Accountant by Day

This is a guest post by MoneySupermarket.com It is difficult to overstate the importance of the technological legacy left by Steve Jobs given that he created several products that have revolutionized existing industries or, more often than not, created markets under their own steam. The Apple iPad, launched in 2010, was a surprise hit because many assumed a tablet that resembled and behaved like an oversized iPhone would not find an audience.

There are two ways to save more money: spend less, or earn more. There are a bunch of great posts out there on how to earn extra money, in addition to what you bring in at your regular job. Looking for ways to make income on the side can be a great way to help you diversify your income sources, and to occupy your free time with an income-producing activity, rather than with high-cost hobbies.

Tax season is here! Happy dance I love doing my taxes. Mostly because, since buying the house, I always get a nice big refund. Of course I know that means I loaned the government money for free over the past year, but it also means extra savings I didn’t know that I had! A couple years ago, I used almost my whole refund to purchase a nice bicycle. Still enjoying that, but this year I plan to add that refund straight to my savings account!

Amount of payment going to principal increased by 67 cents this month. Outstanding principal balance = $132,394.09 July Payment: $1,000.00 Principal: 215.64 Interest: 414.41 Escrow: 369.95 June Payment: $1,000.00 Principal: 214.97 Interest: 415.08 Escrow: 369.95 One of my coworkers bought a house in the last year, and refinanced last month to get a ridiculously low rate. They switched from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year, and apparently their monthly mortgage payment is the same on the 15-year payment plan with the new interest rate as it was on the 30-year plan.

In July, I came up with a new goal: to hoard $4,500 in cash in my savings account by the end of 2011. I’m not sure that I managed to save any more cash this month than in prior months, but my total cash inflow was approximately $609. You can see that reflected in my new goal-tracking widget located in the sidebar. Extra Expenses in July: I had to buy a wedding gift this month, and paid an extra $157 towards my student loan to get the balance to below $14,000!

A little late to be posting it, since the mortgage payment was made 22 days ago, but here we go! The amount of the payment applied to principal has crept up 67 whole cents since the first payment! It’ll be nice when my student loan is paid off and I can start putting some extra towards the mortgage to get this moving down much more quickly! June Payment: $1,000.00 Principal: 214.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned my newfound hatred for televisions here. It’s not the poor TV’s fault - it’s the people that use it. I hate how when I have guests in my living room, the couches are pointed at the TV, and eventually someone can’t help themselves and turns it on, because the whole room is set up for TV watching - not chatting.

However, that doesn’t mean that I hate watching TV. I just hate the TV being a background noise when I’m not watching it.

For me, the Kindle Fire is a fabulous concept. It is a device on which you can watch TV and that connects to WiFi. With an Amazon Prime membership, you can get access to a whole lot of content right away. In addition to watching videos, you can also get access to movies, magazines, and games.

I used to watch TV on my laptop, but my new netbook doesn’t work well for watching TV online. Sure, I could get an iPad, but they’re so expensive that I could just buy a new computer to watch TV shows on, PLUS be able to run Civ 4 (I’m addicted. Luckily, I don’t have my own version of it at home. I wonder if they’ll come out with a Kindle Fire version… ? Please?)

Kacey Musgraves debut album was released on Friday. Her single “Merry Go Round” was released a couple of months ago, and has been played on country stations down here, although even if you don’t like country, you may like her, since she is more folk-style than country style. So, we have the whole album now, and one of the other really catchy songs on the CD is called “Follow Your Arrow.

Chatty co-workers - how do you deal with them? I’ve been having a problem with an extra-chatty coworker, and I’ve been trying to take steps to address the issue in a sensible fashion. Advice from a Google search ranges from a variety of polite response to simply wearing headphones at all times to discourage co-workers who like to chat with you while you’re working. One search result I turned up was someone complaining about people using their office as a “waiting area” for the bosses office next door.

It’s been six months since I left public accounting for financial accounting position. You guys–it’s so much better. I am much more in line with the company values and management style in my new workplace. It really feels like we’re all pushing towards the same goals. Everyone is open to new ideas and communication. I do still recommend public accounting as a good starting point. Get your CPA, work the long hours, see how other people run their business.