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.
Monthly Net Worth Update – August 2009 – New Net Worth High
Another increase in our net worth this month pushes us to a new all-time high for our net worth (Ok, so I’m not exactly making Bill Gates worried but I am happy that it continues to increase).
Our assets increased 4.4%
Last month I mentioned that our assets grew mainly due to an increase in our liquid account balances after a few months of stock market returns driving our assets upward. It looks like that might have been a bit of an aberration as this month our asset growth was again driven heavily by market gains. In fact, our liquid assets decreased more than 8% but that was more than offset by strong increases in investments (15%), stock options (51%!), 529 plans (16%), and our retirements funds (10%). Even our house value, according to Zillow.com of course, increased again.
I like the increase we’re seeing though I’m not counting on the upward trend continuing. The market has been doing well recently but I’m still concerned about volatility going forward. That being said, the plan stays the same. I am also not too concerned about the decrease in liquid assets. We have started to pay for our upcoming vacation and also paid some big yearly bills last month (life insurance premiums, for instance) so that accounted for a good portion of the drop. We had saved up for those things though so they were in the plan. And I’m continuing to save up for next year’s big bills too so it is hopefully not a cause of stress when they are due.
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
There is absolutely nothing out of the ordinary to report for our liabilities as they again dropped the typical monthly rate of 0.5%. I still do not have any concrete plans to do anything interesting to try to rid myself of the mortgage early. I was playing around with Dave Ramsey’s mortgage calculator though and found out that starting next month, even putting in as little as $100 extra per month will save me $48,000 in interest over the rest of the 27 years of the mortgage. Wow! I have to get more serious about this mortgage prepayment stuff. In fact, the mortgage company just sent me an $85 check for an escrow adjustment…maybe I should start with that (and throw in $15 to make it an even $100) and do something….still pondering…
Our net worth increased more than 11%
Overall, our net worth shot up more than 11% pushing it to the highest it has ever been. The previous high point was June 2008 before all the uncertainty in the US economy and stock markets starting take its toll. I think it’s too early to say that we have weathered the financial storm as we are heavily exposed to the stock market right now. That being said, I am happy with our current plan and we will continue to follow it for the foreseeable future.
Monthly Net Worth Update: July 2009
I am glad to report that this month marks four in a row for increased net worth. Though unlike the past few months, this increase was not driven by stock market growth.
Our assets increased 1.3%
Last month, all of our accounts except our liquid assets increased in value. Quite the opposite occurred this month as the lion’s share of our asset increase was driven by a 10% increase in liquid assets. I fear a good portion of this increase was just good timing (right after payday but before paying our credit card bill). Also unlike the previous few months, our stock market accounts were actually quite flat. Interestingly, for the second month in a row the value of our house, as estimated by Zillow.com, has increased. Now, it increased a whopping 1%, but I’ll take it!
Our liabilities decreased 0.5%
There is absolutely nothing new to report for our liabilities as they again dropped the typical monthly rate of 0.5%. I still do not have any concrete plans to do anything interesting to try to rid myself of the mortgage early.
Our net worth increased more than 4%
For the past two months, our net worth has increased more than 6%;, though it increased again this month, the increase was less. There are no major changes to the plan on the horizon. Saving and investing in 401(k)s, some company stock, and some low cost index funds will continue for the foreseeable future. I am now again within sight of our all-time net worth high point of last summer…we’ll see if this upward trend continues.
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