Monday
Saving log - $0 tip box + $35 drp
Spending log - $1.75 coffee
Found money - $0.11 (parking meter, sidewalk)

Sunday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $3.88 coffee, bagel + $9 tea, apple, oatmeal bar, magazine
Found money - $0.18 (sidewalk, coffeeshop floor)

Found a 5 cent euro on Sunday. I figured I'd count it - after all, the exchange rate of the euro: dollar was 1.47:1. In other words, the 5 cent euro is worth a hair over 7 cents.

I-bond rates also came out today. The fixed rate is 0.3%. Better than 0.1%, but not enough to think about buying more. The variable rate, though, is much better on this 6 month go around - a bit over 3%.

Took a walk at noon and discovered an ING Direct/Shareholder branch on King Street. For laughs I went in and chatted with the receptionist, who told me that there were plans for it to turn into an ING cafe.

Final Jackie Handey thought: We are now back on "Standard" time, coming from "Daylight Saving" time. Count the number of months of each. Standard = November, December, January, February, 1-2wks March. Daylight = 2-3wks March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October. Since we are in Daylight Saving time for longer than Standard time, isn't Daylight Saving really Standard?

All in all, this picture sums up the conflicting signs on the economy. Its a real picture, fyi.

Thursday
Saving log - $5 tip box
Spending log - $4.50 coffee, breakfast sandwich + $16 groceries
Found money - $0.02 (crosswalk) + $0.01 (sidewalk)

Wednesday
Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $9 fruit & veg
Found money - $0

Discovered a pleasant surprise at work - if your performance was above a certain level you will get a 2% raise starting in mid-October. It means to me 35$/payperiod. I can live fairly well with my paycheck right now, so its time to look at the increase in paycheck and increase my savings accordingly. And mutter a silent prayer of thanks. With so many losing their jobs, having a job is cake. Getting a raise is icing.

Now what to do with the extra savings? Put it in the bank, I guess. Wouldn't it be nice during these "extend and pretend" times to find out the super-secret list that the FDIC uses. I can't say that this list is the super secret list, just a reasonable guess of those banks closer to the edge. Keep your savings under the limits, in any case. Oh yes, credit unions are better, but some have problems too. I'm searching for that list, but somehow that is less gossiped about.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $1.75 coffee + $7 fruit, yogurt
Found money - $0

I got caught not reconciling at my savings account ... Five days ago $48 was put into my savings account as "sweepstakes" savings. I know that Chase has a sweepstakes program, but I thought that was a pay your bill program, which would be checking. It seems a little odd - wouldn't it either be a round number or an amount that would match a bill? Mysterious.

At least its 48$ in and not 48$ out.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.64 coffee + $3 tomatoes, peaches + $1.80 coffee
Found money - $0.27 (road, 2 ft from traffic island) + $0.01 (floor of Safeway)

I learned a very important fact today.

Not that coffee costs 16 cents less in my neighborhood than it does downtown; and not that I can spot 2 pennies and a quarter on the road from my bus seat, stop at the next stop and walk to the change and pick it up. (I'm committed to coin rescue...or perhaps I should just be committed.)

Nope, I learned these days that the bigger brick & mortar banks (like JP Morgan Chased) will charge you a $3 fee for the privilege of moving money to an internet-based bank like ING. The reason why I read it and did not experience it first hand was that I, by shear luck, hit upon the right way to transfer. Always, always, always get ING to pull out the money from the brick & mortar bank. Never tell the brick & mortar bank to push it out. $3 ain't that much - or its 9 weeks of change hunting.

I also learned that my secret downtown Post Office office is in danger of being shut down. The list. In Seattle, you can wait in line for a couple hours at the gigantic feedlot at 3rd and Union site, or you can go to the little, intimate, general store PO in the Old Federal Building. Which would you pick? Time to let the secret out and mail my Drp payment from there and sign the list.

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.88 coffee, bagel +$1 peach
Found money - $0.01 (corner curb 3rd/Pike) + $0.01 (bus stop) + $0.02 (bus floor)

Pennies from heaven today, so I got a dollar's worth of change.

Monday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $0
Found money - $0.01 (sidewalk in front of coffeehouse)

Well, I've been relatively lucky in finding change - it only took me 19 days to find a bucks' worth, that with 4 days of no luck. I rarely find quarters at all, not to mention finding two. Its like getting paid to jog, walk, and touch my toes.

