Posted on: May 14, 2009 by Matt
A lot of people writing about personal finance seem to have quite a bit to say about investing and investment strategy. However – I do not invest much at all. The total of my investments is the roll over IRA I have from a 401K plan I had with an old employer. Why do I not invest? Do I not understand the importance? Well – mostly because I am trying to eliminate my debt prior to putting money away for retirement. I do plan to invest in the long run but right now it does not fit all that well into my budget.
That said - I still do have the one IRA account that I normally do not pay much attention to. When my statement came in the mail earlier this week I noticed that it still had an old address on it (since we moved) and figured I should open it up and give them a call to update the address. I had not checked the balance on the account since transferring it over to a new institution (I moved it to a local firm with somebody that I know from high school). So I was pleased this month when I discovered a 10% increase in the plan value.
I know these numbers go up and down frequently but was still rather impressed given the current economic state. When I spoke with my financial advisor he noted that he has been seeing some action lately that makes him hopeful we are on the way to recovery. He also believes that people who stayed in through the economic downturn or are just buying in now should see some pretty good results if the trends continue.
I for one have had enough with the crazy econcomic news and am looking forward to a positive change. I hope that my advisor is correct and we do start to see a turn around!
Posted on: April 15, 2009 by Matt
Happy Tax Day everyone! I hope that everyone was able to get their taxes out already or is at least able to get them in the mail today!
I have noted that I have already finished mine and am really glad that I do not have to worry about them today. Now I plan on sitting back and relaxing a little bit today and watching some news coverage on MSNBC regarding the crazy right wing tea-bagging parties.
I happen to particularly enjoy the clips from the Rachel Maddow Show coverage but I suppose that’s just my liberal point of view.
Posted on: March 25, 2009 by Matt
With all the economic stimulus talk buzzing around lately I thought I would take a minute and put my one little wish out there with all the other ideas. While I believe there are a lot of great areas the stimulus package will address the one that I do not believe is listed that I would (selfishly) add would be a forgiveness or rehabilitation program for privatized student loans.
I am sure that I am not the only person struggling with paying off old student loans that fell into bad standing. Federal loan programs offer several methods to get back into the good graces of your lender but the private programs leave you in collections and generally unable to get back into good standing. I have yet to find a program that will work with you to get your private student loans out of a collection or default cycle and removed as bad debt on your credit report.
I am not saying we should just waive all the bad debt – I took the loans and made a mistake and want to repay the debt. I would like however to have a program to get the loans back into good standing and off my credit report. With the loans in good standing with a reasonable payment the $20,000 I have in collections would not be such a source of stress in my life and it certainly would not prevent me from moving forward. There are all sorts of programs coming up for people behind on their mortgages – why not something for those that would like to get other aspects of their lives back on track?
For me - getting the private loans I have rehabilitated would allow me to move forward with several other areas of my life. Right now these loans are the primary reason that I am unable to look into buying a house (they are the only negative item on my credit report). My job is steady, I pay my bills on time or early and am in otherwise good standing. However having the $20,000 in a negative report on my credit report inhibits me from moving forward.
Anyway – I do not expect anything to come of my little rant but if a program did come up I would certainly be excited! In the mean time – I will just continue to work on repaying the debt as quickly as I can. It will take a long time but it is my next big obstacle to overcome while working towards my goal of owning a home.
