HSBC Say It Aint So!

HSBC it seems like just yesterday that you were offering me 5.05% APY on my savings accounts. My how you have changed since then. Now you are offering me 3.80% AP. It isn't all bad, though, you are still at the higher end of the online banks. I just hope that you don't take the Fed's 50 basis point drop in rates today as an invitation to disappoint me even further!

Remember the good ole' days....

US Foreclosures Up 75%!!

Hello All,

Take a look at this map of foreclosure activity in the US. It really is too bad that the bubble had to burst like it did, but I guess all good things must come to an end. As John Bogle says, "The bigger the boon, the bigger the bust." And afterall, it was a pretty big boon!

I have an uncle in Florida that has foreclosed on two homes on golf courses in the nice posh neighborhoods of West Palm Beach. It sucks to think that he lost alot of money in those potential investments, but I guess it is just the free market at work!?!?!

I digress....back to the article...

 

According to RealtyTrac the foreclosure activity in the US is up 75% since 2006. 

Top annual foreclosure rates
Nevada posted the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate for 2007, with 3.4 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year — more than three times the national average. The state documented the highest monthly foreclosure rate in all 12 months of the year. A total of 66,316 foreclosure filings on 34,417 properties were reported in Nevada in 2007, an increase of more than 200 percent in total filings from 2006.

With more than 2 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year, Florida documented the second highest state foreclosure rate for 2007. A total of 279,325 foreclosure filings on 165,291 properties were reported in the state during the year, more than twice the number of filings reported in 2006. The state’s foreclosure filing total in December was up 275 percent from December 2006, and its fourth quarter total was up 211 percent from the fourth quarter of 2006.                    

Michigan documented the nation’s third highest state foreclosure for 2007, with 1.9 percent of its households entering some stage of foreclosure during the year. A total of 136,205 foreclosure filings on 87,210 properties were reported in the state during the year, a 68 percent increase in total filings from 2006. Michigan foreclosure activity dipped 17 percent from the third quarter to the fourth quarter, but its December foreclosure filing total was still up more than 70 percent from December 2006.

Satirical Sub-prime Explanation

Hello All,

I came across this satire of the sub-prime mess. Check it out. It is very funny and quite informative! I love the British humor!

Cheers,
TMac

[via Open Culture]

Hate Your Job? Maybe It's Time to Consider a New One!

Over the past few months I have been hinting on this blog that I am not overly happy with my position at work. Since the new partner has taken over my group I have noticed that things have begun to get more rigid and office politics are playing an ever increasing role in who gets promoted. Formerly, your advancement in The Firm has been tied directly to how well you did your job. Fortunately I do my job very well. Unfortunately (for them) I don't play politics.

As such over the past few weeks I have started quietly looking for a new job and gathering my thoughts about what I would like to do going forward.

To get to a place where I could act I needed to ask myself a few crucial questions. Use these as a guide to help get the dialogue started. Talk to your friends, spouse, significant other, etc. to get as many points of view as possible.

1. Do I like what I am doing?
   I like what I am doing because I am good at it. Auditing isn't a "sexy career by any means, but it is stable, well-paying, and relatively recession-proof.
2. Do I like doing my my job or my preferred job in the city I am currently living in?
   Currently I do not like living in the DC Metro. I have been here 1.5 years and haven't really found many people that I connect with and enjoy the same things I enjoy. I would like to move.
3. What kinds of professional designations will help me attain better standing with prospective employers?
   In my case, the CISA - Certified Information Systems Auditor. For you it will likely be different - Real Estate License, etc.
4. If I want to move to a new city, will I be able to afford living there with my expected earnings?
   I will be able to live comfortably in my new city given my earning potential (more on where I will be living at a later time). Take into consideration that you may not be able to support yourself in Manhattan on a wage for an entry level marketing assistant.
5. If I want to move to a new city, will it support my other interests and goals?
   I think that it will. I am very interested in Freemasonry, Real Estate, Social Entrepreneurship and bike riding. I think that my new city will provide me opportunities to get exposure to all those things. Unfortunately, DC isn't the most entrepreneurial of towns!

So here are just a few of the questions I have asked myself over the past few months as I have searched for a new job and a new city. Surely there are other good questions to ask. However this is meant to be a jumping off point to start the discussion of your next steps.

December 2007 Networth - Assets +4.4%, Liabilities -1.5%, Networth +4.7%

Well I haven't been posting in a while and I actually missed my November networth update. I apologize for that!

Anyway the month of December was pretty strong since I was able to pay for most of my Christmas purchases in cash.

I think that the big accomplishment this month was I was able to pay down a good about of my credit card debt.

Anyway I am keeping this short and sweet.

 

Cheers,
TMac