In January, we had a standard income month and a high expense month.
Our total income in January was $11,015.84. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received $323.98 in company reimbursements for internet (two month’s worth). We also earned $25.56 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $11,081.94. Large expenses included $889 for entertainment, $672 for clothing, and $487 for vacations.
Next month looks like it might be a similar to January.
Overall
January was a great start to the new year! Our net worth increased $99,486.40 from last month to a total of $1,342,739.29 (see spreadsheet screenshot). Our cryptocurrency investments were the biggest boost to our net worth this month.
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 6% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $950.00 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $43,196.98 from last month to a total of $492,081.95.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $161,493.90, up $50,612.69 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings increased $1,000 this month to a total of $11,353.52.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $250 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $2,788.71 from last month to a total balance of $48,822.99. We contributed $250 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,888.02 from last month to a total balance of $32,480.58. Our total 2023 contributions so far are $250 for our son and $250 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$840K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~90K miles) that we own and it is paid off. In addition, we own a 2013 ski boat that is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
2023 is underway and we have set our financial goals for the year. We fell short of all but one of our 2022 goals and the economic outlook does not seem to be improving. Because of that, we set pretty conservative financial goals for 2023. Below are our new financial goals for the coming year.
1) Pass our 2028 Net Worth Goal
We started 2022 with a net worth of $1,243,252, 5 years ahead the net worth goal schedule. We would like to maintain this lead and end 2023 with a net worth over $1,320K (our 2028 net worth goal). If the economy continues to struggle, this goal might be hard to hit.
2) Give $4,500 to church
We would like to continue to support our church and have set a goal of giving $4,500 in 2023. This was the only goal that we hit in 2022 so let’s hope we can do it again.
3) Contribute $6,000 to 529 Plans ($3,000 for each child)
We want to contribute $6,000 total to our kids’ 529 Plans ($3,000 for each child) in 2023. We fell a bit short of this goal last year. Our son is currently 11 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $46,034 and our daughter is 8 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $30,592.
4) Building savings account balance to $15,000
We ended 2022 with $10,353 in savings, well short of $30,000 goal for last year. We lowered the bar and are shooting for $15,000 in savings by the end of 2023. That might be tough considering we have a large tax bill again this year from selling some cryptocurrency.
5) Sell our boat
We bought a ski boat six years ago and have enjoyed spending time as a family on the lake, however, we only used our boat one time last season and really didn’t miss it. That got us thinking that we might want to sell it, if the price is right. We listed our boat for $70K on a few websites to test the waters.
Happy New Year! The years continue to fly by and 2022 was a tough year for our financial goals. Below are the results of our 2022 financial goals:
1) Pass our 2032 Net Worth Goal – FAIL
We started 2022 with a net worth of $1,759,061, 10 years ahead the net worth goal schedule. We had hoped to maintain this lead and end 2022 with a net worth over $1,900K (our 2032 net worth goal). The economy in general and our cryptocurrency investments specifically did not fare well in 2022. We ended 2022 with a net worth of $1,243,252, about $500K less than we started the year with.
2) Give to church – SUCCESS
We feel very blessed and strive to give back to help others. Our target was to give $4,000 to our church in 2022 and we ended up giving a total of $5,762. This goal felt good to achieve
3) Contribute $6,000 to 529 Plans ($3,000 for each child) – FAIL
We wanted to contribute $6,000 total to our kids’ 529 Plans ($3,000 for each child) in 2022. We fell a bit short and contributed $2,050 for each child. Our son is currently 11 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $46,034 and our daughter is 8 years old with a 529 Plan balance of $30,592.
4) Contribute $3,000 to new car fund – FAIL
We created this new idea of saving for a new car at the end of 2021 and had a goal of contributing $3,000 in 2022. For a lot of reasons, we decided to ditch this idea in 2022. The small balance was absorbed into our other investments.
5) Building savings account balance to $30,000 – FAIL
We started 2022 with $27,083 in savings but had a large income tax bill and other expenses that depleted our savings. We had hoped to get to $30,000 in savings by the end of 2022 but ended the year with only $10,353 in savings.
In December, we had a great income month and an okay expense month.
Our total income in December was $16,968.65. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received a quarterly bonus of $11,475 gross ($6,390.01 net) and $0 in company reimbursements for internet (she will receive it next month). We also earned $16.15 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $12,508.03. Large expenses included $3,230.41 in groceries/dinning (Christmas & New Year’s eve parties), $1,250 in landscape maintenance, $531.43 for vacation.
Next month is the start of 2023 and January should be a pretty typical month for our expenses and income.
December was a down month for our net worth. Our net worth decreased $9,710.25 from last month to a total of $1,243,252.89 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 6% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $1,523.77 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts decreased $5,628.33 from last month to a total of $448,884.97.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $110,881.21, down $1,445.55 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings increased $96.58 this month to a total of $10,353.52.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it decreased $1,226.14 from last month to a total balance of $46,034.28. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it decreased $814.84 from last month to a total balance of $30,592.56. Our total 2022 contributions were $2,050 for our son and $2,050 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$840K. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~90K miles) that we own and it is paid off. In addition, we own a 2013 ski boat that is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In November, we had a standard income month and a good expense month.
Our total income in October was $11,431.75. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received $164.99 in company reimbursements for internet and $685 in company rewards for an incentive program. We also earned $19.27 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $9,296.00. Large expenses included $412.15 in doctor visits/prescriptions, $910.23 in entertainment, and $473.61 for personal care.
Next month my wife should receive a quarterly bonus although we don’t know how much it will be.
Overall
November was a down month for our net worth. Our net worth decreased $21,912.76 from last month to a total of $1,252,963.15 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 6% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $950.02 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $405.59 from last month to a total of $454,513.30.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $112,326.76, down $25,263.80 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance and stablecoins that we earn interest on. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings increased $2,378.49 this month to a total of $10,256.94.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $760.52 from last month to a total balance of $47,260.42. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $505.41 from last month to a total balance of $31,280.37. Our total 2022 contributions so far are $2,050 for our son and $2,050 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$857K and falling fast. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~90K miles) that we own and it is paid off. In addition, we own a 2013 ski boat that is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In October, we had a standard income month and a reasonable expense month.
Our total income in October was $10,738.59. In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received $161.99 in company reimbursements for internet. We also earned $14.10 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $10,324.21. Large expenses included $810.23 in doctor visits/prescriptions, $350.02 in vacation expenses, and $525 for home repair (irrigation).
Next month is the first month is awhile where we don’t have a large annual bill of some kind due.
Overall
October was a good month for our net worth. Our net worth increased $31,068.08 from last month to a total of $1,274,875.91 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 6% to my wife’s 401(k) and her company matched 4% and chips in an additional 6% at the end of the year. This month, she contributed $950.02 to her 401(k). Since I do not work, I did not contribute anything to a retirement account. The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $22,366.51 from last month to a total of $454,107.71.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage accounts consist of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value of our brokerage accounts is $137,590.56, up $6,176.55 from last month.
Cash & Savings Account
Cash and savings accounts consist of a small sum of cash at home, our online savings accounts balance and stablecoins that we earn interest on. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. Our savings decreased $967.14 this month to a total of $7,878.45.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $2,522.10 from last month to a total balance of $46,499.90. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,676.09 from last month to a total balance of $30,901.99. Our total 2022 contributions so far are $2,050 for our son and $2,050 for our daughter.
Home
For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016. Current comps in the area are ~$878K and falling fast. We paid off our home in September 2021.
Vehicles
My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card. I drive a 2017 SUV (~90K miles) that we own and it is paid off. In addition, we own a 2013 ski boat that is paid off.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.