Monthly New Worth Update and 2009 Wrapup
The holidays have come and gone (the decorations have been taken down already and that Christmas Yule Log fireplace show we watched so much has disappeared from our cable), 2009 is history and we are already a few weeks into 2010! Thus it’s time to take a look at our net worth here in early 2010 and investigate what happened during December and what happened throughout 2009.
Monthly Wrapup
Our assets increased almost 1.7%
Just like last month, all of our assets increased a bit except for our house value which dropped again! Most asset categories posted mid-single digit growth so at least this month their increases were enough to offset another drop in house value. I am a bit disappointed in our house value continuing to drop. We were so close to being in a positive position a few months ago but now it’s back down near its nadir Doh!
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities. I haven’t done anything with the mortgage, I have no immediate plans for the mortgage, and I haven’t figured out how to get to where Dave Ramsey recommends we should be with our mortgage. Apparently I’m just waiting for divine intervention (c’mon, it was a very busy month!).
Our net worth increased more than 4%
After last month’s drop which followed so many months of growth, our net worth has returned to growth again. Actually, I could have massaged the numbers last month and kept the streak alive. After the fact, I noticed that if I would have waited another day or two before logging all the data, my wife’s paycheck would have come in and that would have tipped us back to the positive. Oh well, streaks and such don’t really make a difference – what matters most when calculating your net worth is…..well, your net worth.
2009 Wrapup
2009 was quite a year for our family in a number of ways. I’m sure you don’t want to hear all those details however, so I’ll stick to the net worth! Overall, our assets increased 15%. This was lead by strong returns in investments (170%) and retirement savings (55%). Our most impressive percentage gains were found in stock options (458%) and college savings (272%) but the overall values were fairly small for those categories so they did not sway our actual net worth significantly. Our home value did decrease 5.6% throughout the year and that was on top of a 7.2% decrease in value throughout 2008! Now, it had gone up in value previous to 2008 so that is maybe not as bad as it sounds but we are definitely underwater on our mortgage right now.
Our liabilities decreased 6% during 2009. This was fueled mostly by the decrease in my wife’s contractual liability that we track as a debt (since it restricts our freedom of action somewhat). In fact, our mortgage decreased a whopping 1.2% – that’s only a few thousand dollars! Looking at these numbers is best argument I’ve seen yet for a 15 year mortgage. It is startling to think of how much money I sent to the mortgage company throughout 2009 and to see the actual principle only decrease that little! Argh!
Overall, our net worth increased 61% during 2009. That was very encouraging to me. Granted, this was on the heels of a stock market drop in 2008 but I’ll take a 61% increase every year with no complaints! As long as this trend continues, we should be millionaires in just a few more years (as long at the 2009 trend of +61% and not the 2008 trend of -1%, that is!).
So, 2009 turned out to be a very positive year in so many ways for me and my family. And our plan remains basically the same as we embark on 2010. One significant difference that will be need to be addressed, however, is a new addition will be arriving in a few weeks – BorrowFromNone Junior #4. As a result, our expenses will obviously increase but on top of that, my wife will not be working for at least 2.5 months. Currently, nothing major is planned finance-wise other than a little belt tightening to get our budget cut down to be able to live on one salary for a while. That tentative plan may need to change as we get into it, though; we will revisit it after a bit and see if any more significant changes are necessary.
Well, I hope 2009 was prosperous for you as well (money-wise and especially other-wise). May God bless you as you seek to honor Him throughout 2010!
Monthly Net Worth Update – December 2009
Well, we are into the full swing of the Christmas holiday season here. I’ve finally gotten most of our decorations up, we’re having a little party at our house on Sunday, we’ve been listening to lots of Christmas music, we found the “Yule Log” station on our TV which it shows a burning fireplace with Christmas music playing (it might not sound terribly exciting, but we watch that program A LOT). So, let’s see how the net worth is looking through early December.
Our assets decreased almost 0.5%
Uh-oh, our assets are down this month…that’s not a good start. Why are they down? What are we doing wrong? We followed a budget last month just like Dave Ramsey said! Actually, all of our asset values increased this month…except for the house value. The house value dropped. A lot. Its value dropped 2.5% which was enough to offset small to modest gains in the other categories. I mentioned last month that I was getting my hopes up for not being underwater on the mortgage, but now we are more underwater than ever!
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities. And now we are even farther away from being able to do anything with the mortgage without a significant outlay of cash. We just had the Financial Peace University class on mortgages and are not exactly doing what Dave recommends (basically none of it, in fact). Now we have to figure out if we want to get more in line with his recommendations and, even more daunting, how we are going to accomplish that.
