All posts by 1MansMoney

I am a guy pushing 40 that is married to a beautiful woman in her 30's. If I can only have as much luck with our finances.
Goals

2021 FINANCIAL GOALS

Happy New Year! We were blessed with a financially great 2020 and hope to keep the trend going. Below are our 2021 financial goals:

1) Pass our 2028 Net Worth Goal
We ended 2020 with a net worth of $1,252,846, over 7 years ahead the net worth goal schedule we made back in 2007. We would like to maintain this lead and end 2021 with a net worth over $1,320K (our 2028 net worth goal).

2) Give to church
We attend a small church that our good friends started a couple of years ago.  Since Covid-19, every service has been done via Zoom.  To support our church, we would like to give $3,600 in 2021.

3)Pay home mortgage down to under $200K
In November 2020, our mortgage balance was $169K but we refinanced for a better rate (2.375% vs 2.875%) and to pull cash out to pay off our $43K boat loan that was at 5.24%.  As a result, we are starting 2021 with a $213K mortgage balance.  We hope to reduce that to under $200K through regular monthly payments and additional payments.

4) Contribute $4,000 to 529 Plans ($2,000 for each child)
This is one of our top goals each year and in 2021, we plan to increase our contribution by $500 per child ($2,000 each). Our son is currently 9-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $37,958.69 and our daughter is 6-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $23,361.36.

5) Building savings account balance to $30,000
We ended 2020 with $30,361.39 in savings so this goal might seem like a gimmie but there are three reasons it is not.  1) We have to pull $8,200 from savings to pay for property tax, 2) We have to pull $1,725 from savings to pay for the balance due on setting up our living trust,  3) I am not currently working so we are living solely on my wife’s income and possibly some savings.

Goals

REVIEW OF 2020 FINANCIAL GOALS

Happy New Year!  Financially, 2020 was an amazing year and we were very blessed to have crushed all of the financial goals we set for ourselves 12 months ago.  It feels pretty amazing to type that considering I quit my job at the end of October. Thankfully, my wife has an amazing career that she loves. Below are the results of ouf 2020 financial goals: 

1) Pass our 2024 Net Worth Goal – SUCCESS
We started 2020 with a net worth of $829,705 (4 years ahead of schedule) and hoped to pass our 2024 net worth goal of $891,500 by the end of the year.  We were thrilled to end 2020 with a net worth of $1,252,846, surpassing our 2024 goal ($891K), 2025 goal ($986K), 2026 goal ($1,089K) and 2027 goal ($1,200K)!

2) Increase total retirement savings to $475K – SUCCESS
We started 2020 with $386K in retirement savings.  We ended 2020 with $501,473 in retirement savings putting us $26,473 above our goal for the year. This was a great achievement considering that we cashed out $33K worth of 401K when I left my company in October 2020. It feels awesome to have half a million saved for retirement!

3)Create a family trust or will – SUCCESS
On December 3rd, we started the process to set up a living trust.  The lawyers are charging us $3,450 but it will be well worth it to get this in place.


4) Contribute $3,000 to 529 Plans ($1,500 for each child) – SUCCESS
We contributed $1,550 to our 9-year-old son’s 529 Plan and $1,550 to our 6-year-old daughter’s 529 Plan. Their balances are currently $37,958.69 and $23,361.36, respectively.

5) Building savings account balance to $25,000 – SUCCESS
We started 2020 with $20,024 in savings and ended 2020 with $30,361.39 in savings.  Along the way, we also paid off our vehicle and boat. Such a blessing!

Income Statement

December 2020 Income Statement

In December, we had a very high income month and an even higher expense month.

Our total income in December was $51,127.48.  In addition to my wife’s regular paychecks, she received $187.97 in company reimbursements.  I received $1,800 in unemployment in November. We pulled $38,237.68 cash out of our home to pay off our boat loan and received an escrow refund of $3,427.65.  Plus, we earned $15.29 in interest income from our savings accounts.

This month, our expenses totaled $55,142.42.  Way too much but, a huge amount was used to pay off our boat.  Even so, that means we still spent $12,009.27 on everything else. Large, non-recurring expenses include $43,133.15 to pay off our boat, $1,725 for setting up a living trust (50% of total fee), $829 for doctor visits and prescriptions, and $372 for personal care items.

Next month, our income will be much lower so we have to watch our expenses.

Net Worth

December 2020 Net Worth Update (+$109,674)

Overall

December was our 2nd largest net worth increase month ever, just behind our largest month of June 2016 ($130K increase). Our net worth increased $109,674.00 from last month to a total of $1,252,846.83 (see spreadsheet screenshot). We passed 11 net worth milestones ($1,150K to $1,250K) this month!  Such a blessing!

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).  My wife’s company matches up to 6% of her 401(K) contribution and chips in an additional 3% on top of the match at the end of the year (vests over 5 years).  This month, we contributed $1,361.54 to her 401(k).  Since I am unemployed, I did not contribute anything to my retirement accounts.  The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $20,956.05 from last month to a total of $501,473.88.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”).  Our cryptocurrency investments have been skyrocketing lately.  The total current value is $256,693.14, up $94,811.26 from last month.

Cash & Savings Account

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings accounts balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month.  Our savings decreased $6,664.61 this month to a total of $30,361.39.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard.  This month, we contributed $50 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,629.69 from last month to a total balance of $37,958.69.  We contributed $50 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,021.36 from last month to a total balance of $23,361.36.

Home

For our home value, we use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016.  Current comps in the area are ~$690K.  We refinanced this month from our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage loan to a 15-year, 2.375% mortgage loan.  As part of the refi, we cashed out $38,237.68 to pay off our boat loan that was at 5.24%.  The current balance of our 15-year, 2.375% mortgage loan is $213,000.

Vehicles

My wife drives a company vehicle and has a company gas card.  I drive a 2017 SUV (~80K miles) that we own.  In addition, we own a 2013 ski boat that we paid off this month (balance was $42,883.23).

Credit Card Balance

All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.