I’ve moved again and am not working any more (lots of changes for me, that’s life in the cheap lane I guess). My new cost of living is:
Rent – $670
VOIP – $22.45
internet – $45
variable – ~$580
total – $1,317
My passive income is at $311.47 (there was a nice little $11 / month dividend increase from my ROC stock), which is covering just under 24% of my new cost of living. This means I’m bleeding about $1K / month while applying for grad school.
In terms of networth and cash, I actually improved my cash position by $634 this month (got my final check from where I was working right before the end of the month).
This puts my networth figures at:
Mortgage: $92,296.12
E-Trade: $24,831.02
Cash: $6,414.83
Condo: $143,500.00
Building: $12,553.50 (what I put into it, it’ll take a bit more time before I can make any sort of estimate what my position is worth)
Networth: $94,812.58
as of November 1st.
With no significant money coming in, my plans are mostly to stay the course (there isn’t a lot of costs for me to cut, unfortunately), get the ball rolling with grad school applications, then look around for something to bring in a bit of cash until I start (perhaps some contract programming, perhaps a short term business venture, perhaps something else, any suggestions?).
15 replies on “November Networth”
Mr. Cheap,
if I am not mistaken, you are really good with computer, right?
I guess your best bet to make money is to design a tracking and pattern making on the stock market 😉
I have some friends that are working on such program and it does help to do technical analysis (or day trading if you feel more courageous!).
I think you should do some contract work. You mentioned that it might be a while before you can start grad school so once you get a handle on that, you should have time to do some short term or part time contract work.
Even if you just made enough to break even between now and when you start grad school that will help you out in the long run.
Mike
MC, Weren’t you doing well with contract work until recently (when you stopped to get a salaried job)? You seemed to be happier doing that and it also sounded a lot more lucrative. Seems to me the obvious answer! 🙂
Hey Cheap;
How do you feel about moving to Edmonton? I’m the now the hiring manager for my company and we need people who can program.
It’s all .Net 2.0, SQL Server 2005, business-driven stuff. Lots of 4-5k websites (we have a designer) and 20-30k jobs. As per the Joel on Software mantra, we need people who are smart and get things done (so I don’t care if C# isn’t your first language).
If you’re really intent on doing contracting, I may be able to arrange a sub-contract (but no guarantees). Of course, I’d need to see a portfolio 🙂
Heck, you have my e-mail now that I’ve commented, drop me a line 🙂
FB: *grin* I’m not so sure it’d be as easy as that (whip up a computer program and “beat the stock market” sounds like a good plan on paper, but…)
Mike & Telly: Yes, I think you’re both right that that’s the ultimate answer.
Gates: Thanks for the offer! I may actually be out in Edmonton (U of A is one of the schools I’m looking at). I’m more of a linux / java guy than a microsoft man, so I’m not sure if I’d be the best fit for what you’re working on.
Damn, we get stumbled and stupid DreamHost goes down for 2 hours!
Not sure if it’s an option but you should come to Windsor, think of how cheap you could live! Plus, I’ve got a room for rent right by the U if you’re interested. 😉
Seriously, I do think you could find some really great real estate deals here if you plan to continue in that direction.
I’m still in shock that you can live on $1300! I would also recommend contract work. Or (depending on how well you did on graduate school admissions test) you could teach at a test prep company. I teach a few hours a month, but I make about $18/hour. It’s a pretty flexible job if you can get it.
Telly – I realize your point was directed at Mr. Cheap but I’m not sure that I would want to buy real estate in Windsor (no offence). It’s seems like economically that area has been affected by the US car companies decline and it might never come back.
Mike, you’re right for the most part. I don’t know about the “might never come back” bit though. We’ve been through it before.
I wouldn’t buy a single family rental home right now for sure, however, I was referring to student housing. The university is expanding – a new, “state-of-the-art” engineering building as well a medical school. My husband and I have too many eggs in the RE basket right now, otherwise I’d be looking for another rental property (closer to the school).
mike & telly: I actually do think there are some killer deals in Windsor now! The only problem is, if I up and move to an area to look for deals, I won’t have any income (which will make it harder to get a mortgage). There are probably ways around this, but I’m not sure what would be the best plan of attack…
I’d be tempted to look at the apartment buildings in Windsor (which seem to be at a good price for the rent they bring in). If I could set up a property management company (such as telly’s husband 😉 and get a seller take-back mortgage from the seller (with a low down payment) that might actually be a good project while I’m waiting to start school…
SD: I’ve actually considered working at one of those test prep places before… you enjoy it, eh?
I guarantee you can negotiate that internet bill down to $25.
I use this offer:
http://acanac.ca/google-promo.htm
to push Sympatico down to $25/month
Pete: Thanks for the link! I use Rogers, but maybe I’ll call them up and see if I can’t “shake” a discount out of them!
I’ve been meaning to call Rogers and threaten to walk unless they give me a discount – but I haven’t worked up the courage yet.
Mike
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