Trip to Orleans, Bowflex Dumbells, Side Income

So I headed for a trip to New Orleans for a bachelor party a couple weeks ago.  I actually lost only $40 gambling, but spent around 1k on food, alcohol, and of course, the gentleman's clubs.  It was a lot of fun, but I was happy to head home after being there for nearly a week since a work related event happened right afterward.  I really don't ever take vacations so the financial hit wasn't too much of an issue, but I guess in my old age spending 1k just for some partying and some gluttony is sort of excessive.

I ordered some Bowflex dumbbells, the Selecttech 552 set, and am planning on doing some p90x when i get them.  I am trying to get back into shape, both by working on my bowflex machine (that I picked up in December) and also running.  I will be using the dumbbells to supplement that regime.

I am back to playing a little online poker for some side income, but the time constraints are weighing pretty heavy, since I work 10-12 hours a day, then I get home and try to eat and if I do exercise it leaves me very little time.  I want to get in at least 30 hours a month though which usually nets me at least $300.  It's not much but if you look at it as a percentage of disposable income it adds a significant amount in that regard.

I did do some budgeting and even with my 1k car payments a month, I am netting over $1500 to save every month.  With an extra 300 a month you can see that that is +20%. Once my car payment is over with, this number jumps to over $2500 a month.  I am hoping by that time I can move up in the poker limits and net around $500 a month which is again, still +20%.  It's sort of funny how you might think a hundred bucks here or there isn't a lot of money when you look at your budget as a whole, but if you think about it in terms of the percentage of extra income you can save every month, it gives more perspective.  If you can save +20% a month to retirement, that is 20% more money you'll have at retirement, or will allow you to retire earlier than you expected.

February Summary

Here's the February Summary of my financials:

Spending

Auto & Transport	$1,712.05
Home	$1,534.34
Bills & Utilities	$406.75
Food & Dining	$291.95
Entertainment	$231.94
Uncategorized	$98.68
Personal Care	$86.97
Gifts & Donations	$78.97
Shopping	$38.24
Travel	$15.00
Fees & Charges	$2.25

Income

Paycheck	$5,834.24
Reimbursement (Tax Refund)	$4307.10
Income (Other)	$207.72
Interest Income	$0.32

Net Income was $6620.04 thanks to a hefty tax refund.

Accounts:
 Checking+Savings = 15103.98
HSA = 873.60

Credit Card Debt:
Capital One = -1914.39

Auto Debt:
US Bank = -4847.05

401K = 119.56
IRA = 14904.81
Assets: $228,224
Debts: 179,694

Net Worth: $48,500 (+9400 From Jan 2011)

As a 31 year old single male, this net worth is probably around average. My goal over this year is to increase my net worth to 70k.  Then by 2013 to be over 100k. I think it is doable but will require some discipline on my part.  A longer term goal is to be at 300k by the time I'm 40.

Welcome!

In this blog, I plan to summarize my financial progress as a 30k millionaire from Dallas, TX.  If you don't know what a 30k millionaire is, just look it up on urban dictionary.  This blog is more of a satire of that lifestyle, than me actually being one, since I am fortunate enough to make a decent salary and am actually frugal and not living paycheck to paycheck, or trying to keep up with the Jones' (although that's not a mundane task in and of itself in Dallas).

I'll probably post little tidbits of financial related information as the days go on as well.