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I will never forget the image of Tyler Durden telling the mystery hero in Fight Club that, “The things you own end up owning you.”  That line still rings true with many of us, and one blogger came up with a system to actually quantify how much your things own you.

Matt at Steadfast Finances had this to say about his stuff to work ratio:

Just to show that all personal finance bloggers aren’t a pristine model of financial responsibility all of their lives, the graphic below represents how my personal finances looked using what I call the “How your stuff owns you calendar?” method when I was fresh out of grad school, making ~$60,000 a year, and leveraged up to my eyeballs.

He then gives a very blunt look at where his money goes, and it is eye opening at the very least:

If you want to figure out how to make your own “The Things You Own End Up Owning You” calendar, head over to Matt’s post and follow the great tutorial.

I am curious what the readers think about something I am debating.  I have a student loan at 6.8%.  I am also thinking about buying a condo or house at some point.  I will not buy for over a year, possibly two or three.  However, it is something I want to do at some point to start building more assets.  I can work to be debt free faster or save faster.

So, the question of the day:  Should I pay off my student loan aggressively or should I put extra money into a down payment savings account?  Please give you thoughts in the comments.

The market price of one ounce of gold just passed the $1,000 mark.  The price of gold usually increases when the economy is down, and decreases as the economy recovers.

The reason gold goes up when the economy is bad is simple to explain.  When people are worried that their money is not safe, they buy something that has an intrinsic value.  Gold has historically been looked at as a thing of value.  In the days of the ancient empires of the Aztecs and the Persians, gold was always thought of as the standard for what it means to be rich.  In the 1400s, the explorers of Europe tried to build up their national wealth through finding gold in the new world.  Kings and queens have always had a thirst for expanding their riches, namely through the collection of gold.

The same goes today.  One ounce of gold is worth $1,000.  There is not much in the world that is worth that much.  If the stock market is in shambles. real estate is losing value, and banks are failing, there is only one place many people want their money.  People can put gold in a safe in their house and do not have to worry about it becoming worthless.  While the price does fluctuate, it is a fairly safe investment in the long term.

• The accounts tab is gone. Now there is an accounts link at the top of the screen.
• In the accounts screen, instead of a small box with details, you can click on the account to drop down and edit it yourself. You can change the name, interest rates, and so on.
• You can now include assets to calculate your total net worth.
• The account summary tab now includes detail balances rather than rounded totals.

I have not noticed anything else yet. The site has been a little slow and Product Development VP Aaron Forth mentioned on the site forums that some bugs are being addressed. Overall it is a great update to an already great product. I miss the accounts tab, but I like the new functionality.

Normally you get account details, but I whited those out in the screen shot for privacy.

As someone who cares about their financial situation, which all Narrow Bridge readers surely are, you probably care about your stuff too. As a stuff owner, it is important to have stuff insurance.