account with a fixed amount of money.  This account has a debit card.  The account does not allow “over-drafts”.  I use this debit card associated with this account to make on-line purchases.  I’ve never had a problem using a debit card or getting a refund.  I’ve used a debit card to pay for items from Amazon, pay my hosting fees, and manage my satellite radio bill.

Bills

–I use free on-line bill-pay to pay all of my bills.  I’ve never had a problem.  In fact, my local doctor was impressed with the fact that I could use on-line bill-pay to pay my doctor bill.  I actually showed him how to setup an account with his bank!

As you can see, living without a credit card is pretty easy.  I’ve yet to find myself in a situation where I “had” to use a credit card.  I make sure that I keep enough cash “on hand” to meet most situations, but not so much that I’m overly concerned about losing it or having it stolen.  IF someone where to steal my wallet, they’d get a single credit card, my license, and about 10 checks.  If they were to rob me, they’d get about $200 and a debit card.  There are risks associated with every method of carrying money, but I feel pretty secure with the the technique that I use.  If I am travelling, I will, of course, take my wallet out of my glove-box and put it in my back-pocket.  (Wallets are SO 1985!)

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