Overall

May was a surprisingly huge month for us. First, my wife learned that she would be receiving an unexpected quarterly bonus of $8,200 gross ($4,080.42 net). Then, we met with our tax accountant to do our taxes (we filed an extension previously) and determined our refund would be $9,118 ($7196 federal and $1,922 state). Either of these surprises would have made our month, so it was awesome to receive both in one month. Our net worth increased $11,580.21 this month, to a total of $311,195.15 (see spreadsheet screenshot).

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited). We increased my wife’s contribution from 3% to 10%, effective her 2^nd paycheck in April. We contributed $1,903.34 (includes 10% from bonus) to my wife’s 401(k) this month and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts increased $2,403.91 over last month to $1478,874.91.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of one stock (my wife’s company) that went up $83.47 this month. Our balance is $770.87 on a $2,000.00 in initial investment.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, our cash and savings accounts increased $2,327.57, bringing the total to $9,177.86.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $1,000 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,114.00 over last month to a total balance of $12,996.00. We contributed $1,150 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $1,197.43 over last month to a total balance of $5,243.43.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $363,018.20. We paid an extra $1,150 towards principal this month.

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with ~60K miles and “Car 2” is a 2012 SUV with ~55K miles. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. “Car 1” has a current loan balance of $23,970.27 and Car 2 has a current loan balance of $29,694.2. My wife receives $800/month as a car reimbursement and her gas is paid for by her company. I receive $204.56/month as a fixed car reimbursement and $0.18 per mile as a variable reimbursement (to help cover gas, wear and tear, etc.)

Credit Card Balance

We paid off the $2,544.95 balance of our 0% credit card.   It feels awesome to finally put this to bed.

Overall

First of all, great news, I am starting a new sales job in May! I quit my job of 13 years in September 2014 and have been looking for an opportunity that provides better work/life balance. I will be working out of my home office and visiting accounts in the field locally. No more business trips every month:) The base salary is $52K and the bonuses if I hit my goals total $28K/year (not capped). They will pay a fixed amount to me each month for my vehicle and a variable amount based on the miles that I drive. Another positive is that this will be my first company that I’ve worked for with a 401(k) match, albeit only up to a max of $1,000/year.

April was a negative month for our net worth, primarily due to trading in “Car 3” for a newer vehicle (“Car 2”). Our net worth decreased $5,625.33 this month, to a total of $299,614.94 (see spreadsheet screenshot).

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited). We contributed $325 to my wife’s 401(k) this month and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts decreased $4,063.17 over last month to $146,471.00.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of one stock (my wife’s company) that went up a bit this month. Our balance is $687.40 on a $2,000.00 in initial investment.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, our cash and savings accounts decreased $924.43, bringing the total to $6,850.29.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $50 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $376.90 over last month to a total balance of $11,882.00. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $111.11 over last month to a total balance of $4,046.00.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $364,839.79. We paid an extra $150 towards principal this month.

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with ~60K miles and “Car 2” is a 2012 SUV with ~55K miles. “Car 2” was purchased this month because the company I am starting with in May requires a newer vehicle to receive the monthly reimbursement. When we purchased “Car 2” they gave us $7,000 off for trading in “Car 3”. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. “Car 1” has a current loan balance of $24,307.08 and Car 2 has a current loan balance of $30,060.00. My wife receives $800/month as a car reimbursement and her gas is paid for by her company. When I start my new job in May, I should receive ~$350/month as a fixed car reimbursement and a certain amount per mile as a variable reimbursement (to cover gas, wear and tear, etc.)

Credit Card Balance

Our credit card interest is 0% for two years. This month, our credit card debit went down $100.00 to a total of $2,544.95.

Overall

March was a negative month for our net worth. It decreased $1,785.13, to a total of $305,240.27 (see spreadsheet screenshot).

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited). We contributed $325 to my wife’s 401(k) this month and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts decreased $1,780.03 over last month to $142,407.83.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of one stock (my wife’s company) that went down in March. Our balance is $662.85 on a $2,000.00 in initial investment.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, our cash and savings accounts decreased $184.00, bringing the total to $7,774.72.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it decreased $276.37 over last month to a total balance of $11,505.10. We contributed $50 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it decreased $44.04 over last month to a total balance of $3,934.89.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $365,658.82. We paid an extra $150 towards principal this month.

