Introduction

Hello. Being in the IT industry I probably should have probably started this blog with a post titled "Hello World", but I figured I wouldn't think too much about anything work related when I am not at work. I am a male in my early 20's who has been working full time in the IT industry since graduating with a BS degree roughly 2 years ago. The fall semester right after my graduation I was accepted into a local state university's MBA program, thus I have been attending grad school part time.

So this blog is meant to be for sharing and feedback of any financial related material. I guess I will start by giving some financial background about myself. As mentioned earlier, I work full time in the IT industry. The salary I earn at this job is definitely good, especially for when I have only been with this company for a few months. An added benefit of my employer is the great benefits that they offer their employees. Granted my first full time job after graduation did not pay too well, but it opened doors for me, which till this day I greatly appreciate. Due to my first full time job not paying as well as I wanted, I started working part time at a local company's NOC. This was mainly an evening/weekend job. Once I got my current full time job, I still kept my part time job, but strictly only for extra income by working a few hours over the weekend. Honestly the part time job is something that looks good on my resume as well as it is a job that is not too stressful or busy. An added benefit of the part time job is that I have a lot of time to work on my grad school work. Back to some financial information. I am a big fan of "rate chasing" when it comes to keeping my money in a bank. Before working full time I started a Roth IRA account since I was earning income from a paid part time internship. Overall I never really got into trading stocks. I have a few stocks, but their overall value is less than a $1000. As one of the benefits of working with my current employer I am funding my 401k account, as well as earning the employer match. Last year I was in the market for a house and ending up negotiating a wonderful deal on the house that I now live in. One bad part was that I did not have my current full time job at the time when I was in the market to buy a house, thus the interest rate on one of my two mortgages is not the best rate. I am hoping to eventually refinance my mortgage. By reading various forums I did also participate in another financial game, which is the 0% credit card game, where you can take out a certain amount of your available credit and put the amount into a high interest rate bank account. This wasn't a bad game, since I was making a few hundred dollars a month. On my spare time I also troubleshoot and fix computers for friends, family, or people who I have been referred too. I have made a decent amount from this small side business, which is nice. It's a job I enjoy and can do when I have time, plus I have earned a decent income from it. I am greatly interested in cars and have always been into them. Unlike my friends I did not blow my money on a fancy/sporty new car. I kept my car at the time, which I now use as a daily driver/beater (even though I keep it in good condition) and I also have a fairly new coupe, which is not anything fancy. I bought it used and ended up getting a good deal on it. Overall this is pretty much where I stand in terms of my own personal finance. I always am on the lookout to save money and cut any of my expenses. It is in a way a hobby of mines, which also helps my personal finances. Don't get me wrong though I do like to enjoy my money once in a while and I feel that everyone should enjoy some of their hard earned money.

So I gave some information on what my financial situation is like and yes I know it was not specific, but I hope to hear some input/feedback from others as well as learn more ways to save money and even make money. Again thanks for visiting my blog and I hope it soon can be a blog that benefits all of my readers.