The good news is that I'm 10% up over 2006's year-end. I lost the December 2007 data when my iPod was accidentally reformatted. More good news: I have a positive net worth.

My pessimistic estimate is that my net worth will go down by 7.9%, even though I will do my best to save 25% of our gross income in retirement funds, HELOC repayment, mortgage prepayment, and something my inner doomsayer is calling "Seattle Skedaddle." Gash and gollars.

I've identified six charities and non-profits, two non-profit advocacy groups and four publicly funded radio stations to fund in 2009.

Happy New Year to you, dear reader. Be well, do good work, stay positive.

I bought some Procter & Gamble in one retirement account, just for something to do.

I have next to no fish in my freezer. I haven't been in the mood to go out to buy any, but rather have been focusing on eating on what we have. We do seem to run out of bread, butter and eggs frequently. My challenge is to run out of fresh fruit and vegetables by Thursday. Considering our CSA box sat outside for two days waiting to be picked up this will indeed be a challenge. Another challenge: finding Worcestershire sauce without high fructose corn syrup. I gave up Kellogg's cereals, Ritz Crackers and non-kosher Coke because of HFCS -- it makes me sad to have to give up Lea & Perrins too.

I bought the dress to wear to my brother's wedding for under $100 at Nordstrom. I rule! It won't make me look old or grotesquely flabby. I won't be able to do much about towering over the bride's family though (sigh).

We lost electricity in our house a few hours after my penultimate Saving Advice post. I have got to add "oil lamp" to my savings goals. It was not fun trudging outside looking for a restaurant that would be open, an not fun imagining what it would be like to wake up Christmas morning in the freezing dark.

I have a budget but am nervous about it as we still need two incomes for expenses, or one income with a fixed 30-year mortgage, a coupla more exemptions and no 401(k) savings plan and no family insurance. The food and the mortgage are what do us in. Next month our amortization schedule shows us paying more in principal than interest without prepayment, so there's something to be glad for.

The Real Change (local newspaper sold by people in need) vendors are branching out -- there were two on the main arterial. One of them sold me a mid-November paper (!!) claiming she was sold out of the current ones. I guess times are tough. I did pay her a whole dollar, same cost for a current paper. I saved fifteen cents as the library was not stocking any current New York Times papers, so no crosswords. Fortunately I have the frickin' impossible Atlantic Monthly puzzle book I bought sixteen years ago.

Off to read some Iris Murdoch and Salman Rushdie. Gotta cleanse early 1990s Manitoba and Peoria out of my head.

Requiring some extra iron and ibuprofen today. ugh.

Today -- bean soup with ham hock. Maybe kale along with it. Baked brioche. Made Poires Belle-Helene and apple crisp. Use up the fruit!

I need carnival squash and yams recipes.

The only stocks that look good to be right now are fish, chicken, vegetable and beef.

Changing Prospects for Building Home Equity predicts that new buyers in 33 overheated housing markets will likely experience negative equity, particularly if they limit themselves to 30-year loans and incur selling costs that equal 6% of the property's value, and buy a house priced at 75% of the median value.

A Low Estimate of Equity Loss for my city was $117,000. Golly! There's my cue to accelerate my house payments.

I'm tracking six properties' mortgages and deeds of trust: one acquaintance/friend and one neighbour are just treading water; two properties have equity above 40%.

I resisted the purchase. I don't need an entertainment laptop, just one to do work on (Viz Studio, Office Ultimate, Quicken, Excel). Although that recent rate cut is leading me again into temptation...

I was warned to stock up on foreign exchange, or international currency in other words, in a dream, because "inflation was coming" and I "needed to be prepared." The currencies? "gosh" and "gollars" (gold, cash, and CDN/US dollars?)

Restored most of the money I borrowed from my son. We have been selecting recipes from Leanne Ely's Saving Dinner book, and downloading winter squash recipes from the internet. I feel most cost-effective when we eat out of our pantry and incorporate grains and legumes I bought months earlier into our entrees. I also feel cost-effective when we use our slow cooker.

I am creating a new set of goals and rewards for 2009. 2008 was superexcellent for me finance-wise, so am reducing my income expectations by 45%. I will not be saving 22% of my income for retirement, nor 20% of my income for home improvement in 2009.

I am tempted to invite my female friends and fellow goal plotters to either my fave cafe or fave chocolate palace to toast our achievements this year and plan for the next.

Old Joke:
Person #1 to Person #2: "Do you know the difference between labour and capital?"
Person #2: "No, I do not know. What is the difference between labour and capital?"
Person #1: "If I lend you $10, that is capital. If I try to collect my $10 from you, that is labour."

Thank you! I'll be here all month! Try the tuna fusilli!

I'm all aflutter about what's happening in Ottawa right now, and sad about the much-too-early loss of Calculated Risk finance blogger Doris Dungey ("Tanta"), but here are some preliminary notes, cribbed from last year:

Goals

Savings:
45% of annual gross income, to be distributed among:
mortgage payoff: $1200
emergency fund: ideally $15,000
long-term savings: ideally $5,000
replacement car: ideally $14,000
home improvement: ideally $10,000
garden: ideally $800
kid's stock plan: $1200
Roth IRA: $5000

How much to save:
Somewhere between $6000 and $50000.

How much to pay down
This might sound counterintuitive, but I want always to have at least 55% equity in my house. I want to be above average in how much is owing on the house, and how much equity I have. Currently I am at 59.59%. With luck I will be back above 60% by March.

What upcoming expenses do you need to plan/save for

trip to Japan
car

What to buy, what not to buy
2009 will be a year of frugality, with the exception of a laptop and emergency replacements.
Limiting number of cash charity recipients to six this year, and political action groups to two.

What accounts do you need to open/close/consolidate

The taxable E*Trade account might eventually be sold. When I read about its eventual sale, I will transfer it to where I have my other accounts.

The Save Yourself Suze Orman Plan: close after April 18
Add personal chequing account to PayPal: remove dead account.

What do you need to teach your kids/spouse this year about finance
the glory of compound interest. 0.075 > 0.0025.
trickle-up economics
what to do or invest in in a depression/recession
dividends

What do you want to educate yourself on more
bookkeeping
organic gardening
Elliott Waves and Kondratieff Cycles
the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights
developing Web Parts for SharePoint 2007
nutrition
not really education, but Iris Murdoch and the rest of the Rabbit Angstrom novels and many Philip Roth novels I have not yet read, and I'm not proud of that.
MCSE

What do you want to do better in 2009 then you did in 2008

reduce my waist size to 28
stick to a frequent exercise routine
develop and stick to a cleanup routine and schedule that includes the family
track expenditures
eat more raw food
network locally
avoid bad drivers -- OMG! I have my Zune/PDA/GPS/DVD: what do I have to pay attention to traffic for? -- I don't need these people. Insurance companies do.
volunteer or give more
declutter my house -- Freecycle, sell on half.com and craigslist

P.S. I express gratitude for my inner oracle for counselling me five months ago to wait until December 1 to buy stocks. I doubled up on PAYX and took a stake in JNJ.