This current stock market rally is freaking me out a bit. My net worth is now above what it was June 2008, before the Great Fiscal Implosion.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $6 lunch + $20 drinks, dinner
Found money - $0

Must be hard to find change on Friday!

Will the last bank in Georgia to fold please turn out the lights?

Saving log - $0
Spending log - $11 breakfast + $4 iced coffee, cookie + $3 fresh produce

It was warm today and since I had gym yesterday, I just walked for about 4 miles.

I saw a tremendous number of For Rent signs everywhere in the university district. The University of Washington is on a quarter schedule, so the beginning of fall quarter is late September - early October, and it means that mid-July is a tad early for a landlord to fish for college student renters.

Everywhere downtown I also saw the adult version of the For Rent sign - named buildings with a glossy front poster describing the amenities. Every one of them (name) Apartments, not Condos. It would appear that city life is tipping toward the renter, rather than the investor.

Last night I took out a bit of money from my bank (now Chase). I'm on the West Coast; the ATM splash page was all about what to do with those California IOUs. Lots of writing, but the take home message of the splash page was: you are screwed if you try to treat them like cash.

The latest bank to hit the FDIC skids hit close to family - Bank of Wyoming in Thermopolis WY. DH's sister lived in Thermopolis for a number of years before she married BIL - they live not too far away from Thermopolis still. Wouldn't surprise me if she had a bit of money in them even now.

If you manage to have enough cash to buy a brokered CD for the interest rate, beware.

Its not bad if you know what you are really doing and the money is put in a bank that is using it wisely.

Fascinating reading on both ends. In these days of very low interest rates (under 1%), anything that pays even a low interest rate (3%) one still has to ask "is this too good to be true?"

Saving log - $11 tip box
Spending log - $10 library + $5 large limeade

Looked in my tip box and realized that with all the sadness, I hadn't put anything in. Sigh.

I noticed, along with fern, that I've been bogged down in saving money. I'm putting in the devil's contribution to my 403B ($666.00) every paycheck for the tax deferral. I've already added to my Roth, and now its just the tip box, $125 off the second paycheck of the month, feeding the Drps, and plowing the interest earned already into savings. Maybe about $300/month.

Interest is pretty depressing - I bonds are paying 0% interest, I'm not adding to my position. T-bills are maybe earning a bit more - still less than a dollar on $4K, so again, I'm not adding to my position. All of my savings accounts earn a pitiful amount of interest - the best of them earn about 2.5%. In other words, no account seems to be earning anything worthy of taking the time to put those few bucks into savings.

This recession trying my soul - I'd love to see some investment catch fire, but it looks like I have to make do with knowing that as long as I cover my bases, the next few years will be better.

I also am a bit late in pre-paying the 2Q tax bill (I'm now on the pre-paying quarterly schedule, rather than in April). Since I'm not earning a lot of interest, the tax bill is taking out a huge bite out of savings that I'm not earning back. I'm planning on talking with the tax guy to see if I should even bother paying the next two quarters.

At least I'm still employed - haven't heard anything yet about layoffs.

I stopped by the library to pay off my library fine. I went through my email and caught one from the library asking for donations. I've never seen that before, ever. Turns out that my library fine was $2.10. I gave the librarian a $10 and asked that the difference be considered a donation.

Put my savings in the tip box early. I wanted to speed things up because I didn't want to make a special errand to deposit a $1.96 check into savings. Much prefer to combine it with what is in the tip box. Total = $45 + $1.96 was a bit better.

I went into the flagship downtown WaMu and saw the gigantic semi-futuristic clear and blue plastic Chase logo perched on a wooden platform. It was a good twenty feet high. All of the WaMu and Washington Mutual lettering was gone. Confirmed that with the ATM interface.

WaMu's bones are dissolving. If next week I have to stick my hand in some goo to interface with my Chase bank data, somehow that wouldn't surprise me a bit. But I have to see the sunny side. There are several Chase ATMs in Oshkosh and Milwaukee; there never were any WaMus there. Looking forward to no ATM fees on vacation.

On another cheerful note, the 403B is doing splendiferous. I'm up about 3% in real return, apart from putting in over $600/paycheck. I've been buying cheap in the 403B since October. From $64K at the end of December, I'm up over $76K right now.

Eating our fantastically tasty home grown lettuce tonight. We are catching up with it.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $2 coffee

Got a pamphlet from Chase Bank yesterday, describing the new terms and conditions of my now Chase free checking account. Definitely alternated in tone between take-it/leave-it or make you fall asleep, like most terms and conditions. Kudos that it wasn't written in 3point type.

