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Homenet worthNet Worth: March 2013

Net Worth: March 2013

It’s always a good month when the stock market hits an all time high. I graduated college in May 2007, just a few short months before the economy took a dump. It sucked watching some of my first 401K and Roth IRA contributions drop significantly in value, but if you stay the course, things always seem to turn around. When ya take the emotion out of it, one can’t argue with the long term performance of the markets.

Enough about that, on with the update:

A$$ets:

Cash: $91,838; +$1,554

Less than five-figures from hitting our $100,000 goal. We’ve been spending a little more freely lately, which reduced the amount of cash we could have theoretically banked. Since we are in no rush to buy a house (not with a crazy Seattle Bubble), I’m cool spoiling ourselves from time to time.

Roth IRA: $37,519; +$443

How much higher will the markets go before things flatten out? We’ve seen a lot of upward movement, especially in the last 18 months. Fortunately, I don’t really care what the markets are doing. I don’t let emotions get in the way. Like my wedding vows, I invest in goods times and bad. I might not make millions in the short-term doing it, but I will over the long-haul 😉

401Ks, IRAs, etc: $56,210; +$5,904

My 13% 401k contributions kicked in for the first time last month. I get an extra 5% match from my agency. We FINALLY gained access to Girl Ninja’s old 403b retirement fund from her time in California. It’s been 18 months. This added a healthy $4,500 to our NW last month. Freakin’ love that girl. I’d marry her so hard again if I could!!!

Payments owed:

Credit Card: $1,817 (change not reflected since balance is paid off each month)

I told Girl Ninja for Valentine’s Day I’d like to get her a nice down jacket for skiing. We headed off to REI to find the perfect jacket. She then, pulled out her jedi-mind tricks (which typically means she just batted her eyes a few times and smiled real big) and walked out with not one down jacket. but two! I don’t know how that girl does it. It’s incredible really. Anyways, like I mentioned before we had a bit of a costly month, Valentine’s Day definitely didn’t help 😉

The first two months of 2013 are in the dust, and it’s been a heck-of-a run. Our net worth jumped up $7,764 last month which makes me one happy camper. This puts us at an overall NW of  $183,751. 

We’re up over $20,000 since January 1st. It’s crazy. I don’t get it. But I definitely wont complain about it. Let the good times roll.

You can see all of my net worth updates here.

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18 COMMENTS

  1. It took me a while to actually get into reading your net worth update because I was transfixed by your unicorn diagram. Assuming it is a butcher’s chart (yes?), I had a hard time settling on just one cut that I’d want to cook up.

    Good job, good effort on your money stuff. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SMUPnkuslQ)

  2. Wow, $20k in just over two months. I have improved about $5k since the start of 2013 but I am going from a really big negative number to a less big negative number. I dream of what it would be like if my money was going into the market instead of extra debt payments.

  3. Good job! So young, and so smart. And yes, by age two most girls know how to sweet talk their way to getting stuff. It’s talent really.

  4. “But I definitely wont complain about it. Let the good times roll.”

    My investments have gone up about 3.5% just since New Year’s Eve. But this is just the time to prepare for a “correction” or downturn. There’s always the chance the markets will revert to the mean.

    • This rally does seem strangely familiar…

      I need something to happen to this housing market that is on fire here in Las Vegas. The housing prices have been going up by leaps and bounds, there are bidding wars like the good old days. Then again, what should I expect with those 3% thirty year fixed mortgages. Inflation? Nah, gas prices only went up a buck in 3 weeks…

      • There’s no denying the market will drop again. Maybe soon, maybe a few years. But the trend is always up. Always.

        You and I both know savings account yields are definitely not a plan for prosperity. You got burned once (cause you pulled out) but history says you’ll get burned worse if you never get back in (definitely not saying now is the time to make that leap).

  5. Trust me, I am in savings account hell right now! I’m burning up so badly:O. I actually bought a CD for only 6 months this time so I will have access to my money sooner for that market crash 🙂

    • I don’t know what you’re trying to say, but Ninja is right: over the long term there is no other way to build wealth than to invest in stocks. Obviously stocks have a lot of volatility, but that’s why they yield such high rewards: since March 2009, which is when I started tracking my assets again after the October 2008 crash, my investments in stocks and bonds have nearly doubled. Can you say the same for cash? Look, you’re a very stubborn guy, but you’re not so old that you can’t take advantage of more lucrative ways of handling your money.

      • My comment regarding the CD is true, not sarcastic. I have finally realized that I need to get out of cash and into a Vanguard mutual fund using dollar cost averaging. However, I think I can hold out for a crash before I jump in. Scary to catch a falling knife, but I will do it. The question is how much of a crash….. 😛

        I will probably just start in December of this year regardless. Markets tend to drop in the fall.

        • In honesty, I would just do it. Not necessarily with all your money, but with a percentage. And there’s no way to time the market. You could just get one of the Vanguard target retirement funds and you’ll have a nicely balanced portfolio from the outset consisting of domestic/international stocks and some bonds. You don’t necessarily have to choose a fund with your own literal retirement date either; e.g., if you want a more conservative allocation than the 2040 fund, go with the 2020.

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