A good good month! And tons of money transfering around too.
If you recall from earlier in the month, we finally filed our taxes and deposited a huge chunk into our SEP IRA so that we can avoid paying the gov’t a cool $9,000 ;) Which explains that ginormous hit on our cash reserves as you can see there (as well as our giant increase in SEP money – woo!). It’s always a nice feeling upping your retirement accounts when you don’t do a thing throughout the previous 11 months, haha…
Makes me miss the good ol’ 401(k) and biweekly investments! I save it all up to the end ‘cuz I don’t know how much I can ever put in since it’s based on biz earnings, and then I get burnt out soon after ;) Dropping $25k with a click takes a lot outta you!
Other than those areas though, everything else is pretty self-explanatory… But naturally I’ll be explaining everything anyways as I do each month :)
Here’s how March broke down:
MONSTER CASH (-$21,108.19): As mentioned above, we took out $25,628 from our reserves to invest in our SEP IRA which saved us over $9,095 in taxes for the tax year of 2012. It sucked, but it was also pre-planned so it wasn’t anything out of the blue or anything. You can read more about it here.
529 College Savings (+$98.27): A nice little boost for Baby Money’s future college tuition :) We didn’t put anything extra in this month, it’s just from the markets doing their thang.
IRA: SEP (+$26,783.33): BAM! The only good reason to take out $25k from your savings, haha… And it’s already earned an extra thousand or so – woohoo! :)
IRA: ROTH(s) (+$1,806.05): An awesome increase here too for doing nothing but leaving things be.
IRA: TRADITIONAL(s) (+$3,640.25): Same here, no additional deposits – just pure increase. Of course we all know there are months when it all goes down the $hitter, but I tend to focus on the more exciting ones like this month :) It only really matters on the day you hit “cash out” anyways…
Here’s the status of our IRA Test accounts. No word on when I’ll be stopping it and merging the whole thing into just one… Probably when I get on my next minimalism kick.
- IRA #1 (NOT Managed): $68,997.79 **Leader for like a year now.
- IRA #2 (Managed, USAA funds): $65,608.84
- IRA #3 (Managed, ALL funds): $66,314.47
AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (-$224.00): Nothing out of the ordinary here. Just the cars depreciating in value like they’re supposed to. Here’s how they break down:
- Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,133.00
- Gas Ticklin’ Toyota: $7,582.00
HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): Sill the same $285k we pegged it last year when a similar home in our neighborhood sold… I’m pretty sure it’s moved since then, but whether up or down is anyone’s guess. I’ll probably get a better sense here in a few weeks when we go to put it up for rent – wee!! (New post coming soon on that :))
MORTGAGES (-$1,626.05): Not the sexy $2,000+ we used to be at, but nonetheless it’s a nice knock down for one month of work. Our Mortgage Payoff Plan is about to be adjusted here anyways as soon as I finish putting in some more thought… Gotta adjust plans when life takes different turns!
- 1st Mortgage: $279,967.66 – 30 year conventional @ 5.5%
- 2nd Mortgage: $29,817.53 – Maxed out HELOC @ a variable 2.8%
That’s about it for this month. Getting closer to that $400k mark, and continuing to hustle hard while we’re still so young and nubile!
How did you fare last month? Anything juicy or crazy happen to pump up/deflate your numbers? Keep on tracking your net worth so you can look back one day and see how far you’ve come! That’s the best part of this stuff – experiencing the journey :)
Y’all have a good day out there,
———————
PS: Game Of Thrones is back!!! WINTER IS COMING!
PS: If you’re just getting started in your journey, here are a few good resources to help track your money. Doesn’t matter which route you go, just that it ends up sticking!
- The "Budget/Net Worth" spreadsheet - the colorful Excel template I personally use.
- The "Money Snapshot" spreadsheet - a simple Excel template I created for my former $$$ clients
If you're not a spreadsheet guy like me and prefer something more automated (which is fine, whatever gets you to take action!), you can try your hand with a free Empower account instead (formerly Personal Capital)
Empower is a cool tool that connects with your bank & investment accounts to give you an automated way to track your net worth. You'll get a crystal clear picture of how your spending and investments affect your financial goals (early retirement?), and it's super easy to use.
