Net Worth - May 2009

Well I got my first paycheck, but I entered the new job in the middle of their pay period, so my paycheck isn't a "full" paycheck. That's fine and I'll make due, but I was really looking forward to putting a little of the added money from my new pay towards my debt.

In other news, stocks have started going up and some of the “bargains” that I mentioned earlier have been doing very well for me. Again, I’ve only been investing very small amounts each month – so all and all it’s not much, but I’m glad I did it.

And so it my net worth, ‘cause it’s gotten a little bit better. Once the checks even out and I start aggressively paying down the debt again it should get back to zero even faster.

But I really just have to keep telling myself that it’s not a net worth race at this point. That’s just a good way to track progress. The goal is still the erasing of all my credit card debt – and I haven’t been doing as much as I would like to lately. Still, I’m encouraged by the overall progress. If you would have asked me before I ran the numbers, I wouldn’t have thought I had made any progress this past month.

Still here...

Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I'll try to regain some momentum with a new net worth update soon.

In the meantime, I can only say that a lot has happened. Another prediction/goal has been crossed off the list. I went and found myself a new job. I don't have to tell you guys how hard the job market is, so it was definitely a confidence booster. Anyway, it's still early, but so far it's a big change and all for the better. I'm going to be paid a little bit more and I feel a lot more comfortable and happier in the new environment.

As for my finances, I'm still pushing on. I'm encouraged by my last net worth update showing that I've broken past the 20K mark. However, I know that had a lot to do with a bump in assets and not a big decrease in debt. So I just have to keep pushing forward.

Net Worth - April 2009

Needed to dip into the emergency fund and cut back on this months debt pay down due to some school costs that cropped up. However, due to some gains in my stocks and my companies profit sharing deposit into my 401(k) I was able to gain over $6,500 which raised (or lowered depending on how you look at it) my net worth to just under $19,000.

I'm, of course, hoping to make up some ground in the next month or so to put me back on track to have $1,600 by June - but overall I'm happy with the progress. And thankful that I had the emergency account to dip into.

401k Employer Contribution Received

I've been checking for a little over a month now, but it's finally here. Over $4,000 has been put into my 401k account from my employer. The contribution is based upon profit-sharing and not upon my contribution amount, which is great because in one day that deposit exceeded what I had put in there for the entire year.

Even better (for me at least) is that stocks are really down right now, so my $4,000+ infusion went directly to cheaper stocks with a big (hopefully) growth potential!

Obviously, this has really made my week!

Net Worth - March 2009

Wow. That's pretty much all I can say about it. More than a $1,000 drop in the assets column. That is a pretty swift kick to you know where. But on the plus side - I erased almost $1,400 from my liabilities by continuing to pay off my debt. Also, as mentioned in my last post, my savings has passed the $1,000 mark - which makes me a tiny bit happy. But I'm not easing off the gas just yet. I need to keep working on both ends to get to a place where I feel comfortable.

The main thing I get when I look at this month's report is how nice it feels to see the debt start to peel away, month-by-month. Besides my emergency fund, I'm not concerned about the assets column at all. Again, as a 28 year old, I'm just seeing this as a great time to spend a little money buying some stocks (through 401k, Roth IRA, brokerage) which will hopefully return and surpass the levels there were at about a year ago. I'm in no rush to sell, so I'm in no rush to panic.

...but that doesn't mean I don't see what's going on...again...wow.

Savings (mini) goal accomplished

At the end of 2008 I posted about a few predictions/goals that I had for 2009. Well I just wanted to give a quick update that I have reached my goal of saving $1000 in an emergency fund before June of this year.

As mentioned in the title of this post, I'm seeing this as a mini goal because a $1000 emergency fund in this economy/job market is still pretty pathetic. So I'm going to continue my savings pace and by June I should reach the $1600 mark.

Nice to have a tiny bit of breathing room though...even if it's just a tiny bit.

Not the best voice, but...