Net Worth

April 2008 Net Worth Update (+3,661.34)

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April has been a great month. Our net worth increased $3,661.34 over last month, bring us to a total net worth of $31,437.95 (click on spreadsheet below). This puts us at 65.77% of our 2008 net worth goal of $47,800.

What worked:
We increased my 401(k) contribution by 1% to a total contribution of 5%. We invested $638.95 in retirement accounts (401(k) and Roth IRAs) this month and, with the recent market upswing, saw a total increase in our retirement accounts of $2,416.09! We also increased our savings by $662.38, primarily due to my wife’s commission check.

What did not work:
I can’t think of anything that went against us this month. Thank God.

Next month:
May should be another solid month. We plan to do a large contribution to our Roth IRAs and bump up our savings a bit.

Goals

Net Worth Milestone – $30,000

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I’m not sure if it’s going to stick, but we hit our net worth milestone of $30,000 yesterday. Our last net worth milestone was in September, 2007.

After the great market upswing today, our currently net worth is $30,350.57, putting us at 63.49% of our $47,800 net worth goal for the year. Note: Our current net worth status bar will not be updated until the end of the month, as usual.

God willing, we should hit our $40,000 net worth milestone by October this year.

Income

Commission Checks Are Great

My wife is really getting consistent with earning commission checks each month. This month, she received a $448.15 commission check – just like clockwork. The great news is that she has a number of orders she will receive commissions for in the next few months. She’s done a impressive job of cold calling and expanding her customer base.

Since our monthly expenses are already covered by our base salaries, any commission checks that she receives can go directly to investments, savings, paying off debt, etc. Most of the money she earned in this commission check is going to be deposited into our savings account.

Deals and Bargains

Dinner And A Movie At Costco

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Last month, my wife and I enjoyed our 2nd wedding anniversary. We decided to celebrate is special occasion by having dinner at the waterfront restaurant where we were married.

To save us some money, my wife bought a $100 gift card for the restaurant at Costco for $80. I had never even heard of this before. That’s a 20% savings! My wife is so smart. We also recently bought movie tickets at Costco and saved 20% once again.

So, if you have a Costco card and enjoy going out to eat or the movies, you might want to consider buying gift cards at Costco. Oh, and if you find the girl of your dreams, don’t let her get away.

Income

2nd Raise For 2008

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As I posted about previously, my company is resetting everyone’s review date to the anniversary of their hire date. Most employee reviews already fall on the anniversary of their hire date, but, in the past, if you received a promotion, the date that you received your promotion became your new annual review date.

I received a promotion in January of 2006, thus, changing my annual review from my April hire anniversary to January. Since my company is resetting everyone back to the anniversary of their hire date, I received another review this week.

I was blessed to receive a very positive review that included a 2.07% bump up in pay, from $69,030/annually to $70,460/annually. Combined with my 4.5% increase in January, I’m up 6.57% this year.

We’ve decided to increase my 401(k) contribution by 1%, to a total of 5%. The reminder of the raise money will be used to help us try to keep up with the cost of living.

Income Statement

March 2008 Income Statement

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It’s scary sometimes how much we can spend in one month (click on spreadsheet below).

Thank God for the extra money we brought in above our standard income. The largest amount of money was brought in by my Wife’s in the form of a $1,292.50 commission check and a $188.54 mileage reimbursement check. We also received a $384.44 property tax refund, $60 from my parents, and $60 from selling a few things. All of this extra money kept us from spending more than we earned in March.

Needless to say, we went over budget in most areas. Some of the larger expenses were $832.46 for household items (including a new home theater system), $585.67 for groceries, $129.01 for pet care (including pet care while our condo was being worked on), and $166.00 for car registration.

We have vowed to spead less in April. My Wife may get good commission check in April and I have a review that may result in a small raise.

Net Worth

March 2008 Net Worth Update (+$82.80)

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The roller coaster stock market continued in March. Thank God we were able to eek out $82.80 ahead of our net worth last month, bringing us to a net worth total of $27,776.61 (click on spreadsheet below).

What worked this month?
Thanks to my wife’s $1,292.50 commission check, we were able to contribute a total of $800 to our Roth IRAs for the month. So, even with the rough stock market, our Roth IRAs are up $490.20.

What did not work this month?
While we contributed $212.40 to my company 401(k), we ended down $216.664 for the month. Our savings account also took a 14.55% hit because we had to pay the 2nd installment of property taxes ($1458.40).

What’s coming next month?
Next month is a pretty typical month for us in terms of income and expenses. The big question mark is the stock market. Who knows what will happen?

Debt

Change in 2nd Mortgage Accelerated Payment Plan

We have been on a good roll with our 2nd mortgage accelerated payment plan, paying down an extra $1,930.53 in principle since January 2008. The extra payments to our 2nd mortgage were great to pay down the principle, but cannot be pulled back out in case of an emergency (it’s not a HELOC). So, due to the current U.S. economic situation, we have decided to deposit future funds earmarked for our 2nd mortgage accelerated payment into our savings account.

We’re doing this to temporarily increase our emergency fund during this volatile time. That way, if the economy gets so bad that people start losing jobs, we will be a bit more prepared. Once the economy straightens out, we plan to pull the earmarked funds from savings and apply them to our 2nd mortgage.

I hope we never have to touch the money, but know we will sleep better with a bit more of a cushion right now.

Money Musings

Property Tax Refund Received

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We’ve been eager to receive our property tax refund check, but didn’t expect to receive it so soon.

The tax assessor’s office told us it could take 60-90 days to receive the refund; it only took 21 days. In addition, we were expecting ~$354, but received $384.44. Thank God! We deposited the $384.44 into our E*TRADE savings account to help bolster our emergency fund.

Since property taxes in San Diego County can only increase 2% a year, we just saved ourselves a bunch of money while we own the condo. And, if property values continue to fall, we will likely ask that our condo be reassessed again next year to further reduce our property taxes.

Our path to financial independence and retiring early.