Reading these terms and conditions reminded me of the scene in Casablanca during the day before the Germans invaded Paris. Rick and Ilsa were on the balcony listening to a megaphone broadcasting harsh sounding French. Ilsa looks away...

"The Germans, they're telling us how to behave when they march in."

So far, as long as one behaves himself fiscally, the bank account features are free. We'll see whether the account holder is in chains.

Speaking of banking, where is Ferdinand Pecora when you really need him?

Lately I've been down on my luck finding change on the sidewalk, but today I found 12 cents in front of the ATM. Free money indeed.

Thursday
Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $162 electricity bill (for 2 months)

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $0

You might recall a couple of years ago a minor I-bond craze when the interest rate was 6%. I wonder how Treasury is going to play I bonds come May 1. The Consumer Price Index, Urban (CPI-U) average for the last six months was -5.5%.

I-bond interest rates are set in May and November for the six months at a time. They are comprised of a fixed rate, set by Treasury, and a variable rate, based on the CPI-U for the previous six months. When the CPI-U goes negative, the variable rate is set at 0, leaving just the fixed rate.

Most of my I-bonds have a fixed rate between 1 - 1.4% (I got in a bit late - when I-bonds were first rolled out they sported a fixed rate in the 3% range), generally but not always following the 12 month T-bill rate. In the last year, the fixed rate was 0.7% and 0%.

So it will be an interesting decision for Treasury. Will they offer an I-bond for 0% (0% fixed and 0% variable), that only a freakin' idiot would buy? (If you bought an I-bond six-seven months ago, you will hold an I-bond that will pay 0% for six months.) Or perhaps a 0.7% one that only a slightly smarter person would buy? Or will they decide that since a saver can only buy 5K worth of bonds, and perhaps determine that some should be sold (big ifs) that they will offer a reasonable fixed rate?

Any of those situations make it interesting times for the I-bond. At the very least, Treasury will tell us what they think of I-bond buyers.

Saturday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $12 breakfast + $108 earbuds + $12 groceries

Sunday
Saving log - $0
Spending log - $3.34 bagel, coffee + $13 conveyor belt sushi

Spending mostly on Saturday. DH bought a bit of stuff for kitty at Target including a large toy mouse ($2.50) which Morgan destroyed in two hours of pleasure. My very decent earbuds mostly gave up the ghost this week after Morgan clawed and bit 'em - the left ear cuts in and out and most songs crossfaded (separate tracks for the left and right ear mixed), it means that everything sounds even worse than 50%. The decent ear buds cost 100$, which seems atrocious, until you spend 20$ to 40$ a pop for cheap mistakes.

Last night I finally had to change my username online. Chase has been in the process of digesting WaMu - now only small WaMu logos are left, next to the big Chase logos. To the victor go the branding spoils.

Checked up on my 403B. You might remember that pre-October that my old money was invested conservatively (40% stock/60% cash & bond). In October I changed my new contributions to 90% stock and 10% bond. So far, I've made up my losses from last quarter.

Sunday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $3.35 coffee, bagel + $1.50 apple + $10 groceries

Monday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $5.70 mocha, bagel + $5 cup of soups, juice

Coming down with a cold - it was a 'not quite right' feeling yesterday, but today it tightened its grip. I've have to tell Morgan to stop sneezing directly into my face. Why can't she sneeze into her paw like we're supposed to?

Yesterday I tried out my Christmas gift- a wristwatch-heart rate monitor (2 parter with the strap around the sternum). I learned a lot, especially why I can do 7 miles of walking, yet not drop weight. It turns out that unless there is an incline, even speed walking puts me at a heart rate of about 95-106 bmp. An incline will put me in the 120s bmp, any decent hill (like nearly any Seattle downtown street going from 2nd - 5th) puts me in the 130s, while jogging will get me to 135-145. Sigh. Good to know that my heart rate drops quickly after the little jog, but unfortunately it has to be less walking and more jogging.

Today is a holiday for me, and a chance to be lazy and catch up on Battlestar Galactica. (I'm only on the beginning of season 2, so frak you if you make spoiler comments.)

As far as the fiscal is concerned, here's the reason why the fixed rate really determines whether you buy the I-bond or not. If there is deflation or no inflation, the fixed rate is what you get.

And finally, giving thanks that we've survived the 43rd president. Please let the 44th be better; he can't be much worse.

