Good and Bad.

Good – I’m killing it with my retirement account. The balance and my net worth are both the highest they have ever been in my entire life. Considering I didn’t start until age 30 and had $39k of student loan debt at that time I think I’m doing alright.

Total Retirement:
401k – $53,772.74
Roth IRA – $4,165.07
HSA – $367.99 (balance not yet high enough for investing and limited growth due to monthly orthodontist payments)
Total Retirement: $58,305.80

Total Debt:
Credit Cards – $1,542.26 at 0%
iPhone X Loan – $617.92 at 0% (11 payments of ~56.16 left)
Car Warranty – 1,163.25 (9 payments left)
Car Loan – $8,572.93 (72% done with payments, about 17 payments left $545)
Total Debt – $11,896.36

Total Net Worth – $46,409.44 (not including any assets outside of retirement)

Bad –
My credit card balances are high temporarily due to some gadgets I purchased.
-Ordered a paid of Sennheiser PXC 550 Headphones. I don’t own a pair of non workout wireless headphones and haven’t been able to focus while in public places like coffeehouses due to the loud noise. $172 after a few discounts
-iPad Air 2019 – This replaces the iPad Mini I bought in 2015 for $199. The device originalyl was released in 2013, I got a whopping $70 for it at Best Buy. I did make an attempt at trading my 4th Generation Kindle but they wouldn’t even give me $1 for it. It’s old tech yes but it works completely fine. The iPad has helped drive my love of reading again. Get free digital magazines through the RBDigital app any my local library. The 10.5″ screen doesn’t feel cramped at all. It was $438 with tax, plus another $130 for the Pencil, keyboard+case, and a screen protector.
-Going out – I went on a staycation two weeks ago and decided to treat myself. Nothing too lavish and extravagant but just some fun places, and good eating.
-Upcoming Trip – I had to give a friend $295 for an AirBnb we will be splititng the costs of later this month. Not bad for 3 nights, but still money that I won’t be applying toward debt. My flight is already paid for at least.
-Clothes – I wouldn’t say I have a shopping problem per say but it’s a drag to wear the same clothes every single week for months and months. $2-300 on upgrading my wardrobe I don’t think is a bad investment.

My card is at 0% so barring something crazy happening it will be back at a $0 balance over the next 30 days. Just need to stop buying expensive things… If you haven’t seen Graham Stephan’s channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCa-ckhlKL98F8YXKQ-BALiw) , take a look at his Millionaire Reacts series. Both educational and worthy of a good chuckle.

I am continuing to set limits on my social media consumption. It’s easy to fall into that trap of comparing yourself to other people. The amazing groups of close friends they have, a seemingly endless series of trips, the seemingly perfect life. Heck a few of the ones I follow are professional models, completely ripped with a six pack, gorgeous smiles, and 30k followers minimum. Consuming too much of that stuff though is no good. I’m hoping society wakes up to how they are being manipulated through it, the highly addictive nature of it all, and how it in many ways negatively impacts attention span, mental acuity, and contributes to varying levels of depression.

Love yourself, love others, and remember life isn’t all about money. It’s about the whole experience.

An acquaintaince of mine in Dallas is struggling for his life. While on vacation in Hawaii he was driving a car with his mom and it suddenly caught on fire. His mom jumped out of the car while it was moving at 45mph but the guy I know stayed in the car until it came to a stop. He currently has burns on 85% of his body, is fighting infection, and has a temperature of 104°. I donated to the family charity via a church tithing site and hope that science and prayer will allow him to pull through.

Today I had a testing moment. I get to work and one of the managers at my apartment complex says they never received a rent check for July. My initial thought was WTF, I sent that over via Bill Pay on May 28th. Then today the online Bill Payment for August went through. I am proactive about paying it early for a reason. The check was never cashed though.

Went through a series of about 10 steps – Calling the apartment complex, calling the bill payment company who told me to call my credit union, calling my credit union and having them cancel the transaction, calling the complex back, asking to speak to the lady’s manager, e-mailing screenshots of my online bill payment and August payment to the manager (who I emailed just a few days prior for the amount owed for August), sending an email to corporate and the manager, pulling money from my line of credit to transfer to my checking account, linking my debit card to the resident services account, making a payment for what I owed, calling the complex manager back to inform her that the payment was made…. Needless to say that little debacle stressed me the fuck out.

All along this process I was accruing fees. $50 the first say, $10 the day after that, then $20, then $30. Firm but polite has always been my way of dealing with situatinos like this. Luckily I got all the fees reversed and asked the manager to take my work number off my account completely. Had they just called my cell phone and left a message, all of this confusion would have been avoided. Going forward I’m just going to give them a physical check and be done with it. It’s strange though I basically have been going through the same system for over 4 years with no issues.