On to "real" life, because so far life has all been fake

Well, it's official, as our license plate frame proudly states, we are both BYU Alumni! Nate graduated Magna Cum Laude (he told me to write the graduation post so I can brag about how smart he is, so that's what I'm doing!) from the Marriott School of Management with a business management degree with an emphasis in finance. Basically he has worked really hard for the last four years, and now has a piece of paper to prove it (actually that will come in the mail in 4-6 weeks.) Graduation weekend was jam-packed full of fun. Nate's parents, brother, and grandma all came. We ate, we played, we went to a few events that required far too much sitting. If you have ever sat on the benches at the Marriott Center for 2 + hours with people packed in on all sides of you, then you know what I'm talking about. But it was all worth it to see my incredibly good looking husband walk across the stage to get his fake diploma, and we have pictures to prove it! He has graduated from college life to "real life" and is now ready to join the work force where he will never get another "semester break," that is until grad school. As a result, Nate now has an uncomfortably large amount of discretionary time. This is bad news for him, but good news for me. I get him to help me catch up on grading stuff for my class, and I can depend on him to clean the house and do the dishes because, hey what else is he going to do! Of course the tides will quickly turn when we move to Denver, he is the one with the full-time job, and I get to stay at home with an uncomfortable amount of discretionary time.

Nate walking across the stage to get his diploma.

The fam with President and Sister Samuelsen.

The proud wife with the relieved graduate.

Nate's Secrets to Financial Success #2

Sorry, I've been a little awol lately dealing with finals and our recent trip to Denver to find a place to live. We ended up finding a really nice apartment that is right next to Northrop Grumman. It will literally be a 3 minute walk to work. We're happy about not having to buy another car or deal with the daily commute.

I also finished my last final yesterday, so I'm home free to graduate! Graduation is on Thursday and Friday of this week, so I'm pretty pumped. I have to go pick up my cap and gown today. I might just wear it all day tomorrow, Thursday, and Friday. We'll see.

So I'm glad that people seemed to agree with my first secret to financial success, and that I was able to give out a couple more budgets. You know, living within your means includes saving what you didn't spend that month. I recommend saving a bare minimum of 10% of your income every month. Now, what do you do with this extra cash? You could stash it under the mattress, and when you go and grab it in 20 years, it will still be there, faithful as ever. Or, if you're smart, you can make it magically multiply.

#2 - Invest Wisely

It's been said that compound interest is the 8th wonder of the world. Einstein said "The most powerful force in the universe is compound interest." And that guy knew a little about powerful forces. Let's do a little illustration to show why compound interest is so powerful. From 1926 to 1999, the average annual return in the U.S. stock market was roughly 11%. Let's say you make $2000 every month, and save $200 for long term needs. After 30 years of doing this, without investing in anything, you would have $72,000. If you invested this money every month into the stock market, getting a less than average return of 9% per year, you would have $366,148.70 at the end of the 30 years. Yeah, that's pretty powerful.

Most people want to invest, but don't know how or what to invest in. Here's a secret for you...


#2b - Invest in what you know

Peter Lynch, the famous former manager of one of the most successful mutual funds ever, Fidelity's "Magellan" Fund, agrees with this statement. In fact, he was the one who said it.

For example, do you like skateboarding? Is there a type of skateboarding equipment that you really love and consider to be the best? Chances are there are reasons you think that way, and chances are that other people will begin to think the same way. Invest in that company!

Are you a foodie? Ever considered investing in your favorite brand of cookware or pots and pans? It's great; You find a company you really like, give them a little money to help them make more stuff you really like, and then they give you your money back, with a little extra on top!

Note that there is risk in any investment, and you will see higher returns from riskier investments. If the money you are wanting to invest is something you will need in the short term, I would recommend investing in something stable like CD's, money market funds, or even bonds and treasuries. It's good to have atleast 3 months worth of income set aside where you can get to it easily. This money you should definitely invest very conservatively.

If you're a really timid investor like me, start out with the really safe investments, and then do a lot of research. Go out and get a mutual fund that someone else manages, or an index fund, that will rise and fall with the stock market as a whole. You just put it there and basically forget about it. 20 years from now, barring some kind of government collapse, you'll have more there than just what you put in.....probably a lot more.

The point is, if you love something, invest in it! Chances are other people love it too.

So get out there and invest your extra cash, but do it wisely. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Oh, and by the way, if anyone is interested, I've found a way to double your money in less than a year by investing in offshore mining. So just give me a call or send me a check and we'll both be rich in no time.....or atleast one of us will.


It's all about the Washington's baby....

Julie's favorite recipes

So, I thought since Nate is giving out unsolicited financial advice I would give out unsolicited recipes. I'm not a goumet chef, I don't have pictures of my creations, but I thought it would be fun to share a few of my favorite recipes with the cyber world. This one is a staple at our house that I made one time when I wanted a Caesar salad that could be a meal. I call it Tortellini Caesar Salad.

