April 30, 2012

April 2012 Net Worth Update (+2,363.13)

In April, our Net Worth increased $2,363.13 from last month, to a total of $161,722.54 (click on spreadsheet below). 
What Worked
We had a great visit with my family when they came into town.  My father passed away two weeks after the visit, so it was very nice to see him one last time.  His passing is a reminder to me that saving for retirement is important, but so is enjoying your life along the way. 

What Didn’t Work
We contributed a total of $1,434.26 our retirement accounts, but only saw them increase $781.27 to $52,224.14 total.

Next Month
May will hopefully be an opportunity to pay down some of our 0% credit card debt since I receive a third “extra” check.  We have until April 2013 for the 0% interest offer, but want to get it paid off as soon as possible.





April 9, 2012

February 2012 Income Statement

We continued our spending spree in March, albeit at a reduced rate. Our income was fairly typical (click on spreadsheet below).

Our total income for March was $7,484.97. In addition to our regular paychecks, my wife received $131.92 in reimbursements from her company (includes February internet & meal and March internet). We also received $75 in credit card rewards, a $35 rebate for purchasing an energy efficient washer, and earned $1.37 in interest income from our online savings account.

We did a little more shopping in March for our new home and spent a total of $9,560.07. Our spending over the past three months has been shocking: $22,902.72 in January, $14,038.03 in February, and $9,560.04 in March. At least the trend is going in the right direction. Some of the larger one-time expenses in March included $667.63 for ADT security installation, $400 for a security door, and $275 to our tax accountant.

Next month my check will be a smidge larger thanks to a 1% raise that my company provided all employees. This is a good sign as we have not had any raises for 4 years. The only large, non-reoccurring expense planned in April is $850 for a security camera system installation.

April 2, 2012

March 2012 Net Worth Update (+1,646.26)

You will notice a correction to our mortgage balance in February. I mistakenly applied our March payment to our February figures. Even with our excessive spending in March, our Net Worth increased $1,646.26 from last month, to a total of $159,359.41 (click on spreadsheet below).
What Worked
We contributed a total of $1,434.26 our retirement accounts, and saw them increase $2,558.50 to $51,505.87 total. Our first mortgage payment went through reducing our mortgage debt by $589.21. Baby steps...
What Didn’t Work
As expected, our zero percent interest card (0% for 15 months) balance rose $7,065.02 to $8,541.35. This is not as much as the $3,000 that I forecast, but going the wrong direction nevertheless. I wish I could say this was going to go away soon, but realistically, we are months from having it paid off.
Next Month
April will be a fun month because my family is coming into town. It will be nice for them to see our new baby again and to get to show them our new house. Financially, it might not be as exciting as we continue to try and dig our way out of our 0% credit card debt.