Friday
Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $5.77 box lunch

Thursday
Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $14 lunch

Yesterday I went into work even though I probably shouldn't have. There were a couple of meetings that I had to attend. One was a casual meeting with the COO and two other supervisors - we meet to keep the COO up on the department doings while our boss is on leave. We talked a bit about how our new internal staffers were doing with some of the work we were giving them. Everybody is working out well on both sides - we have the extra work right now, and during these recessionary days nobody at work wants to be sitting on their hands.

The other meeting I felt I had to make was a visit from the Merrill Lynch administrator of our the 403B plan. He talked a bit about the two new funds replacing two under-performing funds in January (my bond fund is one of them), and he answered the question pleasantly when I asked him, "How's Bank of America treating you?" Apparently Merrill Lynch will be a subsidiary of BofA, not totally chewed up and digested.

I suppose I could have missed both of these meetings, but it meant that I had enough witnesses - I had no qualms about calling in sick today.

But I bundled up and did make the gym meeting with the new trainer. (We meet once a week on Fridays.) Something about losing $60 as a no-show made me brave it. He took one look at me, weighed me (184.8 lbs) we worked on the food plan for an hour, then he made a little green tick at the end indicating that this meeting will probably be a freebie. All because I showed up. I usually can't wheedle into freebies most places, but gym is apparently one the few places that I can.

And at the very end of the day, I got a bit of money from the neighborhood WaMu and asked the teller whether he was going away. Apparently the layoffs were in corporate and in back office - the WaMu branches are to be untouched, except maybe to have "Chase" all over them. I was happy to hear that and he was happy to hear that the neighbors were concerned.

Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $10 lunch + $12 office party

Got caught up with lawyer friend at lunch and went to the office party (drinks and snacks) held two block from work, so there was a bit of spending. Tomorrow I'll bring the lunch and gym to even out the spending. I can now make $40 last the whole week.

Pulled the trigger on accumulating the devil money in the 403B. And yes, I definitely noticed the 0% 4 wk T-bill. I've learned my lesson - the money's getting pulled back into ING. To depress me a bit, I looked through my records on what my t-bills used to earn, $60, $70, $80/ month, quite a bit better than ING. Oh yes, I found two pennies today, so I immediately paid myself a better rate.

The cashbox came today, so it was time to arrange the recession kit. I want them to open it right away - no need to wait until GD v.2.0.
From the top, with Christmas card taped inside:


And from the coin tray and a peek at the till:

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $7.47 groceries (the checker exclaimed that my bill was a plane)

Had another nearly no spend day - with the brown bagging, and the home brew coffee I only spent at the grocery store this evening. Breakfast bars and a head of raw garlic. I felt like I staved off a couple of colds last month by a raw clove of garlic chopped in a salad.

Over lunch today, I caught the PC World's 11 Lamest blogs. Well, I blog, and thankfully this is not one of them. However number 6 has a very familiar format.

I also picked up this useful article. The next time someone asks me about how to be frugal, that they have to be frugal, and yet somehow can't be frugal, well, I can be torn between two responses:
1. Well, that's quite a problem, but you are smart and you can figure it out!
2. Wow, you are screwed! Where's my coffee cup?

Oh, and I found two pennies today. I'm moving another $4K back to ING. It would have earned 13 cents as a T-bill.

Saving log - $5 tip box
Spending log - $12 lunch

We're getting our paychecks early this month - normally its the last day of the month, which this month falls on a Sunday. On a weekend, we get paid on the last work day of the month, which in other months would be Friday. Of course this month Friday is not a workday (hopefully its not your workday either), so the last workday of the month is ... tomorrow. 5 day early paycheck.

I finally got the hint and decided to cut off my recurring T-bill buying. For laughs I looked at what I would have earned on a 4wk $4,000 T-bill: 16 cents. The money that would have bought the T-bill now goes into the Treasury's no interest account, and I move that back into ING. What $4,000 will earn in ING in 4wks: $8.43.

I've been noticing more living thrifty articles. Here's one from Alternet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Saving log - $4 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch

Watching a guy do a very frugal 15 sec stair step workout. It wasn't busy, so he ran up the down escalator.

We got all of our temp staff here and orientated. Orientation included food, so I didn't have to tear into my breakfast/ energy bar stock. I got a little SBC coffee card which I will hold in reserve. Plastic in the bank, as it were.

Put my tip box squeezings in for this month.