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with ~55K miles and “Car 3” is a 2004 SUV with ~100K miles. We no longer own a “Car 2”. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. Car 1 has a current loan balance of $24,643.15 and Car 3 is paid off.

Credit Card Balance

Our credit card interest is 0% for two years. This month, our credit card debit went up $12.57 to a total of $2,644.95.

Overall

February was an awesome month for our net worth. It increased $16,185.37, to a total of $307,025.40 (see spreadsheet screenshot).  Definitely a nice turn-around from last month. The two main contributors were my wife’s quarterly bonus of $16,745.00 gross ($9,088.68 net) and her large promotion ($97K/year to $130K/year).  She’s a keeper:)

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited).  This month, we contributed $827.35 to my wife’s 401(k) and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts increase $8,050.18 over last month to $144,187.86.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of one stock (my wife’s company) that moved up in February. Our balance is $883.80 on a $2,000.00 in initial investment.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, our cash and savings accounts increased $2,073.95, bringing the total to $7,958.72.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. This month, we contributed $250 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $926.92 over last month to a total balance of $11,781.47. We also contributed $250 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $469.36 over last month to a total balance of $3,978.93.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $366,475.29. We have been paying ~$150 in escrow shortage payments for the past year, but our shortage payments are finally complete. We decided to continue paying the extra $150 each month towards principal. Since my wife received an awesome quarterly bonus in February, we added an extra $1,000 on top of the $150. So, we paid $1,150 extra to mortgage principal this month.  Sweet!

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with ~55K miles and “Car 3” is a 2004 SUV with ~100K miles. We no longer own a “Car 2”. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. Car 1 has a current loan balance of $24,983.79 and Car 3 is paid off.

Credit Card Balance

Great news!! We paid off a $5,651.31 balance on a 0% credit card from a new HVAC that we installed in September 2014. However, we also added another $2,632.38 in credit card debit for office furniture and. It is 0% for two years.

Overall

January was a down month for our net worth. It decreased $5,286.35, to a total of $290,840.03 (see spreadsheet screenshot). Not an awesome start to the year, but not the end of the world either. My wife just received a huge promotion so we’ll catch up in February.

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited). We contributed $242.50 to my wife’s 401(k) and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts decrease $2,885.95 over last month to $136,137.68. In January, my wife also received her 3% company match ($1,012.52) for 2014.

Brokerage Account

Currently, our brokerage account consists of one stock (my wife’s company) that has continued to decline as of late. Our balance is $810.15 on a $2,000.00 in initial investment.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, due to a number of large annual bills, we had a decrease of $3,322.53 to our cash and savings bringing the total to $5,884.77.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. We contributed $0 to our son’s 529 Plan and it decreased $494.68 over last month to a total balance of $10,854.55. We contributed $0 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it decreased $163.75 over last month to a total balance of $3,509.57.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $368,136.26. We paid $100 extra to mortgage principal this month.

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with 53K miles and “Car 3” is a 2004 SUV with 99K miles. We no longer own a “Car 2”. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. Car 1 has a current loan balance of $25,323.76 and Car 3 is paid off.

Credit Card Balance

The $5,651.31 credit card balance is from a new HVAC that we installed in September 2014. It is 0% for two years.  We expect to pay this off in February once my wife receives her quarterly bonus.

I love reviewing our numbers to see how we got to where we are.  This screenshot is shows our net worth progress by month for 2014. Some highlights from include:

• We increased our net worth from $245,457.24 to $296,126.38 ($50,669.14 increase), surpassing our 2014 net worth goal of $251K and our 2015 net worth goal of $296K (one year ahead of time).
• We contributed $20,297.18 to our retirement accounts. Our total retirement account balance grew from $109,117.55 to $139,023.63 ($29,906.08 increase).
• We increased our savings from $3,762.38 to $9,207.30 ($5,444.92 increase).
• My wife took 3 months off (disability) for the birth of our daughter.
• We opened a 529 Plan for our baby girl.
• I left my company at the end of September to find a job that provides better work/life balance.
• I rolled my 401(K) to a traditional IRA.
• We sold “Car 2” and bought “Car 1”.
• We put a couple of large purchases (including a $7K HVAC) on a 0% credit card.
• We increased our debt from $390,184.30 to $400,314.63 ($10,130.33 increase).

With the new year approaching, I decided to change the format of our monthly net worth updates. The spreadsheet layout will stay the same for easy comparison to previous months, but the detail in the blog post will change. I am replacing my typical “What Worked”, “What Didn’t Work”, and “Next Month” sections with more detailed information on each line item on the spreadsheet.

