In April, we had an another great income month and a reasonable expense month considering the income (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Our total income in April was $23,352.37. In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a monthly and quarterly bonus of $5,003 gross ($2746.44 net) and my wife received a bonus of $2,500 gross ($1,556.79 net). My wife also received $2,500 in child care reimbursement, $168.66 auto allowance / mileage reimbursements and $46.99 in internet reimbursements. My wife sold company stock worth $6,028.14. We also earned $12.91 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled only $12,409.20. Since we had more time at home due to the coronavirus shelter in place order, we spent $586.70 on home improvements. We also bought our son a laptop for home school $717.74.
Next month my wife should be a typical income month. Hopefully staying home will help us keep our expenses down.
April was a HUGE improvement over last month for our net worth. Our net worth increased $52,140.57 from last month to a total of $818,560.10 (see spreadsheet screenshot). Such a blessing!
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 8% to my wife’s 401(k). My wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests over 3 years). This month, we contributed $1,131.08 to her 401(k). We contribute 11% to my 401(k) and my company matches up to 4% and deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited). This month, we contributed $973.41 to my 401(k). The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $31,013.76 from last month to a total of $363,369.61.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks and some cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value is $29,474.38, up $9,882.37 from last month. Wow!
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 increased $3,462.91 this month to a total of $14,453.49.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $4,556.73 from last month to a total balance of $28,602.22. We contributed $50 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $2,617.83 from last month to a total balance of $17,329.07.
Home
We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$580K. The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage loan is $182,133.78. We paid $300 extra towards our home mortgage principal this month.
Vehicles
My company provides me a vehicle and gas card. My wife has a 2017 SUV with ~80,000 miles. Her company gives her $300/month auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is $28,567.67 at 2.79%. We paid $0 extra towards our auto loan principal this month. We also have a ski boat with a loan balance of $47,333.11 at 5.24%.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In March, we had an awesome income month and a reasonable expense month considering the income (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Our total income in March was $29,578.19. In addition to our regular paychecks, I received a monthly bonus of $1,811.88 gross ($994.65 net) and my wife received a bonus of $18,649.36 gross ($14,352.39 net). My wife also received $646.57 in auto allowance / mileage reimbursements, $300 in gift credit cards and $46.99 in internet reimbursements. We received a state tax refund of $4,822. We also earned $11.19 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $21,293.93. Because of the coronavirus, we stocked up on food and essentials this month. Some big ticket items include $3,886 for groceries, $2,356 for household items and $762 in home maintenance.
Next month my wife should receive a discretionary bonus from her company.
As expected, March was a rough
month for our net worth. Our net worth decreased
$38,837.58 from last month to a total of $765,419.53 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our
Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We
contribute 8% to my wife’s 401(k). My
wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when
deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests
over 3 years). This month, we contributed $1,938.55 to her 401(k) and her company
deposited her annual match of $12,762.78.
We contribute 11% to my 401(k) and my company matches up to 4% and
deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited). This month, we contributed $622.39 to my
401(k) and my company deposited my annual match of $3,175.09. The total balance of our retirement accounts decreased
$31,834.46 from last month to a total of $332,355.85.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks
and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field
rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”).
The total current value is $19,592.01, down $4,983.90 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 increased $476.63 this month to a
total of $10,990.58.
College Savings
Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $750 to our son’s 529
Plan and it decreased $4,003.14 from last month to a total balance of $24,045.49. We contributed $750 to our daughter’s 529
Plan and it decreased $1,891.23 from last month to a total balance of $14,711.24.
Home
We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016
for our home
value. Current comps in the area are ~$580K. The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage
loan is $183,780.24. We paid $2,100 extra
towards our home mortgage principal this month.
Vehicles
My company provides me a vehicle and gas card. My wife has a 2017 SUV with ~80,000
miles. Her company gives her $300/month
auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is
$29,218.01 at 2.79%. We paid $100 extra towards our auto loan principal this
month. We also have a ski boat
with a loan balance of $47,606.57 at 5.24%.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
In February, we had a good income month and a good (relatively
low) expense month (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Our total income in February was $14,424.37. In addition to our regular paychecks, I
received a monthly bonus of $2,075 gross ($1,139.08 net) and my wife received an
award bonus of $3,383 gross ($2,000 net).
My wife also received $509.50 in auto allowance / mileage reimbursements
and $46.99 in internet reimbursements. We
also earned $15.44 in interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $14,131.27. Some big ticket items include $1,014.08 in auto
insurance, $340 in car servicing (brakes) and $396 in prescriptions.
Next month my wife should receive a $10K-$20K bonus from her
company.
February was a tough month for
our net worth. At one point during the
month, we passed our net worth milestones of $850K. By the end of February, our net worth had plummeted.
Our net worth decreased $42,828.74 from
last month to a total of $804,257.11 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts
Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our
Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We
contribute 7% to my wife’s 401(k). My
wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when
deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests
over 3 years). This month, we contributed $847.84 to her 401(k). We contribute 11% to my 401(k) and my company
matches up to 4% and deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited). This month, we contributed $651.33 to my 401(k). The total balance of our retirement accounts decreased
$34,963.77 from last month to a total of $364.190.31.