1 bag frozen cheese tortellini
2 chicken breasts
1 head romaine lettuce
Croutons (preferably Caesar flavored)
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Creamy Caesar salad dressing

Cook the tortellini, drain, and rinse with cold water. While tortellini is cooking grill the chicken breasts either on a Foreman grill or in a little olive oil. Wash the lettuce and break into bite sized pieces, set aside. Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces. Add cooled tortellini, chicken, croutons, and parmesan cheese to lettuce. Toss with dressing. Enjoy!

Robin

My cousin Robin Rozier Groff returned to our Heavenly Father yesterday after a courageous 2 1/2 year battle with leukemia. Here she is with her husband Jason and sweet daughter Hailey. Our thoughts and prayers are with them. It breaks me up to think that this little girl doesn't have a mommy anymore, but I have faith and know that they will all be reunited someday. Heavenly Father's plan is an amazing thing!

Nate's Secrets to Financial Success

Only 14 days till graduation! Everyone knows that any kind of academic graduation is a great opportunity to receive all kinds of unsolicited advice. Well, this time as I approach graduation, I’m turning the tables and giving out some advice of my own. And seeing as I needed a soapbox, this blog has become my advice-giving medium.

I’ve been thinking a lot about finances and financial success and how to achieve it. I’ve spent the last couple years studying financial strategy full-time, so it’s a subject that tends to occupy my thoughts. So I’ve come up with "Nate’s Secrets to Financial Success."

Now, I understand that normally when someone gives advice about financial matters, it usually helps if they have had some financial success themselves. I have not. But I haven't had any financial failures either! However, I would like to say that my lack of financial independence is because I’ve been in school my whole life, minus two years in Brazil not getting paid. Yes, I'm just a poor college student. Anyway, I really feel that these are sound principles based on the opinions and research of a lot of professors and people I respect for their financial prowess. So during the next couple weeks, I am going to post a new tip every day, or every other day. Enjoy!

Note: This is not a get-rich-quick guide. Wealth is built over long periods of time. Over 90% of lottery winners use up all their winnings within ten years, and the vast majority of all millionaires in the United States never received any money from anyone as a gift or from winning anything. There may very well be ways to get rich quick out there, but there are also a lot of ways to go bankrupt or go to prison. My goal is to avoid both, while being financially successful in the process.

#1 – Live within your means!

Everyone seems like they know what this means, but a large number of Americans seem to not really understand it. This means spend less than you earn! Wow, that’s complicated. In 2005, the U.S. personal savings rate dipped below zero for the first time ever. This means that as a whole, the U.S. is spending more than it is making. Think for awhile about that, and you will realize that it can’t go on for very long. Think about it a little longer and you might realize that the current “credit crunch” that we are seeing is related to the mindset of “If I haven’t got the money now, that’s ok I’ll just pay it at some indeterminate time in the future.

An intuitive Chinese proverb states: “Live like you’re poor, and you’ll always be rich. Live like you’re rich, and you’ll always be poor.”

I’ve found that wealth has very little to do with income. Unless you consciously fight it, your expenses will always rise to meet your income. I read an article on a financial website the other day about a woman with two kids who was making $70,000 per year. She was suddenly laid off, and two weeks later she was on food stamps. The story was written trying to show how difficult it is to get along in the world, and what a tough situation she was in. I agree, losing your job is not fun, and can create some unkind financial circumstances. However, if you dig a little deeper into the article, you realize that her neighbor sneezing could have caused some financial turmoil.

First of all, she had a $2,500 monthly mortgage payment. According to my calculations, at an interest rate of 6% for 30 years, she was living in an approximately $415,000 house. She was also obviously not saving a whole lot, seeing as what she did have saved lasted for less than two weeks. Maybe I should feel sorry for this person, but I don’t. She was living beyond her means, and she bit the dust.

So, one of the best ways to assure that you are doing this is to create a budget, and to stick to it. I created a budget in excel that Julie and I use, and it has helped us to track our expenses, make financial goals, and save a lot of money. I’ve programmed it to be completely automated, so all you have to put in is your income and expenses, and it will calculate how much you are saving, spending, etc. in any number of categories.

I’d like to make this budget available to anyone who wants it, but haven’t figured out how to post a downloadable copy of it online yet. I have put a few screenshots here so that you can get an idea of what it looks like. If any of you want one, leave a comment with your email address, and I will send you a copy of a generic budget that you can use. I don’t mind. It makes me feel like I’m making a positive impact on the world, or atleast on the two or three people that read this blog.

Stay tuned for Nate’s next “Secret to Financial Success!”

Note: The screenshots don't show all the calculations or graphs that the budget creates for you, they are just a sampling, and it is filled with hypothetical data, not anyone's actual income and expenses. (click on each screenshot to get a closer look)

General Conference

As always, general conference was amazing! I love spending the weekend being spiritually uplifted and edified. Nate and I were lucky enough to attend the Sunday morning session. If you missed the Music and the Spoken Word yesterday...it was amazing. I loved being able to participate in the solemn assembly on Saturday. It is so cool to me that we have such a strict structure as to what happens when the prophet dies so there is never any question about it and the work moves forward. I hope you all enjoyed it as well. Please vote in our poll. I picked some of mine and Nate's favorites. I'm just sad that we have to wait 6 more months to have conference again!