Income Statement

March 2014 Income Statement

March was a standard income month and a high expense month (see attached spreadsheet).

Our total income in March was $9,938.22.  My wife canceled her monthly ESPP contribution so her take home increased $401.18.  In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received a $600 auto allowance and a $100 company reimbursement for internet service.  We also received $73.73 in credit card cash back rewards and earned $3.41 in interest income from our online savings account.

In March, we spent a total of $10,105.71.  Some of the other larger, non-typical expenses include $313.95 for a speeding ticket and $125.00 for our son’s preschool registration.

April will be interesting.  I receive a third “extra” paycheck and we meet with our tax accountant to do our income taxes.

Net Worth

2014 Net Worth Update (+2,728.93)

March was a good net worth increase month.  In March, our net worth increased $2,728.93, to a total of $276,759.31 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked
We contribution at total of $1,223.05 to our retirement accounts and saw them increase $1,953.11.  We also contributed $150 to our son’s 529 Plan and $750 to savings.  We also closed my wife’s ESPP and moved the money into savings. 
 
What Didn’t Work
Our relatively new taxable brokerage account investment declined considerably.

Next Month
April should be a better than normal income month because I receive a third “extra” paycheck.
 
 
Uncategorized

February 2014 Income Statement

February was a record breaking income month for us and a pretty reasonable expense month (see attached spreadsheet).

Our total income in February was $37,327.14.  This blew away our previous best income month of $25,449.19 in December 2011.  In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received a $66,600 gross ($27,808.32 net) quarterly bonus.  She also received a $600 auto allowance, and a $100 company reimbursement for internet service.  We earned $1.52 in interest income from our online savings account.

In February, we spent a total of $28,200.31.  At first glance this seems insanely high, but $12,120.90 was for paying off our auto loan and $7,950.00 was church tithe.  Subtract those two items out and our expenses totaled a much more reasonable $8,129.41.  Some of the other larger, non-typical expenses include $161.00 for wife’s hair, $199 for massages, and $300 to paint our baby’s room.

March should be a standard income and expense month.

Net Worth

February 2014 Net Worth Update (+28,622.68)

February was our best net worth increase month by a very large margin.  In February, our net worth increased $28,622.684, to a total of $274,030.38 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked

In February, my wife earned a $66,600.00 gross ($27,808.32 net) quarterly bonus!  This positively impacted every area of our balance sheet.  We contribution at total of $4,523.05 to our retirement accounts ($3,300 from her bonus) and saw them increase to $8,361.82.  We also contributed a total of $3,704.17 to her ESPP ($3,300 from her bonus), $1,150 to savings, $150 to our son’s 529 Plan, 10% of gross to our church tithe, and bought stock in our brokerage account.  In addition, we paid off our $12,098.89 auto loan.  Thanks to the huge blessing of my wife’s bonus, we passed three net worth milestones in one month (250K, 260K, & 270K)!  We’re 108.79% of our 2014 net worth goal ($251,900).  Now, we’ll shoot for hitting our 2015 net worth goal ($296,000) one year early.

What Didn’t Work
N/A

Next Month
March looks like it is shaping up to be a pretty standard month.

Goals

Net Worth Milestone: $270,000

We passed the net worth milestone of $270,000.  This comes right after passing $250,000 and $260,000 in one day!

Our net worth is currently $271,307.22.  I will update our chart on the left at the end of the month.

We shoul hit our next net worth milestone of $280,00 around May.

Goals

Net Worth Milestone $250K & $260K

Today we passed the $250,000 AND $260,000 net worth milestones!   The first time we passed two milestones in one day!  This was thanks to a $66,600 gross ($28,873.32 net) quarterly bonus that my wife earned.  Our net worth is currently $262,430.17.

We passed our last milestone of $240K in November. Based on my forecasts, we should hit the next net worth milestone of $270K by May.

I will update our net worth meter (on the left side of the screen) at the end of the month.

Income Statement

January 2014 Income Statement

January was a standard income month, and a large expense (see attached spreadsheet).

Our total income in January was $9,465.41.  In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received a $600 auto allowance, and a $100 company reimbursement for internet service.  We earned $0.15 in interest income from our online savings account.

In January, we spent a total of $11,537.47.  Not as much as last month, but more than we earnedL.  Some of the larger, non-typical expenses include $ 1,619.98 for new gun, $573.88 auto insurance (2 cars, 6 months), and $685 for term life insurance (for both of us).

February should be a huge income month as my wife should receive a $66,600 (gross) quarterly bonus!

Net Worth

January 2014 Net Worth Update (-49.54)

In January, our net worth decreased $49.54, to a total of $245,407.70 (click on spreadsheet below).

What Worked

In January, we began a 5% contribution to my wife’s 401(K) and 5% to her company ESPP.  We also began contributing $200/month to her H.S.A. account for our baby’s birth in May. 

What Didn’t Work
We contributed $1,223.05 to our retirement accounts and saw them decrease $772.93 to a total of $108,344.62.

Next Month
February should be a very good month, as my wife is expected to receive a large bonus.
 
 
Goals

2014 Financial Goals

Every year, we set goals that we hope to reach by the end of the year. Below is our list for 2014.

1) Increase net worth to $251,900

We are so close to hitting our 2014 net worth goal of $251,900 and the year has just begun.  We are less than $7K from reaching this goal, so unless something dramatic happens, we will pass our goal very quickly.

2) Pass our 2015 Net Worth Goal 1 year early
Since we are so far ahead of our net worth goal, we are going to shoot for reaching next year’s (2015) net worth goal of $296,000 a year early.  I think we have a good chance of making this happen.

3) Building savings account balance to $20,000
We have always struggled to keep a decent sum of money in our savings account.  We would love to have our savings account built back up to $20,000, but it will take a determined effort to reach this by the end of the year.

4) Pay off Car 3
Our monthly auto loan payment is $307.21 and we have a balance of $12,381.24.  Even though our interest rate is good (2.29%) we want to pay this vehicle off to help with our cash flow.  If we can pay this off, our only debt will be our mortgage.  That would be a great feeling.

5) Open 529 Plan for new baby
Vanguard requires an initial deposit of $3,000 to open a 529 Plan account.  Our new baby girl will be born in May, so we hope to open her 529 Plan shortly after her birth.

Goals

Review of 2013 Financial Goals

Below is a review of how we did with each of our 2013 financial goals.

1) Increase net worth to $211,000 SUCCESS
This one was a gimme since we had already passed our 2013 net worth goal of $211,000 in December 2012.  We ended the year with a net worth of $245,457.24, 116.33% of goal!

2) Pass our 2014 Net Worth Goal 1 year early FAIL
Since we passed our 2013 goal one year ahead of plan, we decided to shoot for our 2014 goal of $251,900 one year early.  We almost made it coming up just $6,442.76 short.  The good news is that our current net worth of $245,457.24 means we will be starting off 2014 within sneezing distance of our 2014 net worth goal.


3) Contribute $15,000 to retirement accounts FAIL
We only contributed $12,918.29 to our retirement accounts in 2013.  I feel like we could have reached this goal with a bit more effort.  My wife was unemployed from December 2012 to April 2013, so we had a little catching up to do once she got her new (great paying) job.

4) $100,000 total balance in retirement accounts SUCCESS
Through contributions and market performance, we ended 2013 with $109,117.55 in our retirement accounts.

5) Grow our family SUCCESS
We feel so blessed that my wife is pregnant and we are due to have a baby girl in May 2015.  Best goal of the year!

Our path to financial independence and retiring early.