Brokerage Account
Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks
and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field
rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”).
The total current value is $24,57591, up $513.58 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. We had to dip into our savings again so it decreased
$4,520.00 this month to a total of $10,513.95.
College Savings Accounts
Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529
Plan and it decreased $3,451.07 from last month to a total balance of $28,048.63. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and
it decreased $2,045.84 from last month to a total balance of $16,602.47.
Home
We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016
for our home
value. Current comps in the area are ~$580K. The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage
loan is $187.218.47. We paid $300 extra towards
our home mortgage principal this month.
Vehicles
My company provides me a vehicle and gas card. My wife has a 2017 SUV with ~75,000
miles. Her company gives her $300/month
auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is
$29,960.18 at 2.79%. We paid $100 extra towards our auto loan principal this
month. We also have a ski boat
with a loan balance of $47,797.71 at 5.24%.
Credit Card Balance
All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
We passed our net worth milestones of $850K this month! Our net worth is currently $856,759. We passed our last net worth milestone of $840K last month. We hope to reach out next milestone of $860K next month.
In January, we had a good income month and but also a high expense
month (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Our total income in January was $14,652.22. In addition to our regular paychecks, I
received a monthly and quarterly bonus $5,100 gross ($2,799.70 net) and my wife
received a discretionary bonus of $1,000 gross ($533.69 net). My wife also received $1,072.85 in auto
allowance / mileage reimbursements, $600 in gym reimbursements and $46.99 in internet
reimbursements. We also earned $19.32 in
interest income from our savings accounts.
This month, our expenses totaled $16,369.68, meaning we
spent more than we earned. Never a good
thing. Big ticket items include $1,326
in gym memberships, $685 in life insurance and $648 in vacation
Next month is a bit of a question mark. We have been in the process of a home
insurance claim and could possibly receive a decent chunk of money for repairs.
Overall January was an amazing start to 2020! We were blessed to pass our net worth milestones of $830K and $840K this month. Our net worth increased $17,380.49 from last month to a total of $847,085.85 (see spreadsheet screenshot).
Retirement Accounts Our retirement accounts are comprised of our 401(k)s, our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. We contribute 7% to my wife’s 401(k). My wife’s company matches up to 5% of her 401(K) contribution (100% vested when deposited) and chips in an additional 5% on top of the match in March (vests over 3 years). This month, we contributed $847.84 to her 401(k). We contribute 11% to my 401(k) and my company matches up to 4% and deposits the match in March (100% vested when deposited). This month, we contributed $984.88 to my 401(k). The total balance of our retirement accounts increased $12,897.13 from last month to a total of $399,154.08.
Brokerage Account Currently, our brokerage account consists of a handful of stocks and cryptocurrency (I prefer to track crypto in the “Brokerage Accounts” field rather than “Cash & Savings Accounts”). The total current value is $24,062.33, up $6,393.77 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. We had to dip into our savings so it decreased $4,990.59 this month to a total of $15,033.95.
College Savings Accounts Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $100 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $940.09 from last month to a total balance of $31,499.70. We contributed $100 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $597.92 from last month to a total balance of $18,648.31.
Home We use the $528K purchase price that we paid in July 2016 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$580K. The current balance of our 15-year, 2.875% mortgage loan is $188,852.78. We paid $300 extra towards our home mortgage principal this month.
Vehicles My company provides me a vehicle and gas card. My wife has a 2017 SUV with ~70,000 miles. Her company gives her $300/month auto allowance and $0.53/mile reimbursement. The loan balance on my wife’s car is $30,675.13 at 2.79%. We paid $100 extra towards our auto loan principal this month. We also have a ski boat with a loan balance of $48,069.66 at 5.24%.
Credit Card Balance All of our credit card debt is paid in full each month.
Happy New Year! Somehow I forgot to post our 2020 financial goals earlier this month. 2019 was an amazing year and we hope to conquer some exciting financial goals in 2020. Here they are:
1) Pass our 2024 Net Worth Goal We ended 2019 with a net worth of $829,705, over 4 years ahead of our 2019 net worth goal. We would like to maintain this lead and end 2020 with a net worth over $891,500 (our 2024 net worth goal).
2) Increase total retirement savings to $475K
We ended 2019 with $386K in retirement savings. We are shooting to increase that to $475K by the end of 2020. Much of our success will depend on the market and “extra” contributions from our bonuses.
3)Create a family trust or will We missed this one in 2019 and are going to try again to create a family trust in 2020.
4) Contribute $3,000 to 529 Plans ($1,500 for each child) We hope to contribute $1,500 to each of our kid’s 529 Plans. Our son is currently 8-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $30,559 and our daughter is 5-years-old with a 529 Plan balance of $18,050. We would like to continue to grow these accounts while they are relatively young.
5) Building savings account balance to $25,000
In 2019, we did a good job increasing our savings to $20,000. We hope to build on this progress by getting our savings to $25,000 in 2020. We ended 2019 with $20,024 in savings.
Our path to financial independence and retiring early.