Made the Thanksgiving Day plans - we are eating with the Duvall friends. It made sense because if they come here, they have to put the poultry away for the night (otherwise the free ranging cougar gets her own Thanksgiving) or they have to come here early to leave early to put the poultry away. When it gets dark at 5pm, it puts a crimp in the festivities.

Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch + $.40 banana

Again with the busy. The CFO (who is, during our bosses' leave, is our acting boss), kindly reminded me that a little bit of overtime, strategically deployed, can be appropriate if its a busy hump.

Took a look at the T-bill interest this month: 22 cents. Now its insulting, pops. Time to think about taking scfr's T-bill "breather" myself and move the money into ING. I can move it back if the interest improves.

...just under the wire; today was the last day. Found a dime on the curb this morning.

I had a "joke" goal to find more spare change than what my T-bill would earn that month.

T-bill interest = .31 cents

This month, I found = .39 cents
(.05 + .11 + .01 + .02 + .10 + .10)

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $1.92 coffee + $10 lunch

After that little bit of election history last night I had a shot of bourbon, flipped through the news channels (the FOX affiliate was wonderfully apocalyptic), listened to McCain's wonderful speech (why wasn't he running?), then I took a bath and went to bed.

Today I loosened up by buying a coffee at Seattle's Best and had lunch with the gang. We assume that Sarah Palin will assume Ted Stevens's senate seat (he will have to step down because he is a convicted felon), making it pretty interesting for her and McCain in a couple of months.

Not much fiscal happened, although just when I've given up finding my .12, I find a dime on the floor of the bus near my feet.
.12 - .10 = .02 to go before I find .31 to match the T-bill interest. I have two days to do it. This next 4-week T-bill happens not to be any great shakes either: .99 this time.

Its dang hard finding change on the sidewalk when you have a goal to meet. Why is that?

Saving log - $2 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch

All that walking around north Seattle heading from house to downtown, all while noting bus stops paid off today.

I live in North Seattle, my usual morning bus crosses into downtown via the Aurora Bridge. I caught the bus while lugging about 15 pounds of canned goods (food drive), and congratulated myself on my luck. The intercom on the bus was on, the dispatcher mentioned delays on Aurora. I settled in because that's fairly usual.

We got to Fremont Ave (the very pretty leaf-strewn street in the post below). Traffic was backed up, we didn't move, and the dispatch estimated a hour to hour & half to get to downtown.

Time to get off, even lugging the cans. The aisle seat woman and I chatted as we walked along Fremont from 42nd to across the Fremont Bridge. We saw at least three large police vans and fire trucks on Aurora. The aisle seat woman crossed headed on Dexter. I had cans, so I waited on Nickerson to catch the 17. Everything was late, but I caught it, stood in the aisle, did the penguin-chick thing with the bag of canned goods. Got into work at 9:45. I was sooo happy to dump those cans!

Turned out it was a jumper on the Aurora Bridge. You know, its so odd to want to off yourself in such a public way as jumping off a bridge during rush hour. Suicide is not really an extrovert's activity; its not entertaining so what's the audience for? Talking you down? Cheering you on?

The odyssey this morning was useful. I found two pennies while I was walking.

.14 - .02 = .12 to get to .31. I now have this week to find 12 cents on the street.

Found out that our floor won the Halloween decorating contest. I chatted a bit with the organizer - if we weren't so politically correct, our floor would have swept all the categories, so we got Best Overall.

I bonds got their new interest rates today. 0.70% fixed rate 4.92% cpi for a total rate of 5.64%. Still not fantastic, but better than the last batch with a fixed rate of 0.0%.

Thank you all for the ideas for a cheap Halloween costume. I got inspired last night by a photo of ... candy corn!

So white sneaks, long white socks, orange pants, light yellow long sleeved top, yellow hair dye. I saw a pair of orange pants at Value Village for $20... too rich for my blood. I got a pair of white jeans for $7, and two packs of tangerine Rit dye for $3/pk. I used both packs - I want the pants brick orange, because the dye always dries lighter. The pants are soaking now.

Festive, warm, non-slutty, funny, simple.

Oh yes, found a penny in the QFC parking lot.
.15 -.01 =.14 to go to equal my T-bill interest.

Saturday
Saving log - $.11
Spending log - $14 brunch + $7 groceries

Friday
Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch + $50 dinner for 2

Yesterday DH and I hit a just opened brewpub right next to our coffeehouse. Not bad for a beer, but it was very busy, proving, in part, that beer is nearly recession proof. After the beer (the pub really didn't have a lot of food choices), we walked past a 5 table Greek restaurant, and got the very last table. DH had the lamb, I had the chicken, and the price above included a glass of wine and tip.

