Category Archives: Net Worth

June Net Worth Update (+$6,366.15)

After a crazy May in which our net worth dropped $12,703.04. June turned out to be a great turnaround month. Our net worth increased $6,366.15 from last month, to a total of $39,617.81 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We piled $1,675.19 into our retirement accounts (401k, Roth IRAs, & Traditional IRA) and saw them increase to a total of $2,110.87. We also deposited $3,815.08 into our savings account, $1,795.08 of which is from our 1st mortgage that we are not clear if we do or don’t owe.

What Didn’t Work
I have nothing to enter here, thank God.

Next Month
July should be another strong month. I receive a third “extra” paycheck next month and my wife may be receiving her first quarterly bonus from her new company. My 3% contribution increase to my 401(k) will also kick in next month, bringing my total contribution to 8%.

May Net Worth Update (-$12,703.04)

May was the craziest month we’ve had in quite awhile. We ended up short selling our condo and moving into a rental unit. The rental unit is twice the size of our old place and will save us $1,000/month. Because of this, our net worth dropped $12,703.04 from last month to $33,251.66 (click on spreadsheet below).

Since the short sale is better for us in the long term, but not great in the short term, I’m skipping my standard “what worked” and “what didn’t work” in this net worth post. Here are the details for May, good or bad:

The costs involved with selling our condo and getting a new place totally decimated our savings account. Here’s a quick rundown:

  • $5,000 cash to our 2nd mortgage as part of the short sale deal
  • $2,050 for rental deposit
  • $2,015 prorated rent for new place
  • $260 for movers

On top of all of that, we spent:

  • $980.46 for new bedroom set
  • $204.79 Wife’s medical bill
  • $270 for dog’s annual shots & teeth cleaning

With all of the cash outlay, our cash and savings dropped to $4,122.93. We should be able to start building our cash back up with $1,000 we are saving every month renting. We contributed a total of $1,025.19 to our retirement accounts, and saw them increase $2,945.13. Our taxable accounts also increased $198.76.

I’m not sure what to expect for next month yet. We’ll still be dealing with some of the transition costs from owner a condo to renting. God willing, we should be able to start filling our savings account back up.

April 2009 Net Worth Update (+$3,318.51)

We had another really good increase to our new worth this month. It increased $3,318.51 from last month to $45,954.70 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:

We invested a total of $975.19 in our retirement accounts (401k, Roth IRAs & Traditional IRA) and saw them increase a total of $2,926.45 over last month. Very nice. My wife’s began contributing 5% to her company 401(k) this month.


What did not work:

We are in the process of trying to short sell our house (we began this when my wife lost her job). Our banks are considering an offer now, so our 1st mortgage balance did not go down even though we made our payment this month. We also weren’t able to put any money into savings and actually spent ~$80 from it to cover part of my $1,100 gym membership. We’re way off track to meet our 2009 net worth goal of $75,600.


Next month:

May has the potential to be another good month. I’m taking a trip to go see my family, but other than that, the only non-standard expense we have a $204.79 medical bill for my wife.



March 2009 Net Worth Update (+$3,253.07)

We had a good increase to our new worth in March. In increased $3,253.07 from last month to $42,636.19 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:

We contributed $943.94 to our retirement accounts (401k and Roth IRAs) and saw them increase a total of $3,185.34 over last month. Pretty amazing! We rolled my wife’s old 401(k) to a traditional IRA this month. My wife also received a $862.00 quarterly bonus ($490.91 net) from her old company.

What did not work:

We saved a total of $820.00, but had to pull $1,279 for federal income taxes and $745 for state income taxes. We had been saving up for our tax bill, so this withdrawal was not unexpected. It did, however, reduce our savings balance. We had a $215.36 medical bill for my wife come due. We also purchased a Nintendo Wii video game console and accessories for $344.77. What’s life without a little splurging along the way?

Next month:

April should be another good month for saving money, both in our savings account and retirement accounts. I have a large gym membership bill coming due (15 months prepaid) and we may have another medical bill of ~$285 for my wife.

February 2009 Net Worth Update (-$2,630.57)

February saw a decline in our net worth. It was reduced $2,630.57 from last month to $39,383.12 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:
Our prayers were answered and my wife found a new job that pays her more than her old job and has better benefits.

What did not work:
My employer implemented a company wide salary reduction resulting in a 10% salary cut for me on 2/25. Initially, I was expecting a 20-25% reduction in pay, so the 10% reduction is much more bearable. We also contributed $657.47 total to our retirement accounts (401k and Roth IRAs), but still saw our total balance decrease by $2,709.87.

Next month:
Next month should be a mixed bag. My wife will have her first full month of employment at her new job that includes a great salary and benefits and a final bonus check from old company. On the other hand, it will also be my first full month of my reduced salary. We will also have ~$2,000 in Federal and State taxes to pay and ~$800 in medical bills that may come due.

