Almost positive: Q207 net worth

As of today, my net worth is -$1,701. Less than $2,000 to go and I’ll be in positive territory.

Assets include cash and cash equivalents and investments. Liability is my college student loan.

Compared to six months ago, my net worth has increased by over $8,500. My signing bonus constituted a significant part of that increase. Q307 (September 30) will be the first net worth update after I’ve joined the work force – I hope will have a positive net worth by then.

I start work soon, so the cash inflow (ahem..paychecks!) will help, but there will be many cash outflows due to “starting-out” costs such as apartment deposits and car insurance premiums.

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Great expectations

Check out this LA Times profile (free registration required, check bugmenot.com if you don’t want to register) on a 40something executive.

The one phrase that jumped out at me was: [she] never…expected she would one day need to manage her own finances.

Readers, what were your money expectations (from your parents & surroundings) growing up? Did you see any different expections for you or your siblings? Or among your friends?

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Mom’s $123,000 gift

Mom just showed me exactly how much my sheepskin cost. (I knew it was a lot, but didn’t know exactly how “a lot”).

The total cost (tuition + room/board, excluding books, personal, traveling, etc.) for my 4 years at an institution of higher learning was just over $177,000. My parents paid almost $123,000 of that amount. The difference came from federal & college grants and my student loan. I can’t imagine how they squeezed out $123K.

I feel loved. 😉 I’ve also realized that my future child will be an only child. … I can’t imagine shelling out over $1 million each (what today’s $177K would be in 26 years at 7% annual tuition increase) for TWO kids.

Mom never spend frivolously, but she always said that money that should be spent must be spent, so it made me feel good that she thought I was worth the $123K investment. (Okay, so I’m her daughter and all, but still).

P.P.S. I am very glad that my first job will at least allow me to pay off the student loans.

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Life & adventure

So, one of my friends from middle school (who doesn’t have a steady job) just emptied her bank account (“took every penny” is how she put it) and went off on a trip to Asia with her boyfriend. The pictures she took were amazing.

It’s things that like this that makes me wonder, um, am I not adventurous enough? Am I not taking advantage of the freedom that youth affords me?

‘Cause, seriously. If we both die tomorrow, who’d get the last laugh? The one with a job with health insurance (don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my health insurance), or the one who just spent 3 weeks exploring the monastaries of Cambodia and enjoying authentic curry in India?

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Guess what I bought

New duvet for my soon-to-be new apartment. From Anthropologie. Almost $150.

Anthropologie is one of my favorite stores… but I read in Wikipedia that Anthropologie was “designed to appeal to 30- to 40-something affluent professional women with total family annual income above $200,000.”

Hmmm.. I’m definitely not there right now.

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Mini-trip!

I am going to see my friend, H, today. She recently got a new job and moved to a cute new apartment about 100 miles away, so I’m visiting her before she starts work in a couple days.

Can you say EXCITED!? 🙂

I’ve decided to take the train. Round-trip tickets cost $45. Driving will cost around $35 in fuel, but I don’t want to risk traffic. And I don’t want to bring my 10-year-old, 200,000-miles car on a 200-mile round-trip. Besides, a nice, relaxing train ride is a good way to begin my mini-vacation, no?

I’ll be visiting for 2.5 days, so I shouldn’t be spending THAT much money.

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If your house was burning down

and you only had enough time to grab ONE thing with you as you run past the falling beams and leap over the FLAMES OF DEATH… what would you take?

Me? I’d probably grab Grandma’s ring, then hightail it outta there like there’s no tomorrow.

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Manhattan, here I come!

I am going to the City that Never Sleeps, the Big Apple, the tiny slice of island that has captivated the imagination of Americans everywhere since its founding (do I sound like a PBS documentary?).

Pardon my excitement… but I just found out that I’ll be going to NYC for a couple of weeks later this summer, with corporate housing.

The schedule will be busy, but I am hopeful that I can carve out a couple hours here and there for museums, the Broadway, and good restaurants.
So… New York bloggers (English Major, Debt and the City, Downtown Chic, and anyone else who’ve lived/visited the area), please let me know your favorite places to eat, play, and browse in the city.

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