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.