Overall

Overall, December was an okay month for our net worth. It increased $2,376.30, to a total of $296,126.38 (see spreadsheet screenshot). It might not be a huge increase, but it was enough to get us past our 2015 net worth goal of $296K one year ahead of schedule!

Retirement Accounts

Our retirement accounts are comprised of my wife’s 401(k), our Roth IRAs and our Traditional IRAs. My wife’s company matches up to 3% of her 401(K) contribution and deposits the sum once a year on January 1^st (it is 100% vested when deposited). In December, we contributed $242.50 to my wife’s 401(k) and saw the total balance of our retirement accounts increase $1,001.86 over last month to $139,023.63.

Cash & Savings Accounts

Cash and savings accounts consists of a small sum of cash at home and our online savings account balance. It does not include our checking account balance that we use to pay our bills each month. This month, we had a tiny increase of $54.60 to our cash and savings bringing the total to $9,207.30.

College Savings Accounts

Our kids have 529 Plans through Vanguard. We contributed $165 to our son’s 529 Plan and it increased $314.84 over last month to a total balance of $11,349.23. We also contributed $165 to our daughter’s 529 Plan and it increased $216.25 over last month to a total balance of $3,673.32.

Home

We use the $489K purchase price that we paid in January 2012 for our home value. Current comps in the area are ~$650K. The current balance on our mortgage loan is $368,895.17. We paid $100 extra to mortgage principal this month.

Cars

“Car 1” is a 2011 SUV with 53K miles and “Car 3” is a 2004 SUV with 99K miles. We no longer own a “Car 2”. When calculating our net worth, we depreciate the vehicles 1% per month. Car 1 has a current loan balance of $25,652.15 and Car 3 is paid off.

Credit Card Balance

The $5,767.31 credit card balance is from a new HVAC that we installed in September 2014. It is 0% for two years.

We have been blessed with good incomes for the past 8 years, breaking the $100K mark in household income in 2008 and working our way up to ~$250K in 2014. Our net worth has grown considerably as well. From $23K at the end of 2008 to nearly $300K at the end of 2014.

With that being said, I feel like we should have made better progress on our net worth, considering our incomes. I looked back at the last couple of years and determined that a considerable amount of money has been “invested” into our new home, but are not accounted for it in our net worth calculation. Some of the larger ticket items are:

$7,000 new HVAC
$1,200 new pool pump
$1,700 pool fence
$1,600 white picket fence in front yard
$1,800 security camera system
$1,500 refrigerator
$2,500 wash and dryer
$600 dishwasher

I use the purchase price of our home ($489K) for its value when calculating our net worth. If I included home appreciation, that would add another ~$150K based on comps in the area.  

I have no plans to begin accounting for improvements to the property or home appreciation but it does make me feel good to know that we bought at a great time and have invested in our home to make it safer, nicer, and if we sell one day, maybe more valuable.

How do you account for your home as an asset?

Happy Thanksgiving! November was a good month for our net worth. It increased $7,220.55 over last month, to a total of $293,750.08 (see table below).

What Worked
My wife earned a $12,490 gross ($7,664.17 net) quarterly bonus. We used this money to pay some of our 0% credit card balance down, deposited a bit into savings, and paid an additional $1,100 to our home mortgage. We contributed $617.20 to our retirement accounts in November and the total balance increased $4,577.35 to $138,021.77. I also moved my old company 401(k) balance ($68,291.73) to traditional IRA with Vanguard.

What Didn’t Work
We purchased a new (used) vehicle adding $26,000 in debt to our liabilities. Thankfully, they gave us $5,000 trade-in for our 2006 Honda Accord (120Kmiles) that was pretty beat up and needed ~$1,200 is work.

Next Month
December should be a pretty typical month. We plan to keep the Christmas presents affordable, but thoughtful.

The first month of me not working was a tough one financially. In October, our net worth decreased $6,226.76, to a total of $286,529.53 (see table below).

What Worked
We saw small gains in our IRA’s, savings, and 529 Plans.

What Didn’t Work
We contribution at total of $242.50 to our retirement accounts, but saw them decrease $566.41. Our 0% credit card balance increased due to purchasing a new HVAC system.

Next Month
November should go a little better because my wife will earn a quarterly bonus of ~$12K gross. We plan to use the proceeds to pay down our 0% credit card debt from the HVAC system.