January 2009 Net Worth Update (-$70.00)

January was a somewhat neutral month for us. Our net worth was reduced $70.00 from last month to $42,013.69 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:
We contributed $771.00 total to our retirement accounts (401k and Roth IRAs), although they only increased over last month by $385.61. We also deposited $900 in our savings account.

What did not work:
We pulled $1,169.14 out of savings for our 2nd property tax payment (this was a planned expense). We also pulled $1,484 out of savings to purchase 106 shares of BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION stock for $14/share. Unfortunately, the stock is currently selling at ~$7/share.

Next month:
February should be a tough month. My company will be implementing a 20-25% reduction in pay that will hit my 2nd paycheck in February. If our business continues on its current trend, there may be layoffs in March. So, we’ll likely not invest much, forcing us to fall a bit further behind pace to hit our net worth goal for 2009. Let’s keep praying things get better.

2008 Net Worth Recap

2008 was a great year, even with the very rough economy. Below is a table compiling our net worth data for 2008 (click on table to enlarge). Some highlights from 2008 include:

  • We increased our net worth from $23,873.25 to $ 42,083.69. We missed our net worth goal of $47,800.00 by $5,716.31, but still made good progress.
  • We increased our savings account balance from $4,629.57 to $15,651.73. This cash will help provide us some security while my wife looks for a new job.
  • We contributed $6,250.00 total to our Roth IRAs. We had hoped to max out our Roth IRA contributions ($5,000 each), but boosting our savings became a priority instead.
  • We contributed $4,797.69 total to our 401(k) plans. No real target here, just wanted to continue adding to it.
  • We reduced our debt from $374,466.21 to $347,279.48. Over 1/2 of this reduction was from selling Car 1.

We have great hopes for 2009. I will be posting our 2009 goals very soon.

December 2008 Net Worth Update (+6,906.48)

Since we will be traveling for the holidays, I am posting our December net worth a bit early.

Our net worth in December increased $6,906.48 over last month to $42,083.69 (click on spreadsheet below). This is one of our strongest monthly increases yet and is a nice change from the decrease in our net worth over the last 3 months. Unfortunately, even with this very strong month, we came up $5,716.31 short of our 2008 net worth goal of $47,800. All things considered, with this economy, that’s not too bad. We reached 88.04% of our goal for the year.

What worked
We contributed a total of $1,198.50 to our 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. We also deposited a whopping $4,357.40 into our savings account, thanks mainly to my wife’s $3,544.00 quarterly bonus ($2,028.95 net).

What did not work
Nothing I could find. December was a good month.

Next month
My wife received notice that December 31st will be her last day of employment. Therefore, we don’t expect to be able to increase our net worth much, if any, in January. She has already had a successful day of interviewing with another company and has been networking to find a new job. With my paychecks, her unemployment checks, and a bit of baby sitting money, we shouldn’t have to pull any money out of savings for quite a few months.

November 2008 Net Worth Update (-$121.89)

Ouch, another down month for our net worth, but not by much. It decreased $121.89 from October to $35,177.21 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:
We both still have our jobs, even with my company laying off 15% of its employees in October. We were able to deposit $715 into our savings account, but pulled $1,169.14 out for our condo tax payment. Thankfully, this was a planned expense that we have been saving a little for each month. We sold our 15 shares of Toyota Motor Corporation (ticker TM) stock for $82/share, a 26% gain after holding it only 19 days. We purchased another 15 shares of the stock when it dropped back to $65/share the next day and are still holding it.

What did not work:
Once again, our retirement accounts declined. We were down $518.56 from last month, even though we contributed a total of $1,013 to our 401(k)s and Roth IRAs this month.

Next month:
My wife will learn more about her employment situation in mid-December. Her company is having a big shake-up, and it’s possible that her position will be eliminated. We’re prepared, but please pray for us that this does not happen.

October 2008 Net Worth Update (-$3,598.11)

As with most people, October was another brutal month for our net worth. It decreased $3,598.11 from last month to $35,299.10, a 9.25% drop (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked:
We both still have our jobs. Seriously, with unemployment at 7.7% in California, we are blessed to be working. We deposited $661 into our savings account and subsequently pulled $1,000 out of saving to open a stock trading account. We purchased 15 shares of Toyota Motor Corporation (ticker TM) for $63.71/share It is currently trading at $76.09/share.

What did not work:
Our retirement accounts declined by $4,536.50, even though we contributed a total of $1,513 to our 401(k)s and Roth IRAs. No big deal, we’re not touching this money for 20+ years. I’m glad we were able to put some extra money toward retirement while the market is cheap.

Next month:
We have a couple of big annual bills due next month: $1,157 for auto insurance, $439 for condo insurance, and $1,169.14 for property taxes. We should be able to cover most of the insurance bills by cashing in 5 days of my vacation and the property tax bill will come out of savings. I will also be out of town ½ of November on business, so our food and gas should be below budget.