2005 Net Worth Review

I have been looking forward to this time of the year, because I can finally put together the full numbers for 2005 and look for good or bad trends and areas I might be able to improve.

Let me start with a chart of my monthly net worth for 2005. I started the year with a net worth of $157,340 and ended the year with a net worth of $206,990.

On the surface this chart looks pretty healthy, net worth is trending in the right direction - mainly UP. Hard to complain about that. However, if you look at the trend, my net worth seems to be moving up very linearly. As I have mentioned before, I am always striving to find exponential ways to improve my net worth. It may not possible, but obviously the faster my net worth increase, the quicker I will achieve my goals.

Here is another chart that tracks the total change per month in my net worth for 2005:

As you can see I actually decreased my net worth in Jan 2005, mainly the result of very sharp declines in stock investments. Other than one month were I had to pay closing costs on my home, I have never had a down month since I began tracking my net worth. January was a rough way to start the year.

The rest of the months seem to revert towards an average somewhere between a $4,000-$5,000 increase in net worth per month. This average is good because this is about the same rate I need to maintain to hit my 2006 net worth goal.

Now lets look at how much an impact my investments had on my net worth change each month. Keep in mind these numbers only include my taxable stocks held in various brokerage accounts and DRIPS. It does not include my Roth IRA nor my 401k.


As you can see there are a couple key months where I suffered significant losses in stock investments. In January, my investment suffered from a general market downturn and in April, my investments suffered from sizable losses from my heavy exposure to IBM stock, which plummeted in April after a disappointing 1Q earnings report. However this didn't result in a negative monthly net worth gain because I received my annual performance bonus during the same month.

Nothing really earth shattering in this review. I was able to pretty consistently increase my net worth month-to-month in 2005 despite lackluster performance in the stock market. Lets hope I can do the same in 2006.

Related in Net Worth Archive:

May 2012 Net Worth Update (-$28,098) (Jun 10, 2012) Highlights for MayWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. Our properties are listed on our...

April 2012 Net Worth Update (+$2,763) (May 09, 2012) Highlights for AprilWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. We received $1,000+ in rewards cash...

March 2012 Net Worth Update (+$22,032) (Apr 11, 2012) Highlights for MarchWe like to take advantage of 0% APR balance transfers and other credit card offers for free money. We are actively looking at taking advantage of new credit card arbitrage opportunities. We are close to earning ~$1,000...

Comments (13)


DATE: 10:00 AM
Very impressive!Increasing your net worth by 4-5k every month is incredible.Keep it up, it sounds like you're well on your way to 2million! :)

DATE: 11:53 AM
I really applaud your goal, I like to follow any advise you can give to the rest of us. But just stupid question on my part: why 2 million? Is there any magic in this number? I personally like odd numbers 1,3,5, etc.

DATE: 12:51 PM
Yeah I think your 2 million dollar goal is way too low. You'll blow by that number in no time.

DATE: 1:10 PM
Hey Webmaster. How about a link Trade. My site isHOME EQUITY LOANS

DATE: 3:34 PM
Great job! That's very impressive growth. I do understand what you mean about exponential growth, though. Have you read a book called Multiple Streams of Income? I think you'd find it interesting, especially the equity investment strategies (find a very high performing mutual fund and get the timing right). Too aggressive for me, but maybe not for you!

DATE: 8:17 PM
you tired of that consistent net worth increase--go quit your job and be an entrenpenuer! You'll surely have your swings, but you could reach your goals faster.

DATE: 10:25 AM
A growth of 4.1k/month. This is phenomenal by any standards! The stock market was lackluster last year. You should see even better results this year!

DATE: 1:01 PM
Just out of curiosity, how much are you receiving for the Google ad clicks on your Web site? Is this amount included in your net worth calculation?

DATE: 6:31 PM
I have received $0 to date from Google for advertising so it is included in my net worth calculations. Once I start receiving any income it will be added in the calculations (as are the expenses).

DATE: 3:53 PM
What program do you use to chart those graphs? I wnat to do that.

DATE: 3:53 PM
I keep the data in MS Money Deluxe 2005 and export it and create the charts in MS Excel

DATE: 7:57 PM
What is your projected time to reach your ultimate goal?

DATE: 7:53 PM
Good Job! I'm 31 and have about the same Net Worth. I attribute a lot of this to having the right wife. I believe that will be the most critical challenge for you, unless you choose to go it alone.

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About 2millionblog.com

A personal finance weblog of my journey to reach my goal of $2 million + the value of my primary residence.
Current Net Worth: $1,938,393

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