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Fight Club Finances: The Things You Own End Up Owning You

Eric — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:38:21 +0000

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.

Fight Club Finances: The Things You Own End Up Owning You is a post from: Narrow Bridge

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Ask The Readers: Student Loan or Down Payment Savings?

Eric — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:42:53 +0000

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.

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Investing in Gold

Eric — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 15:00:00 +0000

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.

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Mint.com Changes and Updates

Eric — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:00:00 +0000

My favorite part of the personal finance arsenal, Mint.com, has made some big changes this week. I woke up on Thursday morning to see a tab gone and some new features.

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.

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The Benefits of Insurance

Eric — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 16:00:00 +0000

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.

If you are a twenty-something renter like me, you do not own a home or have considerable assets. However, if you add up the value of your TV and electronics, DVD collection, laptop, shoes (for the girls), and other odds and ends, you probably have a lot of value in your house/apartment. How should you protect your stuff? Renters insurance.

Renters insurance is fairly cheap (most plans are about $20 a month). Considering the price of replacement in case of a break in or fire, this is a small price to pay. Make sure to take pictures of everything you own so it can be quickly and easily replaced.

If you have a car, insurance is probably required by law. This insurance will protect your car, other cars, and anyone in those cars in the event of an accident or vandalism. My car was vandalised this week (and inspired this post). The cost of repairs was over $3000. My deductible (the part I have to pay) was $250. Either way it sucked. However, I was protected for all costs over my deductible. This coverage costs more, and will depend on age, gender, where you live, and the car you drive. As a 23 year old male in Colorado with a nice, new car, I pay about $120 per month. This is a small price to pay for the big “what ifs” on the road.

If you own a home, you are generally required by the lending bank to have insurance.

So, your homework today is to get renters insurance if you do not already have it.

P.S. That is not my car

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