Yup – another month down a bit. It’s never fun, but at least it helps me appreciate the UPs :) I kinda miss the days of $10k-$15k increases!
But we’re entering the months of limited income now that the Summer’s here, so I’m afraid they won’t be back for a while now.
The wifey doesn’t have her Teaching Assistantship over the break, and the online money slows down a bit during the Summertime here on the blog… so unless I come up with more ways to make money in the next couple of months, we’ll just be doing enough to scrape by for a while ;)
Also, as you can see there in the breakdown, June was another month of paying those dreaded quarterly taxes. I’m always prepared for them, and have the money separated in a completely different fund to account for them, but it always stings nonetheless ;) And I still waver on how to include this in in our monthly net worths. The nice thing about doing it this way is that it reminds me how *much*, exactly, I’m parting with every 3 months. Keeps things in perspective! Unlike the old 9-5s where taxes were just “taken out” without me really understanding or feeling the full affects from it. Either way, it’s not exciting though ;)
Here’s how June of this year breaks down:
CASH SAVINGS (-$1,387.75): This is mainly due from losing an entire income source for the Summer (The Mrs. TA’ship). Plus a little less earned on the ol’ blogging front. Besides my new shoes, I didn’t spend that much ;)
EMERGENCY FUND ($0.00): It feels good having this back at $10,000 again! Going on month 2 now and have every intention of keeping it that way. Unless, of course, an emergency comes up – which are always so damn unexpected! :)
TAX FUND (-$3,715.00): We actually paid $5,575 total this month in quarterly taxes (ouch!), but I sent off the money before I got to update our net worth category here. Went right into my account, and right back out days later ;) As long as I continue making enough to never get another job again though, I’ll keep happily paying them! The more taxes I owe, the more it means I’m earning, haha…
IRAs – ROTHS & SEP (-$30.40): A HUGE increase from the last two weeks though, my word… everyone’s stocks were so low due the markets! Just so happened the last few days of June was enough to bump these back up a bit :) I still haven’t put any money into any of these yet, but I plan on upping my SEP as soon as it makes sense. The more I put in, the more it saves me in taxes — I just need to figure out how much I can put in toward the end of the year (it’s based on my total self-employment income).
401(k)s (-$1,146.64): Same thing going on here. MASSIVE deduction of worth up until the last few days of June. I don’t plan on having a 401k very much longer though, as there’s been some new updates on that whole 401(k) debacle I blogged about earlier in the year ;) I can’t tell you about it just yet, but believe me the outcome is gonna be good!!! Watch out for a post on it soon.
AUTOS WORTH (kbb) (+$225.00) : Haha… good ol’ KBB still being crazy… though I know Toyota’s are generally pretty good about holding their value. Just can’t see them going UP though, haha… whatev. Here’s the newest breakdowns:
- Pimp Daddy Caddy: $2,670.00
- Gas Ticklin’ Toyota: $11,530.00
HOME VALUE (Realtor) ($0.00): Nothing new to report on this front. Still at the $300k our realtor set it at mid-last year. Don’t plan on getting a true estimate until we get closer to renting it out or selling it in the (hopefully) near future.
CREDIT CARDS ($0.00): We continue to budget with these guys – putting everything we can possibly on them to gain rewards and simplify our tracking – and then at the end of every month we pay them off like good little boys and girls. We have two cards: 1 for our joint “house” stuff, and 1 for my personal stuff. Actually, 3 – the Mrs. has 1 of her own too, but she doesn’t use it much.
MORTGAGES (+$471.32): LOVE THIS!!! First time in 4 years of owning that we’re aggressively knocking down this debt now :) And we haven’t done *anything* extra except for refinancing last month!! Isn’t that amazing? We pay almost the exact same mortgage, but now more goes toward principle due to our lower interest rate… freakin’ incredible (and we’ve also been rounding up each payment to delete $100 more in total too between our two mortgages). Yayyy!!! Here’s our current breakdown:
- 1st Mortgage: $289,583.63 – 30 year conventional @ 5.5%
- 2nd Mortgage: $61,961.15 – Maxed out HELOC @ a variable 2.8%
There we have it. Another month, another step toward ultimate millionaire-status ;) Though we kinda went backwards this month didn’t we? Haha… it’ll just make the next one that much sweeter!!! And I already have news that it’s guaranteed, so keep your eyes open for it. Hope y’all had better reports than I did!