It only takes a couple minutes to set up and you can grab your free account here. They also do a lot of other cool stuff as well which my early retired friend Justin covers in our full review of Empower - check it out here: Why I Use Empower Almost Every Single Day.
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My numbers went up nicely due to the market’s rise. I also got a margin account, so that I can start selling puts without having to have my cash tied up to secure them. This freed up several thousand dollars extra to invest as well. So March was a pretty good month for me.
Oh man, I admire people like you who know how to do more than just sell or buy a stock straight up. Haven’t figured out all the other juicy stuff you can do in there and kinda nervous to learn! I have a feeling I’d get pretty addicted to playing around :)
Our net worth is going to take a hit because we bought a house and there are a ton of fees related to that… It is OK though because it was planned :) Other than that, things continue on as usual! We’ll be adding some rental income in a few months too!
Oh wow – congrats man! I must have missed that!
We did terrible yet again last month. We can’t seem to pay off our debt as quickly as we would like at the moment with my wife not working and me spending money on any number of business ventures.
That’s a tough combination for sure :( Although if any of your biz ventures take off you’ll be set! So at least there’s some excitement built in there not knowing when that day will be :) Much better than spending money on something with 0% chance of a return.
Great job. The stock market is going gangbusters right now, so it is fun to watch everybody (including me) making some money again.
makes you wonder if it’s smart to cash out and hold it all for a year or so and then jump back in when things get “back to normal” eh? though at this rate I don’t think it ever will!
Nice, our net worth post will drop on Friday, but we booked some decent growth – but a good chunk of it is because our house has been climbing in value since the fall and I just finally booked it on the balance sheet.
Well that’s a nice change from what most people are used to – congrats!
Thank you for the baby college fund reminder J Money. I think baby J$ is a month or two younger than Baby Skint and you are putting me to shame as we haven’t started, so now is the time to get this baby a savings plan. And child benefit, which was universal in the UK, is now going to be means-tested, meaning Baby Skint doesn’t get that from now on – so the Bank of Mum and Dad are really going to have to start stepping up!
It’s fun time!! Come join the party! ;)
Nice work sir! It has to be awesome to sock away that much in your SEP and not have to send it to the Feds. We had a nice month as well, largely do the market. I am watching it very closely right now and really looking at whether or not I want to pull out of a few positions to take the gains. Who knows with the market these days?!
My net worth remains in the negative because I do not include my house because I have to live somewhere.
I am attempting to live on 50% of my modest income to aggressively attack the $18,233 of debt that is weighing me down but it will still take almost 2 years to clear it.
I am pleased to see you are planning for Baby Money’s education. As a single mom I was not able to help my sons very much and they will both graduate with approximately 40K in debt each. There is a lot of mom guilt associated with that student debt.
You created them and loved them which is more than enough :)
Looks like you are doing great. Our net worth is steadily going up and it feels great.
Nice work J! Pretty awesome putting away money into retirement and seeing the tangible tax savings that comes with it! Looking forward to hearing how your transition into being a landlord goes!
Looks great. Its nice to follow a pf blog with numbers in the black! I like debt-payoff blogs, too, but this is great.
One question – do you count the college savings in your net worth? Shoukd that be separate?
Thanks :) Yup, we count it because it’s technically ours and if no kid needs the money for whatever reason we’d then take the hit and cash it out to go back into our own savings/etc. So unless I change my mind again later (I go back and forth with it), it’ll remain there until it’s time to be tapped :) Either route is fine to do though, just depends on what you’re trying to get out of your net worth numbers.
You are doing great J! Our net worth went up this month. Tax return + bonus – car loan. Oh yea we paid off our car loan! :) We are now a debt free DINKS couple. Until we buy a house LOL.
CONGRATS!!! No car payments are awesome!!
Oh Man! You are just doing great especially when so many others are walking always looking down because of the burden of debt.
It’s always encouraging/motivating to see where others are on their financial journey. Being 26, it’s so obvious that if we just keep our eyes on the prize and stay motivated, we’ll be where you are at some point. Thanks for continuing to share so openly!
Hi J! I mentioned on one of your past Net Worth Update posts that you inspired me to start tracking my net worth last June. Well, in March, I had the largest dollar increase and the second largest percentage increase (2nd only to the month when my company did profit sharing – yahoo!) ANNNNND I finally broke the 6-figure mark! $100k baby!!!! Feels so sexy! Thanks again for getting me started down this path. And the best part of it is none of it is due to a tax refund (I actually had to pay this year), just good old fashioned living on less than you make and awesome market performance.
