I stayed home sick today.

Since I went back to bed and slept until nearly noon, I think that was the right call.

On the brighter side, here are some good financial things that have happened to me lately.

1) I convinced my leasing office to give me a ten-month lease at the same monthly rate as the year-long one (still a bump from my current rate, but not out of line). This will give me more flexibility next year if I decide I'm ready to condo-shop.

2) I had some gift cards and gifts from Christmas that I STILL hadn't used or returned, so I went out the other weekend, merrily spending OPM, and came home with a cute aqua twinset and a desperately needed filing cabinet.

3) I found out that I AM actually eligible for USAA, and switched my car insurance. I'll be saving about $120 over six months! I also switched my renter's insurance (even though the rates were pretty much a wash) because I like bundling bills as much as possible. I'm not sure if I'll use their banking, as I am very fond of my credit union, but it's nice to have the option.

There are a few minor annoyances I'm facing, but these things helped take away much of the sting.

And staying home and getting some rest (and baking some TJ's banana bread) make things seem better for tomorrow.

February Net Worth (+38.2%)

(Before I get to the explanation, I should explain that I have been Websensed at work. I can't visit any Blogger or Typepad blogs, including my own, and even some independently hosted sites are blocked as "personal sites." And I've been so busy that coming home after work and blogging has just not been my priority. I had to get caught up on The Wire before Sunday's finale, after all. Hee. At any rate, I can read RSS feeds, but by and large I cannot comment on their related entries. So I'm not ignoring anyone.)

It's fairly easy to get a double digit kick to one's net worth if one can throw five grand at one's debt. I still managed to make improvements outside of that, however.

Personal Property

KBB dropped the value of my car again. And it was also time for my "forced adjustment" to my computer's valuation. Still, my personal property becomes an ever smaller piece of my net worth picture.

Cash and Cash Equivalent

After having three pay periods in January, I expected my checking balance to be smaller. I shifted a lot of money from my overdraft account to my efund, as well as making regular contributions. And I sent a small piece of my tax refund to my condo fund.

Investments

I guess I contributed more than I lost in my retirement plan. So yay. The mutual fund could (and did, under prior management) perform much worse.

Loan Balances

As I said, $5K at my credit union loan made for a big hit, but my regular payments took a bite as well.

Other Debt

Thanks to my new "pay every two weeks" plan, I'm keeping my balances fairly low while still charging enough to earn some nice rewards. All of the charges here were accrued AFTER the statement date closed; I already paid off my balances-due-in-March in full.

The Month Ahead

Lots of family birthdays this month, but for most of them, a card will suffice. I've already bought a small gift for one of the others.

And since I'm going to be crazy busy at work, I'll have fewer opportunities to go out and spend. So things should be fairly smooth. We'll see.