Our net worth decreased!
Well, it had to happen sooner or later in this volatile economic environment – our net worth has decreased. Now, it decreased less than 0.5% so it’s not exactly terrible news. It decreased mostly because the value of our house, according to Zillow, dropped a fair chunk. But the end result is that my iPhone fueled net worth increase streak has come to an end. Hopefully we will bounce back next month…but it is the Christmas month. We do have money saved up for Christmas so we will not go into debt buying gifts but we will spend that money (or most of it) so that will adversely impact our net worth next month too. Hopefully the house price will rebound….
Monthly Net Worth Update – November 2009
It’s that time again – time to start listening to Christmas music! Woohoo!! (Yes, I know it’s early…my wife has been resisting as I move the start date up earlier each year. I hit November 1st one year, but this year she didn’t let me start until now). Actually, it’s also that time of the month – net worth update time.
Our assets increased almost 2%
The overall numbers are almost a duplicate of last month. All of our categories showed moderate growth with the exception of my stock options, which went up a chunk (40%), and the house, which dropped a bit after climbing for a few months. We were getting close to being above water on the mortgage after the past few months and I got my hopes up for this month, but alas, still upside down…
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities. I still haven’t done anything with the mortgage. I was getting excited about the possibility of a refinance with the house value climbing up. This month’s drop, however, has cooled my enthusiasm a bit. I think we’ll probably hold the plan steady as we go through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. When we finish that, we’ll take stock of where we are and see if the plan needs to be updated.
Our net worth increased almost 5%
We again hit another new all-time personal net-worth high this month. Our cash position has been roughly the same for the past few months while our investment accounts continue to grow. I’ll take it! This month the plan remains the same: earn some, give some, save some, invest some, and stay out of debt.
Monthly Net Worth Update – October 2009
This month marks the seventh month in a row of increased net worth for us. It was not a huge increase, but it was as solid increase and in light of the fact that we paid for our vacation to Disney World during this past month, I’m quite happy that our net worth increased.
Our assets increased almost 2%
This month all of our asset categories increased except for our liquid accounts. Those dropped 3.5% probably due mostly to the vacation we took. Just like last month, there were no huge gains like those seen in previous months; the biggest increase was about 10% in my stock options. The remainder of the accounts produced a steady percent increase in the single digits. Our house value again increased this month and is now quite close to the amount we owe on our mortgage (man, how sad is it that I’m excited just to be getting close to not being upside down on the mortgage?!?)
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities. I have been giving more serious thought to accelerating or refinancing the mortgage (or possibly both). I think if I did refinance it to get a lower interest rate and smaller payment, I would continue making the same payment that I do now in order to accelerate the payoff. We’re still a very long way from paying off the mortgage, but it would feel good to at least be moving in that direction. Alas, I still have not done anything substantive though.
Our net worth increased almost 5%
We hit another new all-time personal net-worth high this month. Another month, another increase – so far I am on plan to increase it every single month. That might not be a very realistic goal, but I’ll continue to do what I can by earning, saving, investing, and staying out of debt.
Monthly Net Worth Update – September 2009
Woohoo – our net worth increased again this month to another all-time high. In fact, something crazy that I realized when logging this month’s information is that our net worth has increased a total of 62% since the low point in March 2009. Another crazy thing that I realized is that the low point coincides with about the time I bought my iPhone….now, I don’t know if having an iPhone accounts for all of the increase – you can draw your own conclusion. ;^)
Our assets increased almost 2%
This month, we had moderate increases across the board for our assets (except for my stock options which dropped slightly). There were no huge gains like those seen in months past; the biggest increase was about 10% in our 529 college savings accounts. Other than that, most accounts saw a nice steady increase of about 2-3%. Of note is our house value increased again – it’s now rising up close to the value that we owe on our mortgage (it certainly would be nice to not be underwater on that anymore)!
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
Another month, another drop of about 0.5% on our liabilities. One thing of note is that the contractual obligation that my wife would have to repay if she stopped working before the end of the year (which we are treating at debt in our net worth calculations) is almost down to $0. That will be a great relief to have that satisfied and not hanging over our heads. Of course, after that, the only decrease each month will, in fact, be the 0.11% that our mortgage is reduced each month. I gotta start accelerating that thing or refinancing or, or, or something!
Our net worth increased more than 5%
As I mentioned, our net worth is up to another new high. Hopefully that trend will continue forever (hey, a guy can dream!) but of course there will be hiccups along the way. Again, the plan stays the same: earn, save, invest, stay out of debt.
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