Best news of the day! I’m so happy for you :) Thanks for sharing and helping everyone else get motivated too – tracking your money is awesome!!!
Nice work J. Money. My net worth decreased a little because my son started daycare and it just took out some funds. I will be back on track once the budget is worked around again, but it still sucks. I am hoping for a quality April!
Tell me about it :( Daycare sucks money out of your wallet like no other.
Good job J! We will close on our house probably next month and since the homes have increased in value by $15k since we purchased that will be a nice shot in the arm for our net worth!
Well that’s a nice reward! How do you know it went up so much? Realtor tell you or Zillow/a diff. online site tell you? Reason I ask is I never trust anything/one outside of a realtor who knows the market inside and out – but that’s just me.
We did pretty well in March. The stock market gave us a nice boost and all our various incomes are firing on all cylinders. April and May aren’t going to be good though. Our 4 plex needs their fireplaces repair and probably will cost 2-3,000. sucks…
the cons to rental units :(
Great month over here. $21k increase due to a bonus and the market, and we used the cash portion of it to pay down student debt. April will be even better because… we are going to pay off the last of my student loans! $135,000 in principal in 4 years (and $37k since December). We’re going to have to wipe out half of our savings to do it, but I can’t think of much that’s sexier than not owing anyone anything anymore.
Wowwww look at you go! That’s incredible!! Congrats on that :) Really awesome stuff. Just make sure to have some sort of emergency fund still after you cash out most of those savings!
No worries here! It was quite calculated. We still have about $6k in the bank and a net worth of $240k, most of which is in retirement. But the best part is that we earn about $4k more than we spend each month, so we’ll catch up quickly. We also live for free (a perk of one of our jobs) so it wouldn’t be costly to readjust our lives if one of us lost a job. The great thing about paying off the student debt is now we could easily live on either of our salaries, so there’s that buffer…
Congrats on the net worth update. I’m on my way!
holy crap – you’re gonna pass me in no time!! No house payment AND $4k extra a month??? Wow that’s good. Way to kill it over there you two – this blogger is *very* impressed :)
Great to see that you factor in car value depreciation – often overlooked. Great post.
I just want to say that I LOVE your IRA test. That’s the best thing since sliced bread.
Hey, thanks! No one’s mentioned that one in a while and I tend to like it too :) Appreciate you saying so – have a great weekend over there!
Ya know, I already like your posts but then you throw in that ps about GOT and I fall in love all over again. :-) We watched it while drinking mulled wine! Btw my net worth is up. Also had a good month.
Haha GOT is dope yo! Sooooo glad it’s back again – been missing it.
My NW went up as well, mostly due to the market though there was a little from saving here and there. My car apparently appreciated too which is just the cherry on top :-)
Must have put some chrome rims on it ;)
My numbers will look like that someday! But first I have to fix my mess! Awesome!
Very impressive work. What a difference a month can make. Still trying to determine what to do with idle cash as I do not like bonds, CDs or money market accounts and have enough in the market. Any advice?
Hmm.. tough one without knowing you or your money/risks/etc… ever thought of investing it in a business? either your own or someone else’s you believe in? obviously not good if you want access to it and/or to rule out losing any, haha, but it is an idea.
Between the stock market going gangbusters, my area’s low inventory of houses for sale bumping up the price of real estate & the tax refund coming in, we’re up over $20k this month. Feels pretty damn good but I find that I’m bracing myself for a market correction. But it still feels splendid to see that our net worth is $355k. And you’re the only person I can tell! If I told anyone else, it’d feel like bragging!
You can tell me all day long baby, that’s why we’re here :) I just gotta keep on staying one step ahead of you so you don’t beat me! Haha…
Congrats! I remember the days of six-figure net worth… Sigh…
Congratulations on the major gain last month! Yes, the market has been doing really well. Maybe there will be a correction, maybe not — who knows? We can’t predict the future. The most we can do is save, just like you’re doing. I think it’s fantastic that you have such a solid college education fund started already. Baby Money won’t have much to worry about!
I am so excited to have found your blog. This is just what I needed – you and I think alike on a number of fronts. I am a newly devoted reader!!!!