Today I worked off a bit of the beer and Greek chicken by walking from work to home - about 7 miles.

During the walk, I found a dime and a penny. I am challenging myself to find .31 in change in 4 weeks ... therefore doubling what I earned in interest on my T-bill that month. With the nickel from last week -
.26 - .11 = .15 left to go.

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $11 lunch, paper + $2 donation + $11 groceries

Did a good money deed late in the day. I was at the neighborhood WaMu ATM, when I saw the ATM frantically pushing in and pushing out a card. The receipt (for $13) jut out of the slot. I figured that he (name was on the card) left the card in a fit of pique. Still, not good. I pulled it out, put my card in, got my money, then took the card and receipt, put it in a deposit envelope, then stuck it in the deposit slot.

I figure that the bank will open it and set the card aside. The bank might call the guy, they might not, but at least the card is not an attractive nuisance.

After lunch I walked back and saw that the Seattle Fire Dept had a little exhibit open. Free, but I put in $2. and who wouldn't, seeing these beauties:


And the fantastic ancient hook and ladders:


And the spinner rims of 1890:

Saving log - $3 tip box
Spending log - $15 lunch

Put my $44 in tip box earnings into the downtown bank (WaMu Tower) this month. Still WaMu in name, on the slips, & the teller uniform and in the color scheme, but the colors of the banners are changing, with a few items called "Chase". The ATM - the electronic face - is now branded Chase. Digestion is at a plateau.

Looking forward to a NSD. Tomorrow is coffee from the French press at work and a lunch party.

Our boss, out on family leave, announced the birth of her daughter by her partner. Pwhew - she went on family leave and for two weeks we heard nothing about birth and delivery.

Saving log - $6 tip box
Spending log - $9 lunch + $1.70 cream cheese

This month I made .31 in T-bill interest. For laughs, I'm going to see if I can find at least .31 cents in the next three weeks. I found a nickel in our driveway and in the dark.

.31 - .05 = .26 to go.

I walked past the little pocket park and discovered that the city had bought two more parcels next to the park and were interested in turning them into P-patches.

I'd be very interested in a bed in a P-patch... it would be 1 1/2 blocks away.

Saving log - $0 tip box
Spending log - $10 lunch

My $4000 in this week's monthly T-bill has earned me a grand total of 31 cents. I don't know whether, again, everyone's fleeing to safety from stocks from last week, or will be fleeing stocks next week. All I know is that this month I can do better by sticking the money in my mattress and hunt for sidewalk change. There's only one flaw in the plan - its fall, and its dark during my walk. Hard to spot those little metal circles in the dark.

I opened up the envelope containing my 403B results. As of Sept 30, I lost 6.5%. Well done, baselle.

Saving log - $1 tip box
Spending log - $13 lunch

I looked at the totals of all of my accounts and compared them to the numbers that I ran on my net worth on 6/30/2008.

I've lost $25.7K since late June.

Today, my dividend stock portfolio, about 4% of my total net worth, is down about 16%. KO is still showing a profit - my average share cost of KO is $42, so it has to drop a bit more before I lose money. WEC is also showing the barest of profit (8$). In other words, both have "the margin of safety".

If KO gets down to $42, I think that's when I will buy more. The rest of the DRPs I will maintain the discipline and dollar cost average. Dip implies a drop and then a rise. Well, while I believe in the rise, it looks far, far away.

In May last year, I re-allocated my 403B holdings to (for me) a very conservative mix - 30% bond, 20% cash, 10% gov bonds, 40% stock. (I was 90% stock, 10% bond). I blogged about it quickly, but didn't discuss it much in real life. I figured I would get teased for trying to "time the market". I'm glad I did, and would do it again - I'm down about 10% on the 403B holdings.

The rest is cash and cash equivalents (T-bills, I-bonds). Most of grandma's inheritance is still in a cash money market in Vanguard. Vanguard is participating in the Treasury Guarantee program, so if it "breaks the buck", we'll all be standing around burn barrels to keep warm.

So far I've kept my nose above water and have done much, much better than many. I do want to explore getting out of the very conservative mix of my 403B (stocks are about to get cheap enough for buying on that margin of safety), but I want to do so in a thoughtful, calculated way. I plan on blogging my thoughts, calculations, and analysis. I've been giving advice to others about looking into what they have in mutual funds and making reasonable decisions based on that. Time to practice what I preach.