We just passed the net worth milestone of $90,000. We hit our last net worth milestone, $80,000, just one month ago.
God willing, it looks like we’ll hit a net worth milestone of $100,000 in July. That’s a big milestone and would mean we’re way ahead of schedule of making our 2010 net worth goal of $105,700 in December.
I will update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.
As I stated in our Net Worth Update, March was a crazy month.
My wife was laid off mid month, but we still had a good income month. My wife received one final pay check, her company cashed out her vacation ($733.52), and will be giving two weeks of severance ($1,300+). We also received a $4,111 tax refund ($3,730 fed & $381 state) and sold 20 shares of BofA stock for small $48 gain. My wife received a $110 company reimbursement for internet and phone service, we earned $25 in credit card cash back rewards, and earned $2.30 in interest income.
Our expenses this month were off the chart, primariliy because with paid cash for a 3rd vehicle (4×4). Our expenses totaled $18,391.59, but if you pull out the $12,250 we paid for the 4×4, our expenses were $6,141.59. Still a bit high, but not so outrageous.
With the purchase of our 4×4, and my wife being out of work part of the month, we’ll be playing a little catch up in April.
My wife just received her offer letter and it’s a good one.
They offered her a $60,000 base, $4,500 more than her last job. Also included in the offer is a bonus structure for up to 25% of her base pay. She also gets a company car and a complete home office.
That is WAY more than I made when I was 26 years old. Come to think of it, with her bonus and company car, it’s more than I make now. Good thing I’m man enough to admit it.
March was the craziest month we have had in quite awhile. Our net worth increased an amazing $14,753.11 from last month, to a total of $88,056.45 (click on spreadsheet below). This is a new record monthly increase for us.
What Worked
My wife’s company laid off the entire sales force this month, but within two days, she secured her 1st interview and ended up getting a great new job that she starts mid April (more details to follow in another post). We had a major influx of cash this month including her $733.52 of cashed out vacation, a $4,111 tax refund ($3,730 fed & $381 state), and a check for two weeks of severance for my wife should be coming in any day. We also sold 20 shares of BofA stock for small $48 gain. We contributed a total of $1,883.01 to our retirement accounts (401k’s and Roth IRA’s) and saw them increase $4,947.42!
What Didn’t Work
We purchased a great used 4×4 for $12,250 cash. This purchase absorbed most of our savings and our influx of cash from this month. I’ll be using the 4×4 as a daily driver until my wife gets her new company car in a couple of months. After that, the 4×4 will be a fun toy for us to enjoy on the weekends. Now we have to get our savings built back up.
Next Month
We have a little catching up to do in April. Purchasing the 4×4 threw off our cash flow, so we’ll need most of April to recover.
Just a quick post to say that we bought another vehicle. This vehicle, a 4×4, can be used as a daily driver if it takes awhile for my wife to get a job, or can be used as a fun weekend “toy”. We got a great deal by paying cash, $12,250 to be exact.
My wife is on her final interview today with a great company. If she gets the job, she will have 5 weeks of home study before receiving her company car. So, the extra vehicle will come in very handy.
We just passed $80,000 net worth milestone! Thanks to our $4,111 tax refund and good performance in our retirement accounts, we currently at a net worth of $81,635.73. We passed the $70,000 net worth milestone in January, so it only took us 2 short months. God willing, we should hit our $90,000 net worth milestone in July.
I will provide further details and update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.
My wife’s company has been struggling and finally decided on Friday to layoff the entire sales force off.
It’s unfortunate, but not a total surprise. She had already survived 2 rounds of layoffs with this company and there were rumors and signs things were coming to a head.
Where does that leave us? Not in too bad of shape, actually.
• She will receive 2 weeks severance
• Her vacation will be cashed out
• She’ll be bonused on any sales until 4/2
• She gets to keep her company car for 2 more weeks
With $475/week of unemployment and reducing some of our expenses, we shouldn’t even have to dip into savings. Speaking of savings, with our tax return, our savings jumped from $4,327.37 to $9,320.43. We’ll likely need to use some of this to buy a used car, but the rest can act as a cushion. Plus, we should be able to continue to add a little bit into savings each month.
My wife is so on the ball, she’s already lined up a phone interview for tomorrow.
We paid a total of $2,025 in federal and state taxes last year. This year, we wanted to get help with our taxes because we had to account for our condo short sale. Thanks to a referral from a trusted friend, we met with our new tax accountant today and, boy, was it was worth it.
While we had less mortgage interest to deduct this year, he helped us find other deductions that we didn’t realize we were eligible for. We paid him $275 and he helped us receive a total refund (federal & state) of $4,111!
We should get the $4,111 refund via direct deposit in ~2 weeks. We plan to deposit the money into our savings account to build our emergency fund back up.
Thanks to my wife, February was strong income month and a low spending month (click on spreadsheet below).
In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received a $3,000 ($1,217.53 net) quarterly bonus. My paycheck was also a bit higher because my company gave everyone another salary increase. My wife received a $110 company reimbursement for internet and phone service, we earned $75 in credit card cash back rewards, and we received a $50 rebate.
Our expenses this month were only $4,930.82, within $200 of our monthly budget. I was on business travel for 7 days, which probably helped save us some money.
March should be a pretty typical income month, but may be a large expense month, depending on how our taxes come out.
After a small decrease in our net worth in January, it was nice to bounce back with a strong net worth increase in February. Our net worth increased $5,529.60 from last month, to a total of $73,303.34 (click on spreadsheet below).
What Worked
My wife received a $3,000 ($1,217.53 net) quarterly bonus, so we were also able to increase our savings by $1,830.82. We contributed a total of $2,232.69 to our retirement accounts (401k’s and Roth IRA’s) and saw them increase $3,759.37. Good stuff!
What Didn’t Work
Everything went great this month.
Next Month
It’s hard to guesstimate how March will go. We’ll be doing our taxes and likely owe (we paid $2,024 last year), but I may be able to save some money on food and gas since I will be traveling for business for 7 days. We’ll have to see how it works out.