Up $4k โ not a bad way to start the year, eh? I have a REALLY good feeling itโs gonna be a good one, so get ready everyone โ 2009 is the year of mad financial skills!!!
Itโs also the year I finally man up and combine Mrs. Budgetsaresexy and Iโs finances here on the blog :) Oooooh, ahhhhh, how exciting! What, oh what, will our net worth look like now?! (you can hardly keep it in, i know)
Itโs also a year for new resolutions โ although unlike many of you, i have yet to figure out what these will be :) Iโll def. holler once they pop into my brain thoughโฆiโm thinking a lot of blog stuff in general, but weโll see.
I guess I should also review last yearโs sexy sidebar goals too while weโre at it here. Theyโre now updated again, but as you can see I didnโt do as great as my actual โ08 New Years resolutions :( Iโll have to leave them up until theyโre completed before swapping them out again. Hereโs a quick summary on how I did:
- Pay off all credit card debt: 100% A+ bustaroo! I actually accomplished this twice โ once in the first half of the year, and then again in the middle when we added on more wedding expenses. But, luckily enough, we used our wedding booty to knock it all off again!
- Pay off cars: B. Since the above was scratched off, I decided to replace it w/ this category in late โ08, except i pretty much new it wasnโt gonna be wiped away before the end of the year ;) but ya gotta give it a shot, right?
- Emergency Fund to $5,250: B I didnโt quite make it all the way, but i sure as hell followed my planโฆjust turned out our work bonuses didnโt pan out like i expected :(
- Net worth to $100,000: Fail. Pwned. Jacked. Not even closeโฆbut again, way out of my hands really. I dutifully paid off debt & made my 401k deposits like a good little boy, but it just so happened the stock market didnโt want to cooperate this year.
Not my best end to a story, but I definitely gave it my all!โฆand momma always said you gotta feel proud for that ;) hahaโฆ.ah man, good olโ moms always have our backs donโt they?
And hereโs how Decโs Net Worth breaks down:
CASH SAVINGS: Not too shabby considering it was the holiday season! Itโs all about that holiday budget, babyโฆwell, that and an xmas bonusโฆ.but i still had to save it ;)
ROTH IRA: Iโll take that $200 any day โ a nice break from all the down months recently.
401(k): WOOHOO!!! Up $2.5k! Iโm sure many of you noticed the same right? Or are you one of those who stopped looking altogether? ;) Who knows how long itโll last, but iโm enjoying every bit of it.
SAVINGS BONDS: One dollar, two dollar, three dollar SCORE! You can check out the breakdown of my bonds are here.
CONDO INVESTMENT: I stopped lending money to my brother months ago, and it looks like iโll be getting this leftover $700 sooner than i thought! My brother did some side work and gave me a pre-dated check to cash in Jan, 15th. I love itโฆand so damn proud of that guy! Heโs seriously come a long way since 2 years agoโฆ.*shiver*
HOME EQUITY: This amount still reflects our purchase price minus the money we accidently paid off the mortgage when our heloc froze. As always, i still donโt know how to classify this, but itโs on my New Yearโs resolution, so keep your eyes peeled.
AUTO WORTH (kbb): Zero loss? Well thatโs a first! Perhaps itโs because my Caddy is now sixteen (16) years old! hahaโฆbut my damn is it ridinโ nicely these daysโฆballinโ like a mother ;)
CREDIT CARDS: This amount is from buying my Caddy and selling my Highlander (i owed more than i sold it for) a few months ago โ thatโs it. No other consumer debt on this bad boy, just the car amounts. And to keep on track, Iโm still applying my old $443 car payments (plus any other amounts leftover from my budget) towards the balance every month until itโs paid off.
AUTO LOAN: Zilch, nada, nothing! But please see above :)
And thatโs it! 2008 comes to a happy end. This is the first year Iโve tracked my finances like this, and I gotta say itโs interesting seeing all the ups and downs through it all! More ups are always better, of course, but as I mentioned 2009 will be full of โem :) Keep doing your thang ladies and gentlemenโฆ
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*The sweet & sexy side bars have been updated.
*And here are the past Net Worth updates.
PS: If youโre just getting started in your journey, here are a few good resources to help track your money. Doesnโt 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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