Mad love, as always
—————–
PS: Do you guys find your income fluctuates throughout the Summer months as well?
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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i had a crappy month too, went down around 5k too. But i know it’ll bounce back in July. Just curious, i have a toyota too, and wanted to know what your gas ticklin toyota is? I bought a matrix 7 years ago brand new (which i’ll never do again) but yeah mine is still worth at least 10k and i get mail all the time that toyota wants to buy my car back for more than its worth. But i love not having a car payment and will drive that thing til the wheels fall off.
Keep fightin’ the fight, brutha! Summers stay pretty steady for us, because we’re both salary…however, we just found out the hubby might need to change jobs to beat getting laid off…which could mean some salary changes, possible decrease for him.
UGH.
Hola J – Paying $5,000 in quarterly taxes is good because it means you made a lot right? Good bright side!
I’ll let you know about the summer blog income months. This week should be slow due to holiday week. I haven’t really payed attention over the 2 years, but i’ll pretend i am full-time and track it better and let you know.
Sam
I had an up month but man am I jealous of that freaking retirement account, I have one-eighth of that bad boy!
Strong work. Just keep plugging away one month at a time and before you know it, momentum will build and build.
Are you thinking of selling your house soon? Details!
Our’s went up $1,192.40 this month (updated it on the 1st), mostly to paying down the evil credit card. We also don’t make much $, so it’s like a huge deal w/ our tiny Net Worth.
About your taxes, not sure if you’ve already thought of this or not—but have you thought about leaving it out of your Net Worth and just including it in your budget? ‘Cuz it makes your Net Worth go up and down even though it doesn’t exactly represent it. Just an idea. ;-)
My income doesn’t fluctuate in the summer because I’m on salary, but I find my spending does, for sure! I always end up spending more than usual in July and August, and it’s almost kind of intentional. In the winter, I’m usually content to just stay in most nights out of the week and cuddle up with a movie or a book, because it’s miserable outside, but when the weather is this nice out, and you just know it’ll be fall before you know it — every day not spent drinking beer on a patio just seems like a wasted day! It definitely takes a bit more creativity when it comes to budgeting.
Stephen – Haha yeah dude, smart move :) We have a Corolla Sport. It’s my wife’s and she LOVES it. Which is strange to me cuz she doesn’t really care for cars, haha… so I guess it’s a great one ;)
Trinnie – Yikes! Having a head start is always MUCH better than getting surprised outta nowhere though ;) Sending happy vibes!!! (and btw – no go w/ that guy from Colorado :( I’ll give ya a shout later…)
Financial Samurai – Haha, yes please – I’m interested :) And I hope I’m making enough or else I can’t live this life anymore! But so far so sexy.
Evan – Hey, we all gotta start somewhere ;) You’re probably like 10 years younger than me – which I’d gladly trade for! Haha…
cashflowmantra – Yessir, that’s the plan.
Jenna, Adaptu Community Manager – I think about selling it every single day ;) Problem is we can’t, so we may try harder at renting it out in meantime, but all my projects keep taking up my time. Which is def. good ;)
Jen @ Master the Art of Saving – Yup! Thought about that route – def. has it’s pros :) It’s just such a huge amount that I like watching it move in the Net Worth since I do have to deal with it (and seeing it low like that reminds me how important it is and that it’s “real” haha…) – but we may change it up in a bit. Congrats on your increase! I remember when $100 up or down was a BIG thing so in perspective that’s awesome :) Good job.
Melissa – Haha, I want to come drink beer with you! ESP in the Fall – my favorite season! :)
The stock market this summer has been a killer. I’m so glad it’s been rebounding (so far). I’m salaried, but I travel a lot for my job, and I like to think of my expense reimbursements as income.. I get 55 cents per mile now and there’s absolutely no way I spend that much! I tend to travel a lot more at the beginning/end of the year, so my “income” tends to go down in the summer as well. =[ It stinks after getting used to awesome reimbursement checks coming in and then you realize what you’re REALLY making.
You inspired me to actually take a look at my expense reimbursements, and I wrote a blog post on it! You might find it interesting! Turns out I’m making a pretty decent profit off of my expenses! http://zerotoonemillionchallenge.blogspot.com/2011/07/finding-little-extra-money-in-everyday.html
@Kelsey – COOL!!!! Going over now to check :) I love traveling in general, so the extra perk of earning money from it is even better! Great work!