Category Archives: Net Worth

July 2011 Net Worth Update (+$3,714.78)

We were blessed with another net worth increase this month. In July, our net worth increased $3,714.78 from June, to a total of $150,553.96 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We passed the net worth milestone of $150,000 this month! We contributed $1,213.00 to our retirement accounts in July and saw them increase $1,841.10 to $95,700.56. We also continue to increase our savings account balance for a house down payment and private adoption. Of the $31,047.79 we have in savings, $23,425.66 is earmarked for a down payment and $7,622.13 for adoption. We still have a long way to go to reach our savings goal for both.

What Didn’t Work
N/A 🙂

Next Month
August is our last full month to prepare for the arrival of our first baby. As a result, we will need to purchase any necessary items that we didn’t receive at the baby showers. As a result, we will be contributing less money next month to retirement and savings.

June 2011 Net Worth Update (+$4,791.04)

We were blessed with another net worth increase this month. Our net worth increased $4,791.04 from last month, to a total of $146,839.18 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We received a huge windfall in the form of a $4,470 class action settlement from my wife’s old company (that she worked at for ~6 weeks). She was automatically included in the settlement, and frankly, we weren’t expecting much to come of it. Imagine our surprise when a check for $4,470 showed up. This helped us dramatically increase our savings account balance. One step closer to having a home downpayment.

What Didn’t Work
We contributed $1,419.50 to our retirement accounts in June and saw them decrease $970.28 to $93,859.46. Not a big deal.

Next Month
My Wife receives a third “extra” check in July, but we also have a few large bills including $233 for 6 months of life insurance premiums (Husband & Wife), $400 for a 50% prepayment to our doula, and a $327 traffic ticket. God willing, we hope to hit a net worth milestone of $150K in July.

May 2011 Net Worth Update (+$3,263.10)

Since passing our 2011 net worth goal of $138,100 last month, any further increase helps with our 2012 net worth goal of $173,200. In May, our net worth increased $3,263.10 from last month, to a total of $142,048.14 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
Passing our 2011 net worth goal so early in the year is a major blessing. We contributed $1,063.00 to our retirement accounts in May and saw them increase $340.00 to $94,829.74. Remarkably, our traditional IRA balance did not change from the month prior. We were also able to sock away a nice chuck of change into savings.

What Didn’t Work
All accounts moved the right direction this month:)

Next Month
I’m hoping the good progress will continue next month. I receive a third “extra” check in June, which also includes an extra 401(K) contribution. However, we also have a few large insurance bills due in June for a total of $2,289.31.

April 2011 Net Worth Update (+$4,511.92)

We passed our 2011 net worth goal of $138,100 in April! That gives us 8 months to made headway on our 2012 net worth goal of $173,200. Our net worth increased $4,511.92 from last month, to a total of $138,785.04 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
Passing our 2011 net worth goal so early in the year is a major blessing. Our $2,325 tax refund ($2,155 Federal & $170 State) helped put us over the top. We contributed $1,063.00 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $2,787.01 to $94,489.74. We also continue to improve our savings account balance.

What Didn’t Work
All accounts moved the right direction this month 🙂

Next Month
Progress towards our 2012 net worth goal of $173,200 begins now. May will be my wife’s first full month of pay in her new position, at a much higher income. We’re going to try to bank as much of the extra income as possible before the baby arrives.

March 2011 Net Worth Update (+$3,607.99)

March was another solid month. Our net worth increased $3,607.99 from last month, to a total of $134,273.12 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked The big news this month is that we found out that our baby is a BOY! We are very excited. Financially, we were also hugely blessed because my wife accepted a new job that starts next month with a $20,000 higher annual salary (33% increase). She also has an opportunity to make a larger bonus each quarter. I am very proud of her. This is going to really help us reach our goals. To celebrate, we paid off the last of the $2,954.60 student loan. We are now completely DEBT FREE. We contributed $1,213.00 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $2,020.07 to $91,702.73.

What Didn’t Work Not really a negative, but our savings account balance decreased because we paid off the student loans.

Next Month There is a good chance we will pass our 2011 net worth goal of $138,100 in April, 8 months ahead of schedule. My receives her final paycheck from her old company, gets paid for her remaining vacation time, and starts her new job. We also receive a combined Federal and State refund of $2,325.

February 2011 Net Worth Update (+$10,191.88)

We were blessed with our 2nd largest net worth increase month ever. Our net worth increased $10,191.88 from last month, to a total of $130,665.13 (click on spreadsheet below). Our largest net worth increase of $14,753.11 was in March 2010. But more importantly, my wife is pregnant! We are extremely excited and will be “nesting” from now until the baby is due in September.

What Worked
In addition to the great news that my wife is pregnant, we also passed the net worth milestone $130,000 in February. This is largely thanks to my wife’s nice Q4 2010 bonus of $6,041.28 gross ($3,499.51 net). We contributed $813.00 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $4,605.31 to $89,682.66. We also increased our savings account balance to $18,915.21.

What Didn’t Work
February was a perfect month.

Next Month
I don’t expect March to be able to compete with a month like we just had. The biggest unknown is our taxes. Last year we received a combines Federal and State refund of $4,111, but we have change a few things to reduce or possibly eliminate our refund. We will see…

2010 Net Worth Recap

I know I’m posting this a little late, but I wanted to take the time to review our 2010 net worth. Below is a table of our net worth data for each month in 2010 (click on table to enlarge). 2010 was a strong year for us, even though we had a couple of close calls with the economy in terms of our employment. Some highlights from 2010 include:

  • We increased our net worth from $68,437.63 to $115,300.07 ($46,862.44 increase), surpassing our net worth goal for the year by $9,600.07.
  • We contributed $17,288.45 to our retirement accounts. Our total retirement account balance grew from $54,620.37 to $83,594.59 ($28,974.22 increase).
  • We increased our savings from $2,492.73 to $9,215.82 ($6,723.09 increase).
  • We reduced our debt from $4,148.46 to $3,127.35 ($1,021.11 decrease).
  • In March my wife was laid off, but in April she found an even better new job.
  • I survived a large layoff at my company.
  • We paid cash for an “extra” vehicle, primarily for recreation.

We already a couple of months into 2011 and things are looking great. Hopefully there will be exciting highlights to review at the end of the year.

January 2011Net Worth Update (+$5,173.19)

We had a solid increase start to 2011 in terms of our new worth. Our net worth increased $5,173.19 from last month, to a total of $120,473.25 (click on spreadsheet below).

What WorkedWe contributed $813.00 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $1,482.76 to $85,077.35. We also dramatically increased our savings account balance by substantially.

What Didn’t Work
Everything worked out great :)!

Next Month
February looks like it is shaping up to be a great month. The main reason being, my wife made 120% of her sales goal for Q4 and will be getting a large bonus check. We’re going to use this extra money to continue increasing our savings.

December 2010 Net Worth Update (+$7,007.82)

It’s hard to believe the end of 2010 is already here. We ended the year on a strong note, increasing our net worth $7,007.82 from last month, to a total of $115,300.07 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We passed our 2010 net worth goal of $105,700 last month, so December gave us an opportunity to make terrific headway on our 2011 net worth goal of $138,100. In December, we contributed $1,219.50 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $5,437.42 to $83,594.59. We also increased our savings account balance by a $1,715.00 to a total of $9,215.82.

What Didn’t Work
We spent a ton of money this month, but I’ll get into that when I do our December income statement post in a couple of days.

Next Month
In the next few days, we’ll be reviewing our 2010 financial goals and posting our 2011 financial goals.