My net worth is $23,613, which represents an increase of $1,052 or 4.66%. I'm expecting a strong month in May, as it's a three-paycheck month, so hopefully by the end of next month I should be closing in on the $25,000 mark.
I'm revising my net worth goal to $30,000 for this year, which would be an increase of $10,000. I'd factored the assumption of a strong market performance into the previous goal, which turns out to not be a great idea. I hope to beat this goal, but I think my initial goal of $35,000 was overly optimistic.
I made some progress in my 401(k) this month, too:
Fidelity Freedom 2050 Fund: 383.59 shares (last month: 351.2 shares)
Fidelity Total Stock Market Index Fund: 35.3 shares (last month: 32.2 shares)
That said, how are my other goals going?
Earn the full match in my 401(k)
I'm nearly at 50%. At this rate, I'll have earned the full match by the middle of September.
Save $4,000 in the Freedom Fund, for an end balance of $10,000.
My Freedom Fund currently stands at $7,275. It should be quite close to $8,000 by the end of this month.
Earn $1,500 of non-salary income, earmarked for graduate school application expenses.
I'm not doing a great accounting job on this goal...eek. Let's see: I made $35 from a paid link, and $60 from Prosper referrals...decent, but not great. I'm itching to take Google Ads down and replace them with BlogHer ads (technically, you can do both, but I don't want the page overwhelmed by ads), but I haven't yet hit Google's threshold for a payout. It's agonizingly slow.
Buy a friend a drink at least once a month.
I don't think I made this one this month, actually--I offered a couple of times for sure, but I don't think it worked out, actually. I did throw a seder for a bunch of friends at my place, though, so maybe that counts.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
April Goals Update
Monday, April 07, 2008
March Goals Update
My March net worth is up at NetWorthIQ. It's up 3.69%, to $22,561, which is not too shabby. And in the vein of this previous post on my retirement accounts, it's worth noting the progress of my 401(k), in terms of shares:
Fidelity Freedom 2050 Fund: 351.2 shares (last month: 317.15 shares)
Fidelity Total Stock Market Index Fund: 32.2 shares (last month: 29.06 shares)
I've weathered the last few months' downturn pretty well (haven't yet seen a reduction in my net worth), but I'm definitely not on track to hit $35,000 if things keep up this way. I probably shouldn't factor a continually climbing stock market into my goals, huh? A more realistic goal for this year is probably $30,000. We'll see.
That said, how are my other goals going?
Earn the full match in my 401(k)
I've earned 39.9% of it. Nice! If I really am going to switch jobs, though, this goal is going to have to be reworked.
Save $4,000 in the Freedom Fund, for an end balance of $10,000.
I saved a mere $200 of income this month, but I'm still on track to hit my year-end goal (I think...again, a job change may rearrange this, because I'm currently planning on big savings spikes in "extra paycheck" months). My freedom fund is just north of the $7,000 mark now.
Give $1,200 to good causes.
A post on this is forthcoming, but let's just say for now: no. This is not going according to plan this year, for reasons to be discussed later.
Earn $1,500 of non-salary income, earmarked for graduate school application expenses.
Very little activity on this front this month: just a couple of Pinecone Research checks I haven't deposited yet. I'm due a bunch of blog stuff this month, though, so this should see a big bump for the next monthly update.
Buy a friend a drink at least once a month.
This is by far my favorite monthly goal! I'm pretty sure I bumped it off early this month (I remember thinking, "Hey, two in February! ...Wait, no, it's March."), but I don't remember exactly how.
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
2008 Goals Update: February
Here's where I'm at in my march towards my 2008 goals.
Earn the full match in my 401(k)
I've earned 22% of it. At this rate, I'll have maxed it out by the end of October.
Save $4,000 in the Freedom Fund, for an end balance of $10,000.
I saved a mere $225 of income this month. It was a spendy month because of K's birthday. This brings me to a total of $775, or 18.1% of my goal. I'm still on track.
Give $1,200 to good causes.
I came up $50 short of my scheduled $100 this month. I hope to make it up later in the year.
Earn $1,500 of non-salary income, earmarked for graduate school application expenses.
Five ING referral bonuses and five Pinecone Research checks bring me up to $280.35, or 18.7% of my goal. No checks yet for blog ads--I'm closing in on getting a check from Google, though.
Buy a friend a drink at least once a month.
Although I usually don't count him for these things, I think the wildly expensive meal I bought K for his birthday covers this one pretty solidly. Other than that, I bought a friend some tea.
Achieve a net worth of $35,000.
My February net worth calculations are up at NetWorthIQ: I upped it by a scant $508, or 2.39%. Not great, but not too terrible, either, in this month of hefty spending. It would be awesome if I could make some damn money in my 401(k) and IRA. I was counting on some investment gains when I set that goal.
Friday, February 01, 2008
January Net Worth
I barely squeaked a flat net worth out of January. My retirement accounts lost 2.75% of their value even after this month's contributions, and I've lost all of 2007's gains on my investments, but particularly big 401(k) contributions (as I tinkered with my contribution levels) plus a few ING referral bonuses kept me in the black for the month. My net worth grew by a whopping $4, or 0.02%.
You can see the breakdown at NetWorthIQ.
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
My 2007 Financial Progress: The Numbers
I had five financial goals for 2007. I also, somewhere along the line, developed an unofficial goal of reaching a savings goal of $5,500 in my Freedom Fund. For whatever reason, that goal was the most important to me. It represents progress towards being able to do what I want to do with my life.
And as of this very morning, that goal is met. My Freedom Fund account at ING reads $5,500, which actually represents cash savings from this year of somewhat less than $4,500 (the balance also includes a CD that matured). And I've transfered my beloved-and-generous aunt's $500 Christmas check in, so it'll stand at $6,000 for the year. And as to the rest of them?
1. Give 5% of my income.
My gross salary income for the year was $31,615.37. I gave $1,371.45 to good causes this year. That's 4.3%--short of the goal. Not by much, but still short. I copped out of giving for a couple paychecks (or maybe three?) this summer when money was tight. Had I given that money, I would still actually have been a little short (4.9%), so this goal will need a little rejiggering for next year.
2. Open a Roth and automate contributions.
Sort of. I actually funded my Roth in a lump sum, with the money my parents gave me. But the end is accomplished—the money my parents gave me maxed the thing out.
3. Earn the full employer match in my 401(k).
Big fat check, and I'm proud of this one.
4. Open and automate contributions to a travel fund towards a savings goal of $2,000.
No. But this one was by choice—I just wanted to prioritize the Freedom Fund as that goal grew in size and priority.
5. Triple my net worth.
Stupidly (as Moom pointed out at the time), I didn't count my checking account in my net worth when I set this goal. When I started this blog, though, I listed out every penny I had, an though it had clearly come up somewhat in the next two months, even if it had been $7,000, it would be well and truly tripled. And I bet it wasn't even that high—I bet it's more like quadrupled. My net worth as of today is $21,247, which is a modest increase from last month of 2.27% and well clear of my unofficial goal of $20,000.
So I think I made some pretty good progress. And this is just the numbers.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
November Net Worth
Though I've been low on the posting lately, I did update my net worth on December 1, like the good little PF blogger I am.
It's up, but only because it was a three-paycheck month, which meant extra-big 401(k) contributions and Freedom Fund allocations.
AND, it's over the $20,000 mark! To be specific, my November net worth is $20,776, for an increase of 4.58% from last month. Now the goal is to keep it there: my plan is to spend close to $500 on holiday gifts, so too rough a ride on the stock market could conceivably pull me back below that goal mark. Not a lot I can do about the stock market, though...
You can check out the details on NetWorthIQ.
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
October Net Worth
My October net worth is 19,876, with a net increase of 5.6%. Not bad!
Investment gains were a big help, and the birthday check from my parents makes some difference, but to give myself some credit, I had a great month, and put a whole bunch of money away. We'll have to see what happens in November--it's a three-paycheck month, but I'm also going to France, so...who knows?
And it looks like I'm coasting towards my goal of hitting a $20,000 net worth by the end of 2007. Victory in our time!
Monday, October 01, 2007
September Net Worth
My net worth for September is up at NetWorthIQ.
My retirement accounts did pretty well this month, even though I've exhausted the $1,500 employer match, and are now hovering just above $12,000. If I were just to hold on to this $12,000 until age 70, contribute nothing more, and earn a yearly 8% return, I'd have more than $340,000. Not bad.
There's also a large increase in my cash holdings, and frankly, I'm not sure where that comes from. I did get some of my medical reimbursements in, though, so perhaps that makes the difference between a normal and a slightly odd cash increase.
My net worth for this month is $18,813. The overall increase is $884, or 4.93%.
Wednesday, September 05, 2007
August Net Worth
My net worth rebounded this month, to $17,929--an increase of 5.11%. I'm $40 away from maxing out my 401(k) match, so after this, it will be slower going, but I still think that I can achieve a goal of $20,000 in net worth by the end of the year.
Pursuant to advice received, I'm counting the insurance reimbursements I'm owed as receivables. Otherwise, the numbers would be artificially deflated. Hopefully, by the next time I do this calculation, that money will all be back in the "cash" category and in my ING account.
Friday, August 03, 2007
July Net Worth
Since I had two months' worth of rent sitting in my checking account at the end of June, I predicted that I'd come out flat for July. And I would have, too, if the Dow hadn't taken its little tumble right at the end of the month. Consolation? My 401(k) buy was at a nice low price.
My new net worth is $17,057, with a net change of -1.03%.
Next month may be a very bizarre month for my net worth, depending on whether or not I get my medical reimbursements in by then. Fingers crossed.
I'm still looking at $20,000 as a net worth goal for the year. I think it's doable. It means my net worth needs to increase by about $600/month, which may be a stretch (especially since my 401(k) match maxes out soon--it's dollar-for-dollar up to $1,500), but I think I can get there.
Monday, July 02, 2007
June Net Worth
My June net worth is up at NetWorthIQ--it's $17,234, an increase of 7.41%. There's a big fat asterisk next to this one, though, for one important reason: I currently have two months' worth of rent, rather than the usual one, sitting in my checking account right now, waiting for my check to clear my landlords' accounts. They never sent us an invoice for last month, and we finally got a bill right before this month was due, so we just sent them in together. So this number is inflated by about $630, which is about half of the increase. I'll probably be flat on July's net worth for this reason. Even without that deceptive number, though, I did okay--I'm hoping that I may crack the $20,000 mark by the end of the year, and this month starts to make that look possible.
Friday, June 01, 2007
May Net Worth
May saw quite a bump in my net worth, which is mostly attributable to the fact that it was a three-paycheck month. I got an extra paycheck's worth of 401(k) contributions and also an extra $300 (the amount that normally goes to rent) to stash in the Freedom Fund. The bottom line increased 12.4%, from $14,275 to $16,045. The graph is at NetWorthIQ and in the sidebar.
I'm not expecting nearly as big a bump next month, but hopefully it'll keep going up!
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
April Net Worth
I worked out my net worth update for April this morning (it's posted at NetWorthIQ). It saw quite a jump, which I didn't expect, given the money I spent on clothes (about $335). Granted, I did work pretty hard to get some extra money into the Freedom Fund, but I think the increase is really attributable to growth in my retirement accounts.
I'm still not really sure if this is a metric that works for me--there are so many contingencies and variables. Overall, the trajectory does seem to be right, but when I add it up, I just end up poking lots of holes in the result. It's still useful for a rough comparison, I suppose.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
March Net Worth
I've updated my net worth chart at NetWorthIQ: it shows my net worth having increased by $426, or 3.7%. Most of that is attributable to my 401(k) contribution, which is about $330 for the month, including employer match.
This time I counted an outstanding check as a miscellaneous debt, which I think I didn't do last time. I'm also beign inconsistent because I'm not counting my (outstanding) rent check as a debt, but...I'm pretty much just following my own eccentric-but-functional accounting system, so, I don't really know.
Frankly, I'm still trying to figure out if this is a useful way to think about my financial life. I still haven't come to a conclusion.
Is there a reason you do or don't calculate your net worth?
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Net Worth in Context
Like Nick, I believe that there's more to measuring your finances than net worth. My net worth is around $13,000. That's not a lot, but what if we compare my net worth as a 23-year-old to a net worth of $75,000 belonging to a 56-year-old? Who's better off? I am, right? Then again, what if you compare my net worth to, say, Wanda's? If I recall correctly, we have about the same amount of money invested (2 years' worth of Roth contributions), and though I've got a nascent 401(k) into the bargain and she's got a little student loan debt, she's got a job lined up for after graduation, replete with a salary that may bump her over the Roth contribution limit, whereas I make a salary at the very bottom of the 25% bracket and am considering going back to graduate school (for a doctorate in English literature) in the near future. Who's better off? I'd put my money on Wanda.
The point here is not just to beat my favorite dead horse about personal finance being personal, but also to point out that a single number can't really sum up the factors that affect our financial lives, chiefly opportunity. Being an American citizen, a native English speaker, a college graduate, a holder of a business degree, a holder of a PhD, a holder of substantial reserves of time over which to reap the gains offered by compound interest...there's no way to quantify those things. They don't turn up in our net worth calculations. But they certainly do affect our senses of well-being, both financial and otherwise.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
February Net Worth Update
I thought I'd give calculating my net worth on a monthly basis a shot...sort of just for the hell of it. It's not a very difficult calculation, given that I don't have money in very many places, and they're all aggregated in Bank of America's My Portfolio feature (my favorite financial tool ever). It's also not a very exact calculation, given all of the things it doesn't take into account--that I've written checks for $685 that haven't cleared my checking account yet, or that almost half of my existing cash savings are savings specifically for the purpose of spending, et cetera. Nevertheless, it might turn out to be an interesting metric.
So...let's take a look.
Cash
Bank of America accounts (checking, "float fund"/Keep the Change savings, and CD): $2,575.53
ING accounts (Mini-E, travel fund, gift fund): $2,880.56
Investments
401(k): $643.22
Roth IRA: $6,970.99
Liabilities
Chase Freedom credit card: $56.57
Total: $13,013.73
NetworthIQ gives me this little graph, which isn't actually very helpful since it just maps the trajectory between $0 and where I am now, but hopefully it will get more helpful and interesting as I continue to update.
