We just broke $23,000 in liquid assets (pre-tax retirement accounts, Roth IRAs, taxable accounts, cash & savings accounts). As of this morning, we’re at $23,030.04, a nearly $3,000 increase over less than two months ago. Not too shabby with the stock market turbulence.
Additional Contribution to Wife’s Roth IRA
With the market down, my wife suggested that now would be a good time to do another contribution to her Roth IRA, which is invested in the Vanguard 500 Index Fund.
She opened her Roth IRA back on May 8, 2007 by purchasing $3,000 of Vanguard 500 Index Fund at $139.02/share. It is now trading at $132.16/share. With $1,000 left to fully fund her Roth IRA for the year, we decided to invest another $500 this month. We will likely invest the final $500 in her Roth IRA next month to get her to the $4,000 fully funded level.
After her Roth is fully funded, we will have just $1,000 left for my Roth IRA to be fully funded for the year, which will likely be done just before year end.
That will bring us to a total of $8,000 invested for the year in our Roth IRA’s. Next year, the maximums increase and we will be able to invest up to $10,000 in our Roth IRA’s ($5,000 in each) . Good stuff.
Bought A New Mattress
We were able to sell our mattress today and got $100! Thanks to my husband we can save more of my commission check now.
Posted by: The Wife
July 2007 Income Statement
July was a strong income month with my wife earning an additional $1,674.68 above her normal pay/auto allowance. We were also able to keep our expenses within reason compared to previous months (click spreadsheet below).
We only went over budget $650, and if you subtract out the $630.44 we spent on business clothing for my wife’s new job, we would have hit our budget mark. It’s encouraging to know our budget is realistic and doable. Although, with a couple of large expenses forecasted for August, it’s doubtful that we will be this close to our budget next month.
July 2007 Net Worth Update (+$2,039.64)
July was our lightest net worth increase month yet. Our net worth increased $2,039.64 over last month, to a new total of $15,062.84 (click spreadsheet below).
Still, we had a better month than I expected, primarily because a $1,000 business expense has not posted yet . Here are the highlights from July:
- In an effort to sock away a bit more money, we increased my 401(k) contribution from 2% to 3%.
- My wife received an additional $1,674.68 in income in July that greatly helped boost our savings account balance.
- Our retirement investments were doing very well most of the month, but plummeted last week, resulting in end of month balances that are lower than June.
- We paid down our liabilities by their standard monthly rate with the exception of our credit card, which we paid a little extra on.
August should be an interesting month. I will receive an extra paycheck ($1883.49 + an additional $76.33 to my 401k) and will also possibly receive my annual company profit sharing (~$550). However, my wife’s 1st paycheck at her new job will only be for one week’s pay. We also have some large bills due in August including $716.53 for a new mattress, $300 for a seat we are sponsoring at our church’s new location, and $1,000 for a business expense that I was already reimbursed for. Our August net worth increase may look very similar to July’s, but as long as we’re headed in the right direction, I’m not complaining.
Wife’s Multiple Paychecks
My wife received a lot of extra income at the end of July as a result of leaving one company and starting with a new company. Here’s the breakdown:
- Her old company gave her a paycheck for 3 weeks (instead of 2), since they needed to cash her out for her final week that would have normally fallen in the next pay period. This added $635.20 after taxes to her normal paycheck.
- Her old company gave her an additional 27 days of fuel reimbursement, which totaled $479.47 after taxes (she would normally be reimbursed in August).
- She was paid $560.01 after taxes for 4 days of training at her new job. She was able to do the training while concurrently working at her old job.
We used this extra income to buy new business clothes for my wife and increase our savings account balance. Her next paycheck on 8/10 (at her new company) will only be for 1 weeks worth of work, so we also keep some of the extra money in our checking account to cover August expenses.
The fun doesn’t stop there, my wife is also expecting a final commission check (~$1,000) from her old company the second week of September.
Bought A New Mattress
My wife and I have been sleeping poorly on our old lumpy mattress, and have been keeping an eye out for a good deal on a new mattress. My wife found a queen size Sealy Posturepedic mattress at Costco for only $699 + tax (delivered). A great price, but the mattress is only available in a pillow top version that my wife and I find sleeps too warm.
We visited our local Sleep Train Mattress Center and found the same mattress without the pillow top, but they were asking $1,599 + tax (delivered). While chatting with the salesman, my wife mentioned Costco’s great price and the gentleman said they can beat it by 5%.
So, with that one comment, my wife got us the mattress we wanted (non-pillow top Sealy Posturepedic) at a great price $665 + tax (delivered) – a 58% savings. Plus, God willing, we should be able to sell our old mattress for ~$100.
Market Ups and Downs
I update our net worth in our spreadsheet almost daily, but only post updates to this blog on the 1st of every month.
That being said, it drives me a little crazy when the stock market does great all month, and then, just as I get ready to post our new net worth on the 1st, the market drops. I know it doesn’t matter long term, and in fact, it is better for us because we are buying mutual funds at a lower price. However, I wish it would just wait until after I post the update on the 1st. The numbers would have looked great.
Oh, well, the market can always rebound before then. . .Dang it, I just checked and it’s down again today.
Wife’s New Job Benefits
My Wife’s new job compensation and benefits are awesome. Here they are at-a-glance:
Salary
$40,000 base salary during 12 months of training + bonuses + commissions + travel + expense account + laptop
Insurance (starts in November)
Health insurance:$48.00/month vs $84.01/month previously
Detal insurance: $3.23/month vs $8.08/month previously
Vision insurance: $2.08/month vs none previously (paid 100% of contact costs)
401(k) (starts in January)
401(k) match of 50% up to 6% of her salary (4 year vesting schedule)
Misc (starts immediately)
Less driving will save us ~$100/month
Better training
Nicer/more qualified boss
Exciting new field
Considering Adding Another Dog To The Family
I just returned from my business trip and am happy to be back home. Our neighbor’s dog is over our house and our dog and him are having a lot of fun playing. My wife and I have been discussing getting another dog so that our dog has a playmate and to help with home security while I am away on business.
My wife’s old job allowed her much more time at home to entertain our dog. We’re blessed that her new job will as well, but not for another 1+ years. The new job is going to keep her in the office 10+ hours a day for the next 7 months. Once she’s back out in the field, it is likely that she will have to spend considerable time away from home initially to set up accounts.
We’ve always wanted to get another dog, especially one that would be suitable for home security. Our little dog (13lbs) is very protective of the home, but the most he can do is sound the alarm, he doesn’t have much to back up the bark with.
We plan to spend a couple of hours online tonight researching breeds and discussing the pros and cons. A new dog will cost us a considerable amount of time and money to purchase, train, and care for. Our condo is pretty small, so we’re debating whether or not to wait until we have a house.