Click here to see my updated No Credit Needed Network Savings Chart - NCNSavings2008

I have deposited a total of $3500 in my non-retirement savings. One of my goals for 2008 is to rebuild my non-retirement savings. I like to create (and track) specific goals. For 2008, my goal is to save $16,000.

Click here to stream (or download) the latest episode of the No Credit Needed Podcast -

NCN Podcast Episode 3 of 2008 - The Three C’s of Debt Reduction

In this latest episode, I talk about the Three C’s of Debt Reduction -

Create a plan -

Consider the costs -

Chronicle your progress -

By the way, if you are new to podcasts (just another name for streaming, online audio), click here to learn how to listen to them, download them, and subscribe to them - for free!

Filed under: 2008 Goals
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I was watching CNBC and noticed a scrawl at the bottom of the television screen -

Altria, Honeywell removed from DJIA, Bank of America and Chevron added

The DJIA is the Dow Jones Industrial Average - a stock market index.

The DJIA tracks 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States.

Click here to read the Wikipedia entry for the DJIA.

From time to time, the makeup of the DJIA is changed.

According to CNBC and this article over at Trading Markets, Altria and Honeywell will be removed from the average, and Bank of America and Chevron will be added.

This is the first change to the makeup of the DJIA since April of 2004, when 3 stocks were dropped and 3 others were added.

While some might make a big deal about the Dow, I tend to follow the S&P 500 and Wilshire 5000, indices which allow me to track the broader moves of the stock market.

Filed under: Investing
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My dad is a master carpenter.

I, on the other hand, am a junior-level carpenter.

In an effort to improve my ’skills’, I’ve been searching for free, online woodworking information.

Recently, I stumbled across this awesome resource - The Wood Whisperer

Produced by Marc J. Spagnuolo, The Wood Whisperer offers online woodworking video tutorials.

Visitors can watch the videos online - or subscribe to the sites podcast feed.

I subscribed a month ago, and I really enjoy Marc’s easy-to-understand, in depth, teaching style.

Filed under: Resources
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It’s hard to believe. I have been completely debt-free for two years!

In April of 2005 I created No Credit Needed.

My purpose? To track my debt reduction and share my story with the world.

In less than 10 months, I paid off more than $11,500, and on February 6, 2006, I was able celebrate my ‘freedom’ from debt.

Click here to read the post I wrote, 2 years ago, about becoming debt-free.

I cannot express how important this site has become to me. I am thankful for the (ever increasing) number of readers, visitors, and subscribers. You motivate me. You challenge me. You push me to research, defend, and consider my positions and my ideas.

Along the way, numerous other bloggers have helped me, linked to me, informed me, encouraged me, and inspired me. Many of them are listed in my blogroll - and I dare not attempt to single any of them out by name, for fear that I’ll fail to include all of those who have been so good to me and the site.

I would like to thank all of my fellow bloggers, who have taken the time to link to my site. By referencing my site, you have helped grow my traffic, you have connected me with new readers, and you have helped to build my online reputation. I will be forever grateful.

If you are new to my site - I want thank you for stopping by - and I encourage you to stick around.

Here are five of my favorite posts from the past 5 years -

(Almost) Everything I Know About Debt Reduction

What I Like About Being Debt-Free

How I Plan To Stay Out Of Debt

Welcome Clark Howard Fans And WSB TV Viewers

$10 A Day Equals 3/4 Of A Million Dollars

Filed under: Debt Story
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Just a quick reminder -

If you want to make contributions to a Roth IRA, a Traditional IRA, or a Coverdell ESA for 2007, you need to make them before April 15th.

If you haven’t opened an account, and you want contributions to count for 2007, you have until April 15th to open the account AND fund the account.

Last year, my wife and I opened Roth IRAs in March, and fully-funded both of them for fiscal-year 2006. We even dug into our emergency fund so that we could ‘beat the deadline’. Why? Because, by design, these contributions are ‘use it or lose it’. If you miss a year, you miss a year, period.

Filed